Chapter 1: 0. Prologue
Chapter Text
It was a day like any other, Kim Rok Soo was once again getting off of work late because he stayed to finish his work completely, actually, not just his work but also incredibly important papers for his company. But, contrary to usual, this day was a little bit special, since it was his last before his paid vacation.
He took a day off of work to read a novel that was recommended to him a long while ago. He had never had the chance to read it though, as he worked pretty much every single day, even on weekends and holidays.
Letting out a tired sigh, Kim Rok Soo shut down the computer in front of him, then readied his briefcase and finally got off work. It was a cold winter day, it was early November. Now that he was thinking about it, today was the 7th, which would mean that tomorrow would also be Choi Jung Soo´s birthday…and his.
Kim Rok Soo let out a deep breath as memories of his dead friend began to resurface. That´s right, Choi Jung Soo was dead and he died to protect Kim Rok Soo. It was quite the irony. If Choi Jung Soo hadn’t died, the company the both of them worked for would be so much better right now, especially since if Choi Jung Soo had stayed alive, Lee Soo Hyuk would have too.
Kim Rok Soo couldn’t even do half of what the both of them were able to. The only thing he was somewhat good at was paperwork. Naturally, it was only him who was thinking that way. Truth to be told, Kim Rok Soo was an employee who could not even be replaced by a hundred people. He was exceptional in anything he did, he it paperwork or field operations.
The only downside of him was that he came off as cold, emotionless and strict – someone whom the other employees would naturally want to avoid. He was the team leader of team 1 and a very good man, though he didn’t think so himself.
In his eyes, he was akin to trash, who let his new family die for his sake. He blamed himself for Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo´s deaths. It was because he had miscalculated a few things back then, which lead to his family´s deaths.
In this strange world in which Kim Rok Soo was living in, where everything had gone to shit, a single mistake, be it as little as alf a pea, could be responsible for the deaths of thousands if not millions. While humanity had already started to take back the world, the many monsters, especially the Grade 1 ones, could not be defeated that easily. There was bound to come a time where another apocalypse would come – and Kim Rok Soo had no doubt that the second one would be even worse than the first one.
The man finally arrived at the outskirts of Seoul, the place where he lived at. While the city was already restored quite a bit and looked almost the same as before the apocalypse and monster invasion, the outskirts hadn’t been restored yet. There were many reasons for that: First of all, the city had little to no money, and that money could not be spent foolishly.
Since there were only very few people who lived in the outskirts, that kind of investment wouldn’t pay off. Still, Kim Rok Soo wouldn’t want to move anywhere else other than here. It was already night-time and he couldn’t see anything in the dark. The man shook his head as he walked like he was used to.
His little house was a run-down shed that could hardly be described as a house. While it was built with bricks, it still looked like it could break at any moment. Still, it was Kim Rok Soo´s home and had anything that the man needed. It wasn’t all too little as well. It was big enough to have two rooms, a bathroom and even a separate kitchen.
While that didn’t sound big at all, other apartments nowadays hardly ever had two rooms and a separate kitchen, so having this little place was somewhat of a luxury to Kim Rok Soo. The place had no heater, but the team leader owned enough blankets not to get cold.
Kim Rok Soo entered his house and quickly took off his shoes. There was something akin to a carpet lying on the floor, which was actually just a thick piece of fabric. A carpet was too expensive to invest in, in Kim Rok Soo´s opinion. While he had lots of money, he didn’t want to spend any as he was saving for his slacker life. Therefore, he also lived a very minimalistic life.
The man sat down on the old couch that he once found in an abandoned building and decided to bring home. Finder´s keeper, wasn’t that right? The couch was very comfortable compared to his office chair and old matrass bed. Kim Rok Soo then proceeded with his plans and took one of the five books lying on his table.
It was the first five volumes of the story ´The Birth of a Hero´ which was recommended to him by his old friend Choi Jung Soo. It´s been such a long while since Choi Jung Soo had entered the office with a bright smile plastered on his face and excitement in his eyes. He had then talked about the new book he had stumbled on and recommended it to Kim Rok Soo to read. Naturally, the thirty-six year old hadn’t been able to do so yet because he had always been working.
Actually, he would still have come to work tomorrow, wasn’t it for his subordinated forcing him to take the day off. Well, not that it really mattered.
“Let´s get started.”
Kim Rok Soo nodded to himself, quite proud of what he was about to do. He planned to get through all of these five books before falling asleep and reading the other ones during his day off. Well, the story consisted of fifteen books, so it would be best to do it like this. And with his ´Record´ ability, he had even more advantages, though he didn’t like skimming through novels at all.
Hence, he began his reading journey.
A journey which would become his first step into a newfound horror for him – well, at least at first glance.
~
At another place no living or dead being that wasn’t a divine species had access to, an ascended being let out a sigh. It was, naturally, one of the many gods overlooking the many earths. The god who was responsible for all living beings, for life in short, could not believe what she was witnessing.
One of her children was not just cursed, but also about to be transferred to another world he did not belong to. While she did not know many things, she did know that the world he was about to be transferred to was bound to be destroyed. Unable to keep her calm any longer, after all she had to endure so many things and let this child suffer; she jumped up from her chair and exited her vast room.
She had long, ginger hair that had a similar color to copper and amber colored eyes that looked just like the stone. She had light and pale skin but still maintained her rose colored cheeks and nose. She was very beautiful, gorgeous even, and the ruby, somewhat exposing dress did not help hide her sexy side which showed more than a certain innocence than could be seen in her eyes.
The golden high heels she was wearing were sounding loudly through the marble floor she was walking on. The people who were no simple beings but either other gods or a god´s helping hand, quickly hid themselves and made place of her to pass through.
The God of Life – that was who the woman was.
She was no simple god, and even though she wore such revealing clothes, she would rather stay in her chambers for herself and not leave until it was incredibly important. That was why she wasn’t seen often in the divine space, but when she was, she had no time for chitty chat whatsoever.
The people, who made room for her to pass through, stopped in their tracks and turned around to look after her, admiring her beauty.
But the God of Life ignored them. She had a single target in mind, and nothing in existence would be able to stop her. She was one of the most powerful gods up here, after all, and it wasn’t for nothing. The God of Life who was just as important as the God of Death and God of Time and Space did not fear any other god. It was for that very reason that none of the three of them was more powerful than the other.
Finally arriving at her destination, the God of Life swiftly opened the closed doors to the Korean looking office. She hated the interior design just as much as she hated the man residing in it. There he sat, on a comfortable chair while going through files lying on his desk.
His white hair, that didn’t match the dark skin and black eyes, looked amess, like it did usually. The God of Death looked just like she had remembered him, which fueled her hatred for him even more.
Contrary to many beliefs, the two of them didn’t hate each other because their tasks were complete opposites. It was the opposite; it was the one thing the two of them respected about each other: the God of Life created existences which the God of Death led to their next life – it was their task as gods.
Their hatred arose because of the God of Death´s continuous meddling with the worlds. At first, it was just one time, a misstep he accidentally did to save the world: it was when he transferred Choi Jung Gun to another world where he then became Nelan Barrow. Choi Jung Gun, back when the God of Life had created him, she decided to give him a wonderful fate with little difficulties in his life. There were rarely any human beings she decided to give such a thing to, and Choi Jung Gun just happened to be one of them.
Yet, before he turned twenty – the time where he´d meet his soul mate, the love of his life, the woman who was supposed to give birth to his two daughters and spend the rest of their lives together until both of them died at the same time so that none of them would have to grieve the loss of the other one – the God of Death brought him to another world where his life became filled with sorrow and despair. Back then, she had hated the God of Death for breaking the laws of the gods just to save a world that had been destined to die, just because he originated from there!
But she forgave him. She forgave him, and let him be. But then, he had to meddle with that very world again and again. And it went as far as to meddle with Choi Jung Gun´s family, his relative Choi Han. He was the human whom the God of Life decided to give Choi Jung Gun´s fate to – he was supposed to meet a nice girl on his eighteenth birthday and it´d be love at first sight. He saved her from killing herself because she was ugly, but to him, she was the most beautiful being on the planet, someone he´d kill and die for. They were then supposed to live happily ever after, having two sons and a daughter as well as a dog. Yet, the God of Death meddled with Choi Han´s life a month before he could meet the girl who then died instead of having a great life that she deserved.
But the God of Life forgave him once again. It was because she didn’t think it would happen a third time. The years passed, and she decided to create a human being with the best life possible, until the apocalypse hit at least. Kim Rok Soo was supposed to be that human. His parents were supposed to live long lives and survive the apocalypse with him, develop the most unique abilities and give him unending mental strength. While his uncle was a bastard, he wasn’t supposed to ever meet him as his fate had been to die in a car accident. Kim Rok Soo was supposed to get a little sister by the time he turned seven and he was supposed to meet a handsome man in the apocalypse. They would fall in love, marry and survive together. He was supposed to lose not a single thing in his life and become the happiest human in that ugly apocalypse with special grade abilities.
Yet, that wasn’t the case.
The God of Death´s curse that was put on the White Star´s copycat in the world the God of Death was trying to save so badly, that very curse got on Kim Rok Soo and caused him to lose all of his blessings which the God of Life so carefully put on him. He lost his parents at a time he wouldn’t be able to remember their faces in a car accident – the very car accident that was supposed to take his uncle´s life. He was then forced to live with that very man who was a monster with human´s skin. He lost anyone he loved and didn’t even have time to develop romantic feelings for his supposedly soulmate.
His fate was by far the worst out of everyone.
That was also the first time the God of Life got herself involved in mortal matters as she did her best to stabilize the curse. It wasn’t as strong as it had been, but he´d still lose anyone he lost, yet it was better than before, where he lost anyone he even liked. And Kim Rok Soo was unable to love anyone ever again – at least both he and the God of Life thought so.
And now, now that he was supposed to live the rest of his life in peace and attain his dearest slacker life in his mid-forties, the God of Death meddled with his fate again? That bastard dared to do that?
The God of Life could not leave him be. She simply couldn’t. Kim Rok Soo, that one child, he was special, more special than any of her previous creations. It was because he was a child who defied fate. Back then, when the curse of the God of Death had been active, when he, Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk had been fighting against that unranked monster and Kim Rok Soo miscalculated, that was the time he had been supposed to die. But both Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo had given their best to let him continue his life.
And Kim Rok Soo had gone through enough hardships. He was merely eight years away from his slacker life, and now the God of Death meddled with him again? For what, his original world? It was worth nothing to the God of Life who prioritized her creations. The many different worlds had been there before the gods, and each one of them had a time limit. The time of the world the God of Death came from was already up. Saving that world would mean defying the laws of the universe. It would be absolutely impossible!
The God of Death looked up, a strange and unusually serious expression on his face for once. He frowned upon laying eyes on the God of Life standing in his office. He let out a sigh and shook his head, which made the God of Life return to the here and now.
“You son of a bitch-!”
The God of Life approached the God of Death rather quickly and elegantly in those high heels of hers. She then hit the god´s desk with her powerful fist, breaking it immediately. Naturally, that had been her intention from the beginning.
The God of Death didn’t even look innocent, only a tired expression on his face. He looked like he didn’t even know what the word sleep meant, but the God of Life knew better than to worry about him. It was because the God of Death would always look like this, even if he had just slept and was full of energy.
“What is it now?”
The God of Death sounded annoyed but also a bit teasing, which got the God of Life only angrier.
“You know exactly what´s up, you motherfucker! You did it again! AGAIN! How often must you play around with my special children?!”
The God of Life wanted to cry, but not in front of that bastard, so she got angrier instead.
“My children are not tools for you to use to save that fucking world that was supposed to go to shit more than ten years ago! You bastard, how dare you first take Choi Jung Gun then Choi Han and now even Kim Rok Soo from me?!”
The God of Death stayed silent. He knew better than to respond – or rather interrupt – the God of Life´s little speech.
“No, it wasn’t enough that you just took first Choi Jung Gun and Choi Han, you even had my poor child Kim Rok Soo suffer his whole thirty-six years of living! He looks like a dead fish! He was supposed to live with his parents and Choi Jung Soo a happy life, but no, he´s lying on the shitty, ass cold floor of that run down shed! You took Choi Jung Gun from me, then Choi Han and now Kim Rok Soo as well?! Do you even have a brain?! You´re meddling with the mortal realm more than you should!”
Finally, the God of Life stopped talking, or rather shouting, and breathed in heavily. She was obviously out of breath after shouting for so long without a break. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, yet the betrayed and anger-filled gaze in her eyes didn’t disappear for a single second.
The God of Death was uncomfortable, but he knew better than feel sorry. He did what he had to do. It was because Kim Rok Soo was a variable not even the gods could tell what he would do. While the God of Life lived in the delusion that she still controlled that child´s fate, it was impossible. The God of Death knew that better than anyone else. How often had he been sent down to collect his soul and came back empty handed? It was even before the apocalypse and monster invasion that the child defied his fate.
He was the variable the God of Death had been looking for so desperately. And he was a child that had been blessed by the God of Life and hence was the only perfect choice to save the world he had come from. Now, he just needed to tell that to the God of Life.
“Listen, he won´t have a bad life.”
The God of Life snorted and shortly after broke out in laughter. It was because she didn’t believe the God of Death´s words. The latter sighed and shook his head.
“I made a deal with the God of Time and Space. He will exchange Kim Rok Soo´s soul with Cale Henituse´s. That means that he´ll be free of that curse you´ve been so mad about, isn’t that a good thing?”
The God of Life finally stopped laughing upon hearing the God of Time and Space´s name being mentioned and stared at the God of Death in shock. She stared at the God of Death, unable to hide her true emotions any longer, which were worry and sadness. The God of Death did feel sorry, but his world was simply more important to him that another god´s petty feelings. And wasn’t it like she could simply create another human with the same fate as Kim Rok Soo? Why was she cherishing so much? She didn’t make that big of a fuss even as he transmigrated Choi Jung Gun and Choi Han into his world.
“What on earth have you been drinking?”
The God of Death shrugged and pointed towards his coffee cup.
“Coffee that my left hand made?”
The God of Life rolled her eyes, still unable to hide her true emotions. But now there was also anger in there. Perhaps it was because the God of Death´s left hand man was actually one of her special creations, Choi Jung Soo. While he hadn’t been as special as the others, he had been the partner she chose for Kim Rok Soo to end up with – which naturally failed because of a certain, stupid ass god. Worst of it all was that he didn’t even know of that fate.
“Tsk, you´re the same dipshit as always, tell me, since when did you´ve got your head in your ass?”
The God of Death ignored the God of Life´s vulgar vocabulary and instead simply shrugged.
“Who knows? Anyways, you can´t change anything about this. The God of Time and Space agreed to help me, so just create another human with the same fate.”
The God of Life shook her head, her anger overtaking her once again. She was a bit of a…let´s just call it hothead.
“What did you just say?! Do you have any idea of how I create life? No? Then stay fucking silent!”
Her loud and angry voice still couldn’t hide the hurt she tried to hide in it. The God of Death sighed and got up from his chair.
“I don´t care about that, but what I do care about is the world I come from. And Kim Rok Soo is the only one who can save it. He is a variable, the only variable I know of. He is perfect because none of us can foretell what that child may do in the future.”
The God of Life stayed silent. It was because the God of Death was right. While she did know of Kim Rok Soo´s future, it wasn’t as clear as the others. The fact that she didn’t know that the God of Death would come along and transfer him to another world was the prime example. What she saw was just one of many possibilities of his future, the most probable one. Naturally, nothing was set in stone for him – contrary to other humans. Perhaps that was the reason she fancied him so much.
The God of Death who had been about to exit his own office, stopped in front of the closed doors. He then turned around to add one last thing before he would go and meet up with the God of Time and Space. He sighed. He was no softie, but neither was he a cold-hearted bastard contrary to many beliefs.
“Shouldn’t you be happy? This will free Kim Rok Soo from the curse you´ve been complaining so much about. It will give him a new life and new chances. And with that personality of his, wouldn’t he find many people who would give everything they´ve got – including their lives – for him?”
The God of Life hesitated, then let out a deep sigh. It showed that she had given up and was defeated.
“You are a motherfucking bastard, God of Death. Every single time I decide to create someone with a very fortunate fate with no hardships at all, it´s always you who ruins my creation. It´s always you who destroy everything I´ve worked on for so long. Did you know? To create someone with a fate as fortunate as luck itself I have to give up on a part of my power? And to add a soulmate for life I have to add even more? And every single time I decide to do that, you come along and destroy it.”
The God of Death stayed silent. It wasn’t that he was entirely stupid and had no idea that creating special children with good fortune was hard work. But he simply did not care. It was because he had no interests in such matters, unlike the God of Life. His only goal was to save his world, and he would do anything to do that.
Little did the God know, even gods were powerless against variables and he would come to regret thinking that way tenfold.
But now, the only thing on his mind was his world and how he would finally be able to save it. He finally exited his own office chambers, leaving the God of Life alone. The gorgeous woman finally couldn’t hold back her tears any longer and started crying. It was because Kim Rok Soo was very dear to her. She had looked after him ever since he had been born. He was like her own son, yet she was no mother as she was unable to do anything for him. Sure, she lessened the curse, but that happened after that child lost everything he had held dear. She was a powerless god.
The God of Death, who could hear her cries rather well, let out a deep sigh. But it was necessary, and in the end, the God of Life would be happy with the results as well. After all, breaking the curse was one of her main interests.
The white haired god walked out of the marble building and into a wooden shed that looked shabby but was actually more lavish than the marble buildings most of the gods resided in. This was the place the God of Time and Space lived in.
It was time to do what had to be done.
There was a satisfied smile on the God of Death´s face as he greeted his old friend. The man just sighed and replied with a nod. The God of Time and Space was probably the one god who actually looked like a god. He had shining, golden hair that reminded of actual gold and dark red, ruby irises. With a skin clearer than anyone´s and handsome features, he reminded of a Greek statue. And the way he dressed was godly as well. He was dignified, well-mannered but also arrogant and quick-witted. He was the one god most other gods avoided.
Obviously not the God of Death though.
“Ready to exchange two souls?”
The God of Time and Space rolled his eyes at that, but there was a smirk on his face nonetheless. It was naturally because he loved to experiment and play around with souls, switch them or be it something else. He was a bit of a rascal of some sort.
“Do you have to ask?”
The God of Death smirked as well and shrugged.
“Who knows, maybe you chickened out or something. Didn’t the God of Life complain to you as well?”
The God of Time and Space shook his head, a neutral and rather uninterested expression on his face.
“I heard her when ya talked to her. It´s like ya said: it´s the best option for that Rok Soo and the guy who ya made a deal with.”
The God of Death nodded. That´s right, he had first made a deal with Cale Henituse, the owner of the body the two gods would transfer Kim Rok Soo´s soul in and the man whose soul would replace Kim Rok Soo´s.
“That´s right, he´s gonna see his mother again and Rok Soo will be free of the curse.”
The God of Time and Space rolled his eyes.
“Tsk, ya´re such a hypocrite indeed~ ya wouldn’t care even if that poor child would still be affected by ya curse, as long as he´d save ya world.”
The God of Death simply shrugged. But both of them knew that what the God of Time and Space said was the truth.
“Well, he won´t be affected by the curse anymore, so it doesn’t matter either way.”
The blonde and handsome god shrugged; a smug expression on his face. He knew he was right, the God of Death knew he was right, so what did it matter whether he really admitted it or not, as long as both of them knew?
“Alright, ya ready?”
The white haired god smiled and nodded his head.
“Just make sure you don’t make any mistakes. Kim Rok Soo is a variable after all, one we can´t control.”
The God of Time and Space stared at his old friend with an expression that said “are you serious right now? Ya talking to me, someone who can do anything” but the God of Death swiftly ignored it.
“Okay, okay, who do ya think I am, huh?”
The God of Death shrugged his shoulders and the God of Time and Space first turned time back for the world the God of Death came from. It was now a time when Cale Henituse was about eighteen years old – the time the God of Death and Cale Henituse had agreed on for Kim Rok Soo´s sake.
The God of Time and Space then looked at the God of Death to do his part in this and the god immediately nodded, grabbing Kim Rok Soo´s soul while the man was asleep. At the same time, he did the same with the sleeping Cale Henituse´s. He first took out Kim Rok Soo´s soul and put Cale Henituse´s in, then proceeded to transfer Kim Rok Soo´s soul into Cale Henituse´s eighteen year old body.
The moment the foreign soul entered the new world-domain, the God of Time and Space felt a pull and the very moment the God of Death almost transferred Kim Rok Soo´s soul, the time went back another ten years and without noticing, the God of Death transferred the soul of Kim Rok Soo into the body of an eight year old.
Just as the transfer was done did he hear the God of Time and Space´s loud and vulgar cussing which was even more brutal than the God of Life´s cursing.
“What on earth-“
“Ya think I know what the hell happened? Let me tell ya! Ya dear fucking variable happened! The fuck! Nothing like that ever happened to me! Fucking shit- haaa, anyways, not ma problem anymore~”
The God of Death wasn’t even surprised at his old friend´s sudden mood changes, but he had no time to say something. That situation-
“Can´t we fast time forward?”
His voice sounded more scared than he anticipated which made the God of Time and Space answer in an honest and for once serious manner.
“No, there ain´t nothin´ we can do. But we can always sit back and watch. Wasn’t that Rok Soo a variable? So shouldn’t he be fine?”
Yes, that´s right! Kim Rok Soo was a variable; his fate couldn’t be set in stone! He would be able to survive, rescue the God of Death´s world and anything that came after that! Man, the God of Death sure was a genius!
Well, hopefully that is.
Chapter 2: 1. Cale Henituse (1)
Summary:
Cale realizing things
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Hmmm~”
The small boy lying in the vast bed had trouble turning to his side, but he eventually managed to do so. The problem was the countless blankets he was lying on and lying under and the many pillows spread all over the bed. Still, it was the most comfortable the boy had ever been, at least from what he remembered. And since when was his stone hard, ass cold floor this fluffy and warm? It was so comfy- the boy didn’t ever want to get up.
These sudden thoughts about pillows, a real bed and fluffy blankets woke up the small child immediately. His eyes widened as he noticed that he had been sleeping in a real bed with real pillows and real blankets instead of his uncomfortable floor on which he certainly had fallen asleep on.
The boy quickly sat up, regretting the fast movement immediately. There was a throbbing pain and he had trouble breathing. Nevertheless, those feelings quickly disappeared and he quickly moved over to the edge of the bed. It was strange, had beds always been this big, wide and long? And had they always been this tall so that his feet weren´t able to touch the ground.
…Huh?!
Why couldn’t his feet touch the ground?
Sure, they were almost there, but there was still an inch or two (actually three) that were between his feet and the floor. Looking at his feet now, those were definitely not the feet of a thirty-six year old man but rather those of a small child! What on earth happened? Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but become anxious at this sudden situation he was currently in. He looked around the vast room in which his small little home shed would be able to fit in twice. There was needlessly much room for nothing! The only things in this immensely big room were his bed, and a big velvet couch with the same colored armchairs and a coffee-table next to them. That inventor – there was no way Kim Rok Soo had been in a room like this before.
Everything looked incredibly expensive. The room reminded him of Europe. There was gold everywhere! Hell, even the dark red walls had golden aspects in them! What on earth was happening? How on earth was Kim Rok Soo here? Why was he here?
The boy lifted his right hand and looked at it for a long while. The hand was pale and thin and it looked unhealthy. But there were no scars or bruises on it. Kim Rok Soo had had scars all over his body when he was an adult and when he had been a child, he didn’t exactly have scars but he had always had bruises until he turned fifteen and broke free from the grasps of his abusive uncle.
But seeing that nothing was on his arm, even though it looked a bit unhealthy, he felt somewhat relieved. He didn’t know what he had expected, but for a split second he had considered the possibility that he had returned in the past.
There had been a single time Kim Rok Soo´s uncle had taken him on a trip. It had been a business trip to France. Back then, Kim Rok Soo had been around eight years old. He didn’t recall every single detail, but the room had been fancy as well, though it wasn’t as big as this one. His uncle had almost abandoned him there, no; killed would have been the better choice of words.
Kim Rok Soo shook his head and pushed himself off of the bed. The whole floor was covered with an expensive carpet, one that looked more expensive than Kim Rok Soo´s whole company – and his company hadn´t too bad of a net worth.
But the carpet did its job at being soft and warm and just perfect. Kim Rok Soo didn’t recall having ever felt than kind of feeling before. He sighed and decided to ignore it for now. Instead, the young boy approached one of the two doors that looked like it´d lead to the bathroom, as the other door seemed more…extravagant.
And, he was right, like always. The simple seeming yet extremely expensive looking door that Kim Rok Soo opened led to a vast bathroom half the size of the bedroom he had woken up in. It was a very big bathroom, quite unnecessary actually, yet still quite nice looking at. The bathroom, too, was full of golden details. At this point, it was just wasteful. Still, to Kim Rok Soo who loved nothing more than money, it looked like a dream.
Yet, the young boy had no time to admire the bathroom as he quickly walked to look at the nearest mirror – which turned out to be quite a challenge. In this vast, lavish bathroom, there was no full-body mirror! There was only one mirror, the one above the sink, and naturally Kim Rok Soo was way too small to look into it.
Getting annoyed, he returned to his bedroom and looked for something – anything that could make him bigger. Most of the furniture looked way too heavy for him to carry; hence the choice fell to the few, thick books lying on the coffee table. Taking all seven of them at once – hell were they heavy! – the boy carried them into the bathroom and put them down in front of the sink. Due to them being incredibly thick, even thicker than the average novel, they made him about twenty-four inches taller. It was a hell of a lot, but for some reason, Kim Rok Soo still wasn’t able to see much besides his face and perhaps two inches of his chest.
Nevertheless, that was enough. He was definitely a young boy, perhaps about seven years old. He had crimson red hair that reminded him of blood – and Kim Rok Soo was very familiar with that color. His face was strangely chubby – considering his incredibly thin arms and legs as well as his extremely weak body. Still, he was thankful that he looked like a normal child at least. His cheeks were almost pink too.
Perhaps, he was lucky for once. Maybe, just maybe, a higher power decided to give him a second chance at life and gave him a new body, that of a child and-
No, this must be something else.
Kim Rok Soo was certain. There was no such thing as a free meal in life. There must be something he was missing right now. Even if this was his new reality, where was this? It didn’t look like the modern times he knew and the place also didn’t look the least bit Korean.
Kim Rok Soo let out a deep sigh and shook his head. He had to figure out just what had happened and if it was just temporary or forever. Though, if it indeed was forever, Kim Rok Soo wouldn’t really mind that much. It was obviously because he was certain that his team members were better off without him. He didn’t really have any attachments in his past life; anything that had been important to him was gone anyways. He just wondered if he had died and incarnated into this body or whether it was something else.
But it didn’t really matter how he got here. He would figure it out eventually, hopefully at least.
The young boy let out a deep sigh. It was strange. He recalled everything from his past life perfectly – which led him to the conclusion that he still had his ´Record´ ability. He wasn’t as stupid as to try out his other ´Instant´ ability which had caused him to have so many scars in the past. He had to treat this new body of his with his utmost care, after all.
The young boy nodded his head. That´s right, that´s what he should do.
He finally jumped down from the twenty-three inch book staircase that was more than half his own size. Now that he thought about it, he was an incredibly small child. Was he really around seven or perhaps even younger? Kim Rok Soo did not know.
But he had to find out. He also had to find out his name, his family member´s names and how he looked – or if he even had a family, what era he was in and where he even was. Was this still the earth he knew and perhaps it was simply another era or was this place something akin to another universe?
He had many questions that he needed answers to if he wanted to survive. The most important question was whether this new family of his even owned any money. If they did, he would attain his long dreamt slacker life after all!
Excitement that he hadn’t felt in years was flooding through the redhead´s veins, yet his expression showed no signs of it whatsoever. Instead, the boy had a neutral, emotionless even, expression on his face, and somewhat of dead fish eyes, if one could call them that. His reddish-brown eyes looked dull, just like in his previous life. They were also the only thing that stayed the same – as he had, back when he had been the real Kim Rok Soo, the same eye-color.
“…What now?”
Kim Rok Soo knew nothing about this place, the person he had become or anything else actually. The only thing he knew was that he was a young boy. He speculated that the young boy he had become came from a very rich family – judging by the expensive looking room, furniture and decorations he had woken up to.
Either way, Kim Rok Soo had no idea on what he was supposed to do now. Should he just wait? Should he study something? What was he actually supposed to do? After thinking for a few seconds, he decided to do the most reasonable thing – return to bed and pretend to have never woken up in first place. If he truly was the son of some rich ass family, they would certainly send some servant to wake him up. And if that was the case, that servant would surely call out his name.
Nodding at his genius plan, Kim Rok Soo climbed back into the incredibly comfortable bed. He wished he had never gotten out in first place, but there had been things that had to be done and they were of utmost importance for his survival. After all, Kim Rok Soo did not want to die.
Living is the best, wasn’t it?
The child closed his eyes and made himself comfortable, hoping that servant wouldn’t come in sometime soon.
Well, he was wrong.
Just a few minutes after Kim Rok Soo returned to bed, there was a knocking sound on the door. The redhead sighed in defeat and continued to act as if he were still asleep. After a second knock followed and the young boy still didn’t utter an answer, the person who had been knocking on the door opened it and entered the vast rooms.
Kim Rok Soo did not hear his footsteps; it was as if a ghost had entered. Yet, he could very well hear the tired sounding sigh coming from the servant. A few seconds later, he could feel a warm hand gently shaking him.
“Young master-nim, wake up. It´s time to rise and shine.”
While that voice sounded incredibly gentle, there was something in it that led Kim Rok Soo to believe that the servant was tired, thus he decided to not give him a hard time. He groggily opened his eyes, pretending to truly have been asleep a few moments ago. Kim Rok Soo´s acting was top notch, something even the servant didn’t know to distinct.
After opening his eyes and turning around to face the servant, Kim Rok Soo noticed that it was a middle aged man, perhaps in his early or mid-fifties. His brown hair had already turned grey and there were wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, indicating that he was someone who had been smiling rather often. Still, that kind of face and those kinds of eyes didn’t exactly look like they belonged to a person who smiled often. Kim Rok Soo got the shivers for some reason, yet decided to ignore it.
The old butler smiled benignly, yet his eyes were cold. Kim Rok Soo felt like a lamb in a lion´s den. Something about that old servant – it creeped him out. Perhaps it was those cold, grey eyes, perhaps that strangely benign smile, perhaps just everything about that guy, he couldn’t tell.
“Um-“
Before Kim Rok Soo could say anything, the old man helped him get out of bed while talking about how he should get ready quickly.
“I must apologize, young master-nim, but this incompetent old man was too occupied to come wake you up earlier.”
Kim Rok Soo just nodded, his stoic expression still on his face. This made the old butler sigh and shake his head. He stopped smiling so benignly and kneeled down in front of the small child.
“Young master-nim, if there´s anything bothering you, you can tell me anytime.”
Kim Rok Soo frowned, and slowly nodded his head, his uncertainty and distrust was obvious. The old butler sighed and took the two little hands of the young boy into his big ones.
“Young master-nim, please really do tell me or my son if something comes up that you want to talk about. I know it´s difficult right now, with the Lady´s death but-“
The old butler stopped talking as soon as he noticed the young boy´s eyes widening and how he started to slightly tremble at the mention of the Lady. Kim Rok Soo was not stupid, and perhaps it was because he was in a child´s body right now, but his emotions got amplified tenfold. He was shocked to hear that someone died.
Contrary to many beliefs and rumors in his company back in South Korea, Kim Rok Soo was no cold-hearted man; he just acted as one because he thought he was one. He was also not used to death. No matter how many times he listened to someone tell him news of some person´s death, something inside him shut down. Usually, he was excellent at maintaining his usual, stoic and cold as well as emotionless façade, yet as a child, he wasn’t able to. And if his way of thinking was correct, the old servant meant his mother when saying ´Lady´.
Did he lose his mother in his second life as well? Was he not allowed to have a mother? Did he do something incredibly wrong in the past?
The old servant sighed as he leaned in and hugged to boy. Kim Rok Soo did not remember a time where he last had been hugged. It must have been over a decade ago when Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk still had been alive.
“Don´t worry Cale, everything will be alright, just calm down, alright?”
Kim Rok Soo stopped shaking and took a deep breath, trying to get back to his usual self. While it certainly was more difficult to do so and maintain that stoic expression, it was indeed doable. Instead of thinking about his second life´s mother´s death, he focused on the new piece of information that he got from the old servant.
He had called him Cale, which meant that his name was Cale. It sounded oddly familiar – just like the name of the minor villain in the book ´The Birth of a Hero´ which he had read before transmigrating into this strange little world.
“Very good, young master-nim~ do you wish to visit Beacrox in the kitchen for breakfast, rather than eat alone again? Today is the day of the Lady´s funeral after all.”
The servant´s voice was oddly calm, but he wasn’t smiling like before and his eyes weren´t as strangely empty as when he had been smiling so benignly. Kim Rok Soo – no, his name was now Cale – decided that it was for the best to know more about his surroundings, hence he agreed. The old butler nodded his head in delight and quickly helped the young child get ready.
Then, a few minutes later, Cale wore an all-black outfit, suitable for a European funeral. He was now certain that this world was more similar to the western world in his old world.
The old butler took Cale´s small little hand into his and began slowly walking. The young redhead was incredibly small (only 3´3ft) and precious, giving the old servant the feeling that he could get lost at any second. He would have picked him up like he usually always did, yet he didn’t dare after what happened the last time he tried.
He glances at the calm child walking next to him. Something seemed off today, but the old and incredibly observant servant blamed that change of behavior on the changes in the child´s life. Losing his mother had been difficult enough, but now his father decided to ignore him as well?
The servant got angry, just thinking about the head of the house´s incredibly dumb and neglectful behavior. That precious child that was currently walking hands in hands with him was the most adorable being to ever exist. And that child hadn’t smiled in two weeks – ever since his mother died and his father started ignoring him. While it seemed like he had stopped caring about that today, the old man had seen the look on the child´s eyes when he had mentioned his mother.
After walking down the staircase carefully and a few right and left turns, the two of them arrived at the kitchen where the old servant´s son, Beacrox, was. Now that Kim Rok- no, now that Cale was thinking about it, didn’t the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ also mention a certain man called Beacrox? And that man was the minor villain´s, Cale Henituse´s, servant!
And Beacrox was supposed to be related to his father, the assassin working as a butler, Ron! Cale´s eyes widened in realization. This couldn’t be a coincidence. He had learned long ago that nothing in this world was a coincidence.
Cale Henituse was described as an incredibly handsome man with crimson red hair and reddish-brown eyes – the same way he looked like right now! While he looked about ten to twelve years younger, he was now certain.
The old man whose hand he was currently holding being Ron Molan, an assassin pretending to be a loyal subject of a noble family to hide his true identity, would also explain the soundless footsteps in the early morning. If Cale´s hypothesis was correct and he indeed did become Cale Henituse-
Cale tripped over his own feel all of a sudden – as he was too lost in his thought to focus on his surroundings – causing the old butler to hold him up. The old man, already regretting his decision before he even did anything, lifted the young child into his arms.
“Young master-nim let me carry you this time.”
Cale didn’t reply and stayed silent. He instead looked over the old butler´s shoulder, noticing the many people who kept looking at him with pitiful gazes. Even when he was still Kim Rok Soo, Cale hated those types of gazes the most. What did it help him if other looked at him with pity? Would it bring back the lost ones? Would it help them rest in peace?
Both were very unlikely things to happen – no, impossible things to happen. The only thing those pitying gazes were good for was to brag about how they had helped a young child get over his loss.
Those people who looked like servants were the pitiful ones. Those people should be looked at the way they were currently looking at Cale. Those people were here with no money and working as servants and-
No. Cale shook his head. That wasn’t right. Those people were not pitiful as they were just people living their lives normally. It was within human nature to look at someone you pitied with pity. He was the truly pitiful one because he still didn’t control his emotions correctly, unlike before. Becoming a child truly was quite difficult.
Perhaps this was the reason why children were always so honest.
After a little while, Cale and the old servant carrying him arrived at the kitchen. There weren´t too many people, just three men: two looked exactly the same and had not a single special trait about them, the third one looked oddly similar to the old servant, but younger and more handsome. He had brown hair and brown eyes, yet he had something very special about him – and it was not his dead-ass-pan look that he gave everyone – well, until he spotted his father entering the kitchen with the small redheaded child in his arms.
Almost immediately, the head chef´s eyes light up. While he did not smile, Cale actually preferred it that way. It was because eyes were akin to the window to a human´s true soul – or something like that? What he was getting at was that the eyes told a person who really looked everything about the other person. And Beacrox, that guy seemed to be really happy about Cale´s and his father´s visit. While Cale was convinced he was mostly happy because of his father, he quickly changed his mind as soon as Beacrox took him gently away from the old butler´s grip and instead held onto him himself.
There was a slight (almost-)smile on the man´s face which represented his happiness about the child´s visit.
“Good morning young master-nim, would you want your favorite food for breakfast today? It´s been such a long while since you last visited me in the kitchen.”
Cale just nodded his head, not really wanting to say something. Beacrox exchanged looks with his father who just shrugged, making the cook sigh.
“Alright, then pancakes it is.”
The head chef got ready to prepare his favorite child´s breakfast without even putting Cale down. Honestly, it impressed the redhead quite a bit, making him hold onto the cook´s jacket.
Beacrox had lost his mother when he was young as well, though he hadn’t been as young as Cale. It hadn’t even been ten years and he already missed her greatly. The chef, while he didn’t look like it, was still in his early twenties. He had lost his mother when he had been fifteen, seven years older than the young child in his arms.
Honestly speaking, Beacrox thought that Cale losing his mother before he even turned ten was a disaster, but he had been certain that Cale´s father, Deruth, would be as responsible as his own father had been when he lost his mother.
And oh boy was he wrong.
At first, the head chef who spend most of the time in the kitchen anyways, didn’t notice it, no one did, but as the Count came down here to announce that all of his son´s meals were to be delivered to the child´s room instead of the dining hall it was clear.
He did not want to see his son. He did not want to listen to his son. He did not want to be with his son.
Hence Cale didn’t just lose his mother, but to a certain extend also his father. Maybe that was why Beacrox was so reluctant in letting him go – no, that was a lie. The head chef simply adored the small child he had seen grown up so fast and he was simply too adorable to let go. Even now!
“Beacrox, you better give him back before something happens to our precious young master-nim.”
The head chef turned around with a “you serious?”-sort of expression. Cale just stayed silent and observed the father-son interaction. He started to doubt his hypothesis. The novel he read, ´The Birth of a Hero´ described the Molan father-son duo as vicious, emotionless and col-heart. It said that the two of them never loved or cherished Cale and didn’t care for him in the least bit. While they were still serving him as reliable employees of the Henituse County, they disliked him because he lost the Count´s favor from a very young age.
Right now, seeing Beacrox hold him so gently and the old man wanting to hold him back in his arms, Cale felt like he hadn’t become a minor villain – or if he indeed did, the novel´s author Nelan Barrow, was an insolent narrator who didn’t capture anything.
Still, if it indeed had been Nelan Barrow´s bad narrating skills, why would Ron and Beacrox leave Cale Henituse in the novel? ´The Birth of a Hero´ mentioned that Beacrox was impressed by Choi Han´s, the protagonist of the novel and continent´s hero, strength and wanted to go with him, and since Ron would do anything for his son, they left with Choi Han – after he beat Cale Henituse to a pulp.
Naturally, the minor villain wasn’t all too innocent, yet the point was that the Molan father-son duo left Cale Henituse. That old man – who Cale was incredibly uncertain about whether he truly was Ron Molan or not – and the head chef Beacrox didn’t seem like the people out of the novel.
But maybe – just maybe – they were affectionate towards him because he was a child who had just lost his mother. No, that didn’t seem to be the case, judging by the two servants personalities. Cale could tell that they wouldn’t behave that way simply out of pity.
Did that mean that – assumed that Kim Rok Soo had indeed become Cale Henituse – the minor villain in the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ has lost the favor of his servants while growing up? Well, it was possible as he was described as a drunkard who threw bottles at innocent bystanders and got drunk almost every day – even at 10am in the morning.
Cale started thinking about the many possibilities. If he could just confirm the name of this servant-
“Hey Ron! The Count´s looking for you!”
And there it was – the confirmation Cale had needed. It were actually two things he just got confirmed: First of all, the name of the old man was indeed Ron – Ron Molan – and second of all, he was at a County, which meant that his father was the Count, what on the other hand would mean that it would overlap with the novel´s description of Cale Henituse being the son of Count Deruth Henituse.
“Count Henituse is?”
And there it was.
Cale´s eyes widened in shock as the old butler Ron handed him over to his son once again and followed the servant out of the kitchen. Cale was left alone with Beacrox Molan, who was preparing pancakes for him. The son of the most skilled assassin was preparing breakfast for him. That very Beacrox who had been described as cold to Cale throughout his whole childhood.
Cale, who indeed had become the minor villain Cale Henituse from the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´, couldn’t believe his bad luck. Wasn’t he supposed to get beaten up by Choi Han, the hero and protagonist of this series, just for some reader-entertainment and for Choi Han to vent out his anger?
The eight year old child had at that very moment a very particular thought. He was someone who hated pain more than anything – he would prefer to roll around in dog shit rather than getting beaten up by some overpowered munchkin novel´s protagonist. Hence, he had to prevent that from happening at all costs!
But that wasn’t all too important right now, was it? The young child looked up at Beacrox, who had put him down on a soft chair so he could cook better and more comfortable (well, without worrying that the adorable and cute child would accidentally get burnt or something like that).
That´s right, the things that were important right now were gathering information, survive as a child and perhaps even win over both of the Molan´s affection. While Cale would prefer if both Ron and Beacrox would go away with Choi Han, that event would only happen a whole decade later, which would make it easier to simply win over both Ron´s and Beacrox´ hearts. Truth to be told, Cale could sent them away at any time later on, couldn’t he?
A strange sigh escaped the child´s lips, but no one noticed. The redhead´s mood immediately lightened up as the head chef put down the plate full of pancakes for the little child to eat.
Yeah, Cale could always think about those things later. The important thing right now was to eat.
Notes:
Oke, so its almost 2:30 am right now and I think I´m running low on sugar (but nvm that no one minds a midnight or two am snack) and I think I did more than one mistake, but I am way too lazy to read over it, so y´all have to live with my mistakes.
If you have any questions, please ask right away, cuz I dont trust my tired ass to write this shit like a normal powered me-ass does...I promise I´ll correct my mistakes one day~ in the far, far away future.
Anyways, hope you liked it. I didnt see any fics like this and wanted to try out doing something new, so I really want to know whether it´s good shit or a flop~thx and have a fun time waiting for an update~
Chapter 3: 2. Cale Henituse (2)
Summary:
Attending a funeral in which Deruth is a dick
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
He regretted his choice of action almost immediately.
After finishing his food, he noticed the strange looks the servants around him were giving him – with the exception of the head chef Beacrox. Those looks soon turned to disgusted glares. Cale did not understand how the prior pitying gazes had turned to something like this so fast. And what did he even do? He just ate, like he was told.
Pretending not to see those sickening glares, the small child looked up at the head chef. Since he was no ordinary head chef but the Beacrox Molan from the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ there was little to no chance that he didn’t notice the servants´ of behavior, yet he did not utter a single word. Did he perhaps know something?
Cale quickly dismissed that idea as he watched Beacrox turn around and give the servants staring at the eight year old redhead with a vicious deadpan expression. For some reason, he didn’t look like he would go easy on those servants just because they were only glaring and not really doing anything.
“Young master-nim let me accompany you to your room. My father will pick you up later, to go to the funeral.”
Cale simply nodded. He was too lazy to walk and since Beacrox already picked him up, he didn’t say something and let the son of an assassin take care of him. Either way, it was for the best, since he could bury his face in the man´s shoulder and did not have to look at the other servants. He´d rather not see those disgusted glares that replace the ones filled with utter pity for the child.
Beacrox silently glared at every single servant who dared to even look at his young master-nim. It was because, while they didn’t have those sickening disgusted expressions on their faces, pity was no better. The cook silently carried the light child, his mind filled with all sorts of cruel and savage thoughts.
It was no use; he was a torture expert after all.
Cale´s mind, on the contrary, was filled with all sorts of surviving related thoughts. He just remembered thanks to Beacrox that today was no simple day but the day of Cale Henituse´s mother´s funeral – his mother´s funeral. That had been the reason the old man – Ron – had been so tired; he had been busy with the funeral preparations.
Cale hated funerals. Back when he was still Kim Rok Soo, almost every single day had become a day people died. Every single day, his company´s people died, his coworkers lost their lives and got buried six feet underground – together with the monster who ate them, ripped them to shreds of pulverized them to ashes. Life was never easy, even before the monster apocalypse.
Therefore, he had been to many funerals, and they were all the same. Sad people crying over dead people – Kim Rok Soo never understood why. Would their cries change something? Would it bring back the dead? If not, obviously not, why did they cry? Why couldn’t they compose themselves?
Kim Rok Soo had never, not even once, cried at a funeral. That was the origin of his cold and stone-hearted image. He didn’t even cry at his family´s funeral, not the one from his parents, not the one from Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo. When he had been still a child, around four years old, and was brought to his parent´s funeral, he did not comprehend that his parents were gone – gone like in dead-gone. He had been confused as everything was simply too much for him.
And when he turned into an adult, he had mastered masking his emotions to the extent that even he didn’t feel them himself. He could be devastated and not notice it, or be anxious and think that he was just feeling a bit uneasy.
Either way, funerals were not something Kim Rok Soo, or now Cale, liked to be at. Naturally, no one did, but to Cale they were even worse. He did not know this body´s mother. The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ didn’t mention much about Deruth Henituse´s first wife and Cale Henituse´s mother.
It did mention though that her name was Jour Thames and that she died after receiving an injury in a carriage accident after her trip to Harris village. The novel didn’t go into much details about anything else, not what happened after the accident, not what happened to the family dynamics, not anything but that Count Deruth found himself a new wife only one year later and married her.
Cale frowned. That meant that he had zero information about his current family situation, his relationship with the Count and anyone else. He didn’t know whether he had any friends or how Cale Henituse behaved.
Actually, wasn’t this for the better?
The more Cale thought about it, the clearer his mind became. That´s right, he shouldn’t look at it as a problem but rather as an opportunity. And if he took it, he´d also change his fate and not get beaten up by Choi Han in the future!
Right now, his mother had just died. A mother´s death was bound to impact the child – changing his natural behavior and mental state permanently. This meant that even if Cale started to behave like he usually did, it wouldn’t be as suspicious as it would have been if he had come to this world at another point in time.
Having set his vague plan, Cale could finally relax a little. He´d have to work very hard from now on, but with a little bit of luck, he´d be able to attain his slacker life in his late teens or early twenties. He´d avoid the civil war; the conflict with the Whipper Kingdom and Mongoru Empire, and live a quiet life in some hidden, faraway corner no one would be ever able to find. He´d loot Count Henituse´s money and run away.
A somewhat proud expression was on the child´s face as he nodded to himself. Beacrox didn’t notice the small movement and just continued walking.
But first, Cale would have to do something against his weak body. Never on earth would he exercise or anything of the sort. He´d have to find a way to protect himself without doing anything – and he already had a good idea on how he´d be able to do it.
As this world truly seemed to be the world of the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´, there was a power called ´ancient power´ that could be found. The novel describes coming across a single ancient power as a fateful and extremely lucky encounter and something so precious and unique, it was as rare as encountering a real dragon.
But Cale did not believe in fate or luck.
Beacrox opened to doors to his room and set the child down on the floor, smiling slightly before bowing down and leaving. A smirk appeared on the redhead´s face now that he was alone.
He had an advantage. A real, good advantage that only he and he alone had! Having read that munchkin novel up to its fifth volume and having recorded all of it, he knew what would happen in the faraway future which was ten whole years from now. But that did not matter. Knowing the future was just a plus. It wasn’t like he´d get involved in the plotline. Choi Han would be the hero and he would just play the role of the small side character, a small fry, but he wouldn’t get beaten up like in the novel.
The real advantage that he got because he read that novel, was knowing exact details about several ancient powers that had been mentioned there. The novel was, for a munchkin and overpowered-protagonist novel, a little too descriptive. But it still payed off, having read every single line and recorded it.
That´s right, Cale would just collect a few ancient powers to protect himself, then disappear someplace no one would ever be able to find him with Count Henituse´s money.
The adorable, eight year old child nodded at his genius master plan. He couldn’t start right now, but he would make sure to collect the first ancient power mentioned in the novel in the next six months. It was because it was in the Henituse territory already and he wouldn’t have all too many problems doing so. The only little issue was him being an eight year-old kid who looked even younger than he was…
And another issue would be that the other ancient powers that were mentioned in the novel weren´t as close as the ancient power in the Henituse territory…
Well, he could think about that when it was time to get the other ancient powers. Right now, he had to do two things: prepare for his mother´s funeral and gather information on his current situation. He could plan his survival strategy of not getting beaten up in the faraway future after he had gotten some input to work with. After all, he needed to know where he was standing.
While Cale Henituse had been described as an arrogant noble – your typical villain-to-go fantasy novel noble whose whole existence was created to give the main character a few troubles and to give him some sort of a power boost – Cale did not think he could rely on the novel´s information about Cale Henituse that much. After all, it didn’t mention his childhood, past hardships or anything and just portrayed his as a minor villain with no mind.
But, that was something he could think about later as well. Cale walked across the room and sat down on one of the two velvet armchairs standing next to the vast velvet couch. He then picked up one of the seven books lying on the coffee table which he had used in the morning as some sort of stepping stool to look at himself in the mirror.
It was a thick book which was definitely not written in Korean, yet, for some odd reason, Cale could read it. Perhaps it was because the body he was in was able to read it. Now that he thought about it, the language here didn’t sound Korean as well, yet he was able to understand it the whole time.
Cale just dismissed this small issue that wasn’t really an issue and opened the heavy book. It was thick, the pages were thin and the font size was small. It looked like a dictionary, but was actually something more akin to a history book. There were little to no pictures – compared to the two thousand pages that book consisted of.
Putting the book back down, Cale let out a deep sigh. He could read and record it after the funeral to gather more information about the current timeline and history. Sure, the ´Birth of a Hero´ had been very descriptive, but it was still a world built around the protagonist Choi Han and thus didn’t mention the land´s and continent´s history too much.
A sigh escaped Cale´s lips as he started to think about the funeral instead of the Roan Kingdom´s history. Jour Thames. He did not know anything else about that woman, his mother. He didn’t know her personality, what she was like, whether she had been a loving and doting mother or a bit more of a strict one, and he also didn’t know whether he had a good or not so good relationship with her. He assumed she was a bit more of a strict mother, judging by the complicated books lying on the coffee table, yet at the same time he didn’t think so. By the way the old servant Ron had looked at him, it seemed like Cale Henituse had loved his mother very much.
Cale did not know a mother´s soft touch and gentle kisses. His mother died just before he turned four and he had not many memories of her. Actually, he didn’t even recall what she and his father looked like. Therefore, having lost his other mother, even as Cale Henituse, still felt strange.
He may not have known her, but she couldn’t have been a bad woman. Perhaps she was the best mother to little Cale Henituse, causing him to turn out like he did in the novel. Thinking about that possibility sounded strangely right. Cale frowned. It would also explain his obsession with alcohol and sleep; alcohol played with a person´s mind, it made one unresponsive; not there practically. And sleep was akin to that state. Both were an escape from reality.
The original Cale Henituse started drinking shortly before he turned fifteen, probably because anything under would have caused a mass panic and whatnot. Perhaps, just maybe, it all was caused by him not being able to take the pain of his mother´s loss.
It wasn’t a bad theory, but Cale would have to look for himself. After all, there was still Count Deruth Henituse, the father of Cale Henituse. The Cale Henituse from the novel only lost his mother, not his father, meaning that his father was bound to help him get over the loss of his mother. Sure, a mother´s death was impactful, but as long as the father was still there, everything should turn out well.
Cale nodded to himself and his thought-through conclusion that he reached. He´d manage anything that would get thrown at him, like he always did. It wasn’t that difficult, after all, now was it? And going to one more funeral, how hard could that be?
~
Cale changed his mind immediately, as soon as he was picked up by Ron and accompanied to one of the two fancy carriages with the Henituse crest on them. He wanted to ask why there were two carriages, but decided not to care. Perhaps it was a tradition in the Roan Kingdom or something like that. The old butler sighed as he caught the young child whose hand he was holding look over to the other carriage in which Count Deruth Henituse was.
That bastard of a father didn’t even want to get on the same carriage with his son, not even on the day of the child mother´s funeral! He could understand the grief the Count was feeling too well, he had lost his wife too, but what of earth made that sack of shit think that it was okay to neglect an eight-year old child?! Just because he resembled Jour Thames did that mean that his death was sealed?! Ron did not understand the Count´s irresponsible behavior. Neglecting his and Jour´s child like that, the old butler would have killed the man ten times over if it didn’t mean that he´d take Cale´s father´s life.
“Young master-nim, are you feeling alright?”
Ron got on the carriage with Cale and observed the small child spacing out. Little did he know, Cale was just thinking about the traditions of the Roan Kingdom which he didn’t know about and how cold they were, which was naturally caused by him misunderstanding the whole situation with the two separate carriages.
The redhead looked up at the old butler and simply nodded.
“Don´t worry about.”
The old man´s calm expression immediately changed and Ron started frowning. That child, that very child he had been looking over for the last eight years, had never, not even once spoken like an adult. While it was true that Cale had been giving him and his son the silent treating for the past two weeks, ever since he was informed of his mother´s death, Ron didn’t think it was that serious and only a temporary thing. Yet, seeing the child look so…untouched and somewhat disconnected and emotionless…it sent shivers down the butlers spine, making him think that the Countess death was by far more impactful than he had imagines.
Naturally, he was convinced that the Count wasn’t innocent in this change in Cale´s behavior as well, since he had been so neglectful of him ever since the Countess died. Perhaps it was too much for Cale. He had tried to help his father to the best of his abilities, yet the only thing that old coward did was shove him away, leaving him all alone.
The worst of it all was that Cale thought it was okay. He really thought that the Count´s actions were fine, that he could be treated that horrible way-
“Young master-nim-“
Ron could not finish his sentence after he looked at the young redhead. It was because Cale wasn’t even looking at him but out of the window. He seemed absent, as if his mind was wandering elsewhere. And it was. He was thinking about how big the whole estate was. The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ did mention that the Henituse family was incredibly rich, filthy rich even. There was a line in the first volume that read ´Count Henituse could buy every single person on the Western a two story house and still afford to buy himself and his family every riches they dreamt of´. When Cale had read that line, he had been laughing, as it was incredibly unrealistic. He still didn’t quite believe it, but he was convinced that even if he was to loot enough money for him to live for the rest of his life comfortably in hiding, the Count wouldn’t exactly mind and hunt after him.
Still, his expression revealed nothing. He had the same expression on his face as when he still had been Kim Rok Soo, a stoic expression that was absolutely expressionless. Ron, who was not used to his little, puppy like young master-nim having that sort of expression on his face, didn’t like that sort of change at all. He preferred how Cale was like in the past, when his face mirrored his every emotion.
The old man stayed silent and just observed. Perhaps this change was just for the day, even if he doubted it greatly. It was simply that…he sincerely hoped that the eight year old child would quickly return to his usual self again.
But his gut feeling (and hence experience as an assassin) was telling him that this wouldn’t be the case. No, he was almost certain that Cale had completely changed ever since waking up this morning. Usually, Cale wasn’t able to sleep alone. Ever since his mother died, he had terrible nightmares he didn’t really talk about. He just said that he couldn’t sleep, but it was obvious that it was because of nightmares. He would go to sleep late and wake up early, and when he did, he would usually try to read one of the many boring books lying around in his bedroom in an attempt to go back to sleep – but he never succeeded.
Today, the old butler had found him lying asleep on his bed peacefully. He had been way too delighted at first to even notice that it´d be strange for the little boy to sleep so peacefully on the day of his mother´s funeral.
Then there was this thing that Cale accepted his help when changing and his hand when walking, hell, he even let himself be picked up again! Just like before, the old man had been way too overjoyed by all of these every so little actions that he didn’t even notice that something could be wrong with the little boy.
But now, now that he was looking at the little redhead, he could see it. There was this empty gaze in his ever so joyous eyes. It was as if he´d become a puppet, there to comply with every order, unable to voice his own opinion.
Ron did not like that development and would rather have back his sleep deprived but still somewhat normal young master-nim.
The carriage soon departed, following after the one the Count was in. It wasn’t a long but a silent ride. Count Deruth Henituse had planned for his wife to be buried next to her favorite tree, the one she loved visiting on top of one of the many hills in the Henituse territory. The carriages brought the remaining family members to the foot of the hill, as it was impossible to get on the hill with the carriages.
Count Henituse was also the first to get off the carriage. As Cale got out, he curiously looked around his surroundings, that is, until he spotted the elegantly dressed man who didn’t look the least bit like him. Count Deruth Henituse had plain brown hair and chocolate brown eyes yet still looked somewhat handsome. He was tall and had a somewhat tanned skin. He had a sturdy built, and all in all he looked nothing like the weak and frail, pale redheaded child with the reddish-brown eyes.
The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ did mention that Cale Henituse resembled his mother and that he was just like a copy of her, well, just a manly copy though. It seemed that that was indeed true.
Cale looked up at the old butler standing next to him. He had a bad feeling, hence raised his arm and tucked on the old man´s sleeve for Ron to take his hand again. Obviously, the old man didn’t let his sleeve be tucked twice. He smiled benignly as he carefully guided Cale up the tall hill.
The Count scoffed at the sight of his son and turned his head around. He did not want to see his son. Right now, there was a hatred buried deep inside his heart for that child, a hatred that originated from his dead wife´s last spoken words.
´Deruth, promise me you´ll take care of Cale. You have to promise me! Promise!´
It was right before Jour departed to Harris village and the night before the accident. She had spoken as if she already knew that she was going to die. It annoyed him to the bone that the only person she talked about was their son and not him. He lived in the delusion that he was his only love, the most important person in her life – just like she was the love of his life, the most important person of his life. But that was not the case.
He understood it now.
Jour had loved that child more than she loved him. It explained all the time she spent with that child and how she looked at him and smiled at him more than she looked at Deruth and smiled at Deruth.
It had always been annoying, sharing his affection with a child, but if it made Jour happy he´d stay silent and do it.
But not anymore! That child, he was a walking resemblance to the dead love of his life! Every single time he spotted him, memories of his dead wife flashed before his eyes, fueling his hatred for that child even more. If it hadn’t been for that child, Deruth could have lived happily ever after with his dead wife and she wouldn’t be dead right now!
Deruth scoffed. He was right. His wife´s death, it was all that thing´s fault that was his son. He would never forgive that ´thing´ for taking the love of his life away from him.
After staring at the eight year old child, the Count started to climb the hill as well, up to the grave of his dead wife.
It didn’t take long, and Ron arrived hand in hand with the small, out of breath child on top of the hill. It was a wide hill and there were a lot of people standing on it. All of them were dressed in black and were either hysterically crying or had some sort of a sorrowful expression on their faces – meaning they would break out in tears soon enough. There were adults and children alike, old and young folks and teenagers as well.
There were good fifty people if not more.
Cale looked over those people, not letting go of his butler´s hand. Forgotten was the fact that Ron was an incredibly dangerous assassin. Instead, Ron became his pillar in this strange situation. The child was feeling nervous and uneasy.
Ah. That´s right, this was how he felt every single time at every single funeral. But Cale´s inner dilemma didn’t show on his face. To the others, he looked expressionless. It scared most adults and they turned away, together with their children.
That was also something Cale had completely forgotten. To others, he must look like a psycho right now. After all, it was his own mother´s funeral and he wasn’t even crying, let alone in sorrow. But even if he had wanted to, Cale wouldn’t be able to cry. And if he was to show sorrow – no, he wouldn’t be able to.
Deruth arrived a couple of moments later, not even sparing his own son a single look. Immediately, he broke out in tears. The other mourners quickly circled around him, trying to give him words of comfort while giving Cale the same disgusted glares as the servants back in the kitchen. Cale just turned his head away.
Naturally, those sickening glares quickly stopped after they were faces with Ron´s vicious one.
“Young master-nim, do you want to go closer´”
Cale did not look up at the old butler, nor did he respond, instead, he just walked forward to the grave standing right next to the beautiful tree that looked like it was in its best state. It looked healthy and good with its red leafs. Cale recorded that very lively tree in his memory. He didn’t even know why he did so; it just felt like the right thing to do. He then stopped in front of a white marble gravestone.
´Here lies Jour Henituse.´
´Beloved sister, doting mother and loved wife.´
Cale almost snorted upon seeing those two lines that were above the date of Jour´s birth and death. It was ridiculous. Was that all? No ´we will miss you´ or ´you will forever live on in our hearts´? Cale did not want to spare this disgrace of a gravestone another glance.
Two weeks.
They had two weeks to come up with some sort of little quote for his mother´s gravestone. Did they have their brains in their asses? Did they get paid for doing nothing?
While Cale did not meet Jour even once, he felt angry in the original Cale´s stead. That gravestone, it set a new low. Not even when he was still Kim Rok Soo had people cared so little to slap on such a stupid word combination on a gravestone!
Cale turned his head around and pulled on Ron´s hand once more, a sign for him to return to the background. Ron just nodded his head. He spared the gravestone one last glance, then shook his head and led the little child to where the two of them had been standing before – a place no one would pay attention to.
Well, not really no one, as a few other children watched Cale with curiosity. All of them were around his age, though up to five years older.
A particular kid rolled his eyes while crossing his arms. He was probably the only one who actually understood why the little redhead returned to such a place after staring at that gravestone for a few moments.
It was because he had seen the gravestone too. He had read those disgracing words as well. That shameful gravestone did not deserve to be the grave stone of someone as amazing as Jour Thames (now Henituse but who cares?).
The thirteen year old teen brushed back his golden hair as he continued to observe the expressionless redheaded kid. Something about that child was odd, it wasn’t just his deadpan expression and dull fish-eyes that made him look lifeless. It was also the way he seemed to simply not care about this funeral even if it was his mother´s and the way his fists still shook, proving everyone who was thinking the child didn’t care, wrong.
“Auntie~”
Only seconds after the blonde kid had called for his aunt, a beautiful woman with brown hair and blue eyes and white skin appeared next to him. The woman looked just like your regular Roan Kingdom citizen, yet the blonde, thirteen year old kid knew better.
“What is it?”
That woman who looked like a normal person, who was also his aunt, was anything but normal as she was a disguised dark elf wearing an appearance-changing necklace. The young teen pointed with his chin at the redheaded child who was oddly pale and looked incredibly weak.
“Isn´t Cale Henituse a cheerful kid?”
Tasha smiled a bitter smile as she followed her nephew´s gaze and spotted the pale looking child. It made her sick to her stomach seeing Cale like this, especially since she had been friends with his mother. That was also the reason why she forced her nephew to attend this funeral – as she was here as his servant. Her nephew was naturally no simple citizen of the Roan Kingdom but held a special position as the first prince of the kingdom.
“He…was.”
Alberu Crossman, Tasha´s thirteen year old nephew, frowned.
“What do you mean with ´was´?”
The dark elf in disguise shrugged and pointed at the gravestone, then the eight year old child.
“Does he look cheerful to you?”
Alberu did not respond, but the answer was clear nonetheless. Cale did not look happy, cheerful or joyful. Instead, he looked absent, expressionless and stoic. Tasha sighed upon seeing her still young nephew eye the child of her close friend.
“Let me ask you, how did you feel when your mother died?”
Alberu flinched and averted his piercing gaze at his aunt instead. It´s been a long while since his mother died and while the pain didn’t really go away, he got more used to it with each passing day. It was like a certain numbness he felt whenever someone mentioned her.
“See? It changed you.”
Alberu scoffed at that and shook his head.
“This is different! I had no one.”
Tasha stayed silent and just looked at her nephew, giving him a meaningful look, causing Alberu to turn around and look at the child standing all alone with his butler at a place no one would notice.
He then looked around to search for the father of that child and soon found him, surrounded by other mourners, wailing his eyes out. He looked pitiful at first, but now that Alberu could see that the grown ass man wasn’t even able to compose himself in front of his own son he just looked like a stupid excuse of a man. Not even the king, Zed Crossman, had acted that shamefully at his mother´s funeral and had instead stood by his side the whole time. While that had been the last time the king paid any attention to Alberu, he had been thankful. If Zed Crossman hadn’t been there, hadn’t stood firmly like a rock behind him that day-
Ah, he saw it now.
Instead that Deruth Henituse stood firmly behind his son, so that he could mourn, it was Cale who took that role and composed himself. Alberu´s eyes widened in realization and he uncrossed his arms. He wanted to go talk to the eight year old kid, yet a someone held him back. It was his dear aunt.
Tasha shook her head.
“Don´t.”
Alberu then saw how the old man – probably the butler of the young child – was constantly talking; it was likely that he was trying to get the child´s mind off of those heavy burdens. Yet Cale did neither respond nor react to it at all. It was as if he was in some sort of a trance.
The first prince gulped and looked up at his aunt. Perhaps he had misjudged the whole situation and it wasn’t that much of a hassle to be here.
Notes:
Man, I had so much fun writing the first half, but in the second hald I looked at the word count like every single second, hoping to finally fill the 15k mark and then when I did I just couldnt stop so...
Have fun with this not planned chapter.
I really dont know, I´m actually supposed to update my "Trash of the school" fic, but I have like zero motivation for that one. Then I wanted to update my other fic, the "Can someone like that really be trash?" one and hell, I gave up on the second sentence. Then I thought I should just watch TV but I was too lazy to get out of bed~ so I was going through my many files, thinking about updating the ones I still havent published just yet and then I stumbled upon this one.
And well, I think I just got motivated to update this one.
I´ll try to update Csltrbt (can someone like that really be trash) soon, so check it out if you havent yet or want something similar to this~Thanks for reading ;)
Chapter 4: 3. No friendship is by accident
Summary:
FiRsT pRiNcE aLbErU cRoSsMaN aNd HiS sTuPiD nEw FrIeNd~
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Tick, tack. Tick, tack.
Cale stared at the golden clock on top of the fireplace, waiting for any of the people who were inside this vast room with him to say something – anything. The ongoing silence felt awkward and uncomfortable, it made him feel uneasy. It didn’t help that Ron was standing here with him, smiling benignly at the other four children.
Finally, someone decided to clear his throat and break the unpleasant silence. It was the first prince, Alberu Crossman.
Cale hadn’t even had the chance to think about that problem just yet. He stopped staring at the golden clock and instead turned his head to face the blonde, thirteen year old kid who had a somewhat clumsy and not noble expression on his face, it was an expression unbefitting of someone who wanted to become the next king.
Speaking of which, why was the future crown prince present? Why was he sitting comfortably on one of the couches inside the lounge of the Henituse residence, no, why was he in the Henituse estate to begin with? Cale clearly recalled the contents of ´The Birth of a Hero´ and they stated that the crown prince had never, not even once in their childhood or at any other time, met Cale Henituse; he had only heard rumors about him – naturally, only those which stated that he was utter trash. There was no connection between Alberu Crossman and the Henituse County.
While he had tried to win Count Deruth over to his fraction, that was when he had turned nineteen and started to gain influence and more power – which would be six years from now! Before then, he hadn’t visited the Henituse County even once.
Well, the novel did stay vague about the events before Choi Han, the protagonist, came out of the Forest of Darkness and came to report the Harris villagers´ deaths, but Cale was certain that he could trust the novel´s words about Alberu and the original Cale never meeting before.
“So…”
Alberu did not know what he should say. He didn’t really know why he was here to begin with! He just knew that from one second to the other, the “adults” have decided to “abandon” the children and continue the funeral on their own. The most important part – burying the coffin – was already over, so it wasn’t like it was a big deal. Furthermore, it had started to rain and it´d be for the better if no one got sick – well, at least none of the children.
“How are you, Cale?”
Luckily, Alberu didn’t have to find any other words to say as the boy besides him started talking to Cale. He was about his age, perhaps one year younger, and somewhat mature. His light grey hair and light grey, almost silverish eyes were quite unique. After looking at him for a few seconds longer and recalling the list of nobles and their names, Alberu could tell who that boy with the glasses was.
“I´m fine.”
Cale looked as expressionless as at the funeral as he answered Eric Wheelsman´s question. He did not recognize that kid, neither did the recognize the about ten year old girl with the green hair and hazel eyes or the about nine year old boy with the plain brown hair and wooden brown eyes. He felt uncomfortable chatting with all of these people, especially since the future crown prince was with them as well. He didn’t know what relationship the original owner of his body had with them; neither did he know how to deal with them right now.
Furthermore, he wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone right now.
Eric turned his head to face the ten year old Amiru Urbarr and nine year old Gilbert Chatter. He did not dare even look into the first prince´s direction, as his father had warned him not to get too close with that child.
“Are you sure, Cale? You look a bit pale.”
Cale glanced at his almost white hand. His skin was indeed pale, and because he was cold, his hands were especially light-toned. But if one left out his skin color, he was absolutely fine.
Fact remained that the kid just attended his mother´s funeral, watched her get buried six feet under with a gravestone that was anything else but fitting for such a talented Countess. Plus, he got practically kicked out of the funeral by his own father´s proposal to leave out the kids.
At least that was what the children around him and his old butler thought.
Cale was actually really thankful that he got out of the funeral; after all he hated funerals more than he hated work. Therefore, it was a good thing that Deruth ordered him to go back to the estate. So, he was really fine now.
“Yes, I´m fine, please don´t worry.”
How could they not worry when Cale was talking like this?! Naturally, the Baroness´ daughter Amiru Urbarr (idk if it´s really a baroness and I´m too lazy to look it up, so please just roll with it, and I know that she becomes a viscountess but I strongly believe she had been a baroness before), the Viscount´s son Gilbert Chetter and another Count´s son Eric Wheelsman could not get any more worried than they were now. The three of them had been Cale´s playmates since forever. The four of them were all from the northeastern part of the Roan Kingdom and hence had to be present at all kinds of social gatherings – thus they just decided to become playmates.
And as friends, they were familiar with Cale´s way of speaking. Those mature words and sentences that were coming out of the expressionless redhead were definitely not what he normally spoke like. Usually, he would act childish, perhaps pout or be angry, maybe even cry, but never – hell, never ever – would he remain this cold and seemingly unaffected.
Obviously, the first prince wasn’t aware of the whole situation, but even he could tell that Cale´s way of acting seemed bizarre for an eight year old kid.
“If you say so, but you don´t have to pretend-“
“I´m not.”
Cale was calm as he replied to Eric´s words without letting him finish. He was annoyed at how much he pressed him into saying that he wasn’t okay while he completely was. Sure, Cale himself knew how awkward it must sound – after all he was a supposedly eight year old kid coming back after getting kicked out of his mother´s funeral – but he didn’t want to act like he was sad or mourning. He doubted he could even act like that.
Cale had never, not even once mourned or cried for someone´s death. He felt like the worst trash in existence because of that, but the tears simply wouldn’t come. Not when he had witnessed the death of his last two family members before his eyes, not as his relatives informed him about his parents´ death, and certainly not now as he watched some woman´s funeral he had no affiliation with.
“…this is getting awkward.”
Cale stopped staring at the golden clock above the fireplace once again and instead turned his head to face the strangely smiling first prince.
“I didn’t introduce myself yet, did I?”
Cale shook his head, acting like he didn’t know the person that was sitting comfortably on the guest´s couch. Technically, he didn’t know the first prince of the kingdom, neither his face nor his name. He was supposedly an eight year old kid, what did you expect?
Alberu nodded his head and then sloppily introduced himself. Given the fact that he currently didn’t have his guard up, it was a welcome and calm way to do it. Especially since Cale didn’t have any idea about manners either way.
“Good, I´m Alberu.”
Cale just nodded his head, observing and recording the boy sitting on the couch opposite from him. The look in the prince´s eyes told him that Alberu wanted him to introduce himself as well, just as any person with common sense would, yet Cale stayed silent, waiting for anyone to break the following silence.
It was Ron who did.
“Young master-nim, I think the prince wants you to introduce yourself to him as well.”
Cale turned his head, now looking at the benignly smiling, old man. Playing the role of the innocent eight year old kid, he widened his eyes ever so slightly, yet the dull look in his eyes didn’t change even once, giving away the fact that he knew all along.
Naturally, the old, observant servant did not miss that little detail, resulting in him frowning.
“Pardon me, I´m Cale.”
Cale fully ignored the new information that was provided by his butler about Alberu being a prince – someone of higher standing than Cale. While Alberu would have gotten angry if it had been any other person, he didn’t even feel annoyed for some reason and just nodded. He blamed it on his emotions and that he was feeling pity for the eight year old kid.
“It´s fine, I knew your name anyways.”
Cale just nodded, then became quiet once again. Amiru, Gilbert and Eric, unsure about what just happened, exchanged glances and decided not just ignore that strange interaction. They looked up at the old servant, giving him meaningful glances – glances that Ron definitely didn’t understand.
“Young lady Amiru, is something not to your liking?”
Amiru quickly shook her heads, now that all attention was turned to her.
“N-no! It´s n-nothing like that!”
Ron frowned, not quite following the young girl.
“Then do you perhaps need anything? Should I bring you a cup of tea?”
Amiru immediately nodded.
“Y-yes, please bring refreshments as well.”
If she hadn’t been a child, Ron would have frowned at her ordering him around as if he was her servant and not Cale´s. Nevertheless, he did as he was told and disappeared behind the closing doors, leaving the five children on their own.
“So…did your father already hire a private instructor for you, Cale? Now that you´re eight shouldn’t you slowly get one?”
Cale furrowed his brows, not quite following. He was the son of one of the richest nobles on the continent, what for did he need a private instructor or tutor or whatever one´d like to call it?
“Hasn’t Count Henituse hired anyone yet?”
Gilbert´s eyes widened in surprise. He got his private instructor when he turned six, which was obviously a bit early. Children of noble households usually got provided with a private instructor chosen by their parents when they were around seven to eight years old, as anything later was considered too late.
“But you´ll be turning nine in a few months, isn’t it a bit too late?”
Amiru voiced her concerns while playing with her fingers. She then looked at the blonde boy for help, making Eric and Gilbert to the same. While Alberu had the image of the first prince of this kingdom, it was also a very well-known information that he´d lost the king´s favor and hence wasn’t provided with a private tutor as well – not that children would know something like that. He sighed and shrugged, playing along.
“Well, I didn’t get provided with a private instructor and I turned out just fine, so I don’t think it´s that big of a deal.”
Amiru immediately apologized and quickly stopped talking about the topic of a private instructor for Cale. She and her close friends Eric and Gilbert were feeling guilty for driving the prince into a corner like that. Alberu accepted her apology light heartedly as no offense had been taken either way, given that she was just a ten year old girl, she probably didn’t even know that while he had the title of the first prince, he wasn’t treated as one.
Just as the silence was about to get awkward again, Ron returned with many sweet refreshments and tea – lemon tea.
Cale frowned as the old butler handed him a cup of the sour tea, a puzzled expression on his face after seeing the frown on the eight year old´s face.
“Is something wrong, young master-nim?”
To his knowledge, Cale loved drinking lemon tea, especially since his father always drunk that sour thing. Personally, Ron didn’t understand why Cale liked it, but he understood it even less as Cale had that kind of expression on his face, as if he didn’t want to drink the lemon tea.
“Um, do we have any other tea?”
The old butler´s puzzled expression turned into a frown as he quickly took back the cup from his puppy like young master-nim´s hand.
“Of course, young master-nim, I will immediately prepare it.”
He then exited the room before Alberu could even ask for his lemon tea to get exchanged for another one. Hence, he had to drink that sour thing – and Alberu hated sour things!
“So Cale, since when don´t you like lemon tea anymore?”
Eric was cautiously asking. He recalled how the only thing Cale had been drinking was the sour tea, and now, all of a sudden, he didn’t like it anymore? And Eric couldn’t forget the sudden personality change in Cale. It was as if he was a completely different person from before.
Did the death of the Countess hold that much power over him? Could it have changed the happy and partly naïve child so much that he acted mature like a grown up?
“I don´t know, I guess I just don´t like it anymore.”
Amiru and Gilbert grimaced at that strange and cold response. They noticed the change in their friend´s behavior too – and they did not like it, hell no, they hated it and wanted their old friend back!
Alberu cleared his throat once again, gaining all of the attention yet another time.
“It´s natural that a person´s taste buds change in the process of growing up. I remember liking chocolate, but I´ve grown out of it.”
Cale´s eyes widened for the first real time after listening to Alberu´s statement, his shine returning ever so slightly. For some reason, Alberu felt relieved.
“How can you outgrow chocolate?”
Alberu shrugged and quickly emptied his sour lemon tea cup.
“Someday, you certainly will too.”
Cale shook his head, horror visible in his eyes.
“Certainly not.”
Eric, Amiru and Gilbert, seeing how the first prince managed to get the mood less depressing and awkward, quickly chimed in on the conservation about sweets, chocolate and outgrowing certain likes and dislikes in different foods.
“Of course everyone will outgrow his sweet-teeth phase, even you.”
Cale stared at Gilbert as if he was the worst criminal in existence. He looked honestly offended by his simple words as he shook his head.
“No. I won´t.”
Alberu chuckled at that. There was a certain determination in Cale´s eyes, showing him that the eight year old kid truly thought he wouldn’t outgrow his chocolate and sweets-lowing phase. (Naturally, that eight year old kid had the soul of the thirty-six year old Kim Rok Soo who knew all too well that he´d forever cherish chocolate and other kinds of sweets.)
“Okay, if you´re so certain, why don´t make a bet?”
The words were out even before Alberu could realize what he had said. He didn’t intend to get all friendly with the eight year old redhead, yet for some reason he just couldn’t help it. Something about that boy, it seemed familiar and trustworthy. Alberu had planned to never meet Cale again after this, yet, this bet would make sure that they would meet at least one more time. That is if Cale agreed to this bet.
Now that the words were out, he couldn’t exactly take them back, obviously. His last chance was Cale rejecting the offer, yet the kid seemed to really considerate it.
“Okay, let´s do it, but if I win you´ll owe me a favor.”
Alberu couldn’t help but laugh. Whatever that favor might be; he doubted it´d be something big, given it was an eight year old kid who was talking. So, while it turned out bad, it didn’t turn out too bad.
“Fine, then if I win, you´ll owe me a favor, that´s fair, right?”
Cale nodded his head, excitement visible in his eyes. Well, at least Alberu had managed to cheer him up – which was one way to look at it. By the time the old butler returned, the atmosphere in the room had changed to a brighter one, the five children were conversing about all sorts of different topics – currently it was pets – and Cale didn’t seem as down as before. It made the Ron feel relieved.
He quietly handed Cale the sweet tea which Beacrox made and took a few steps back, as if not to disturb the five children.
Time flew by quickly after that, and soon enough one parent after the other came and picked up their children, leaving only the crown prince and Cale behind. The room got silent once again as both boys simply looked at each other. The silence, contrary to before, wasn’t awkward this time.
Alberu finally let out a deep sigh, expecting he´d be the one who´d break the silence first again this time, yet he was proven wrong as Cale began talking.
“You´re the first prince, right?”
Intrigued, Alberu nodded his head. It wasn’t like he was trying to keep it a secret, but the other three children who were older than Cale and had private tutors contrary to the eight year old did not recognize him. While the old butler seemed to have, he did not utter a single word besides the ´prince´ from before, which Cale had ignored.
“If you knew all along, why did you treat me like a normal stranger?”
Cale shrugged.
“Was I supposed not to?”
Alberu already regretted his choice of words; listening to Cale talking like this was certainly…unusual and he preferred the childish redhead all times over.
“Haaa, well, it´s not like it matters anyways.”
“Why doesn’t it?”
Alberu sighed; Cale was still an eight year old kid who didn’t have a tutor. Alberu had been like Cale when he was eight as well probably.
“Well, it´d be too complicated to explain to a kid.”
Cale frowned, but on his childlike face it resembled a cute pout more than an actual frown. Alberu couldn’t help but smile. The redhead sure looked quite cute. Alberu had seen many children, especially children of noble families, but all of them looked like they had a stick up their ass. They looked just as annoying as their parents and had those trashy expressions on their faces…Ugh; Alberu didn’t want to think about that.
Cale, on the contrary, while he was the son of a noble as well, didn’t have that arrogant air around him. He looked rather humble, even. While he looked like he could become quite annoying in the future, Alberu preferred his company before others.
“Tsk, who are you calling a kid? Have you looked in the mirror? I bet I´m taller than you-“
Before Cale could finish his sentence with “when I´m your age”, Alberu broke out in laughter, unable to hold back. Forgotten was the little detail that he was here because of a funeral today.
“What? You´re taller than me? Have you looked in the mirror? Wait; are you even tall enough to look in a mirror?”
Cale´s pout got only cuter as he scoffed and turned his head away, crossing his tiny arms in front of his chest. Alberu wiped the tears from his eyes as he finally controlled his laughter. Even for an eight year old, Cale was on the smaller side, he could be easily mistaken as one or two years younger than he actually was. Alberu, on the other hand, was on the taller side for boys his age (5´3ft). His looks had also matured quite a bit.
“...I am.”
Alberu started laughing again, after hearing Cale´s reluctant answer to his definitely not serious question, yet hearing him answer with that much hesitation, he got an answer to his question.
The old butler couldn’t help but smile a real smile, quickly turning his head away so no one could notice. He knew it too well; there was no mirror in Cale´s chambers that he could reach with his small height.
“Yeah, of course you are.”
The sarcasm dripping from that one sentence´s could be understood even by the biggest fool on the planet. Cale just rolled his eyes at that. Deciding to ignore this little incident, Cale cleared his throat and got up from his seat.
“It´s almost nine, I guess I´ll take my leave first since I am tired.”
Alberu raised his eyebrows and got up from the couch as well.
“You´re leaving first?”
Cale stopped in his tracks and turned around. Now that the first prince was standing, he was way much taller than Cale had imagined. He blamed it on the boy´s long legs.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”
Alberu shook his head in disbelief; didn’t Cale learn any manners at all?
“Haaa, usually the host is supposed to wait until his guests leave before he leaves.”
Cale frowned, not understanding the problem.
“And?”
Alberu couldn’t believe that the young redhead asked such a stupid question. He cleared his throat and pointed at the eight year old kid who was much more mature than one might think.
“You are the host right now.”
Cale´s eyes widened, but only for a split second until his stoic and expressionless expression returned.
“Well, I´m not. My father is.”
Alberu smirked and continued to talk instead of letting Cale return to his chambers.
“You´re his son, aren’t you?”
Cale silently nodded, too lazy to actually answer that question. Alberu sighed. The disrespect-
“And this little meeting could be considered a small sized tea party, couldn’t it?”
Ah, Cale knew what Alberu was ultimately getting at. He let out a sigh and returned to his seat.
“If you wanted me to stay, you should´ve just said so.”
Alberu raised his eyebrows as he sat back down on the couch as well.
“Who said I wanted you to stay? I just wanted to tell you basic manners.”
Cale rolled his eyes and took a cookie from the table.
“Well, you could have left with the others and I´d have left after that.”
Alberu shrugged and watched Cale nibble on the cookie. He reminded him of a bunny for some reason, but at the same time not. It was a bit difficult to tell.
“Who knows?”
Cale stopped eating the cookie and stared at Alberu before answering the rhetorical question.
“I do.”
Alberu chuckled once more. Coming here was one of his best decisions, he decided for himself. It was because the Cale in front of him and the Cale he imagines were two complete opposites. There was nothing about this little kid that was childish – besides his obsession with sweets naturally.
The two of them continued to sit in silence. Alberu kept observing the little eight year old kid while the younger nibbled on one cookie after another until all of them were gone. That was when Alberu finally asked the question that had been on his mind for a while now.
“Are you really okay?”
Cale stopped in his tracks and looked up to meet the first prince´s eyes. He sighed.
“Why shouldn’t I?”
Alberu shrugged, thinking back to the time he had lost his mother. It was a time he felt like he had lost his world. His father never really acted like a father and had just been a supporting pillow for the time being until Alberu could stand up by himself again. But Cale didn’t even have that. He was all alone.
“How would I know? You lost someone today, not me.”
Cale scoffed at that insensitive remark. If it wasn’t him sitting here but the original Cale Henituse, the boy was sure to break out in tears. But he was not Cale. He was emotionless trash, even worse than Cale Henituse.
“I didn’t lose anyone today.”
Alberu frowned. Well, that was one way to look at it, he guessed.
“You sure?”
Cale frowned at all of those personal questions.
“Why do you want to know? It´s not like-“
“It´s precisely because we´re friends from now on.”
Cale stopped in his tracks and his mind went blank.
A friend.
He hadn’t had one of those in a long while. But he didn’t want to have one, given the small detail that every single one of the people he cherished died. Furthermore, this was the first prince, while he was still pretty okay right now, he´d grow up to become one hell of an annoying bastard later on.
But on the other hand, that future annoying bastard didn’t look like he had anyone as a friend too. Cale sighed, already regretting his decision before it was even made. But it wasn’t like he´d have to see the first prince often even if they became friends. And after Choi Han and his party would show up, the future crown prince wouldn’t have any time for him anyways, so it really didn’t matter.
“Well, I´m fine, so don’t worry.”
Alberu smirked and shook his head, getting up from the couch again.
“Ha, you can give those others that crap; do you really want to lie to your new friend?”
Cale had a confused expression on his face. It was the truth though? He really was fine? It was at that moment that Alberu noticed that this little boy whom he just became friends with truly thought he was fine.
Alberu scoffed and shook his head. In what mess did he just involve himself just by becoming friends with this guy? The first prince could not tell, not at all.
“Tsk, are you stupid?”
Cale frowned at that and got up from the armchair he was sitting on as well, ignoring the small cookie crumbs on his clothes.
“No?”
Alberu shook his head, disbelief and exhaustion written all over his face. For some reason, the thirteen year old first prince looked just like an adult like now, an adult in Kim Rok Soo´s company who worked himself to death like Kim Rok Soo had.
It was actually quite funny even.
“Well anyways, since you´re my friend, I have to take care of you.”
Cale´s frown deepened even more. He couldn’t follow. Why again did Alberu feel like he had to take care of him? And why was Ron smiling so strangely? Cale felt quite lost right now.
“Pardon me?”
Alberu ignored him completely as he mumbled something else.
“Oblivious bastard.”
“Huh?”
Did he just get insulted by a thirteen year kid? And as an eight year old child no less? Cale couldn’t quite believe his own ears, doubting his hearing capabilities.
Nevertheless, Alberu ignored him as he turned around and smiled.
“Anyways, I´ll come visit you again soon then, since you´re my friend.”
“Huh?”
Before Cale could even say something – he had been to stunned to speak – Alberu exited the room with a proud expression on his face. Cale stared after him, then looked up at the old butler who was smiling benignly.
“This old man thinks that the young master-nim just made his real first friend.”
Cale got even more confused, not quite following what just happened. Wasn’t this whole friend thing just something akin to a verbal agreement? Hadn´t the plan be more like that the two of them befriended each other but then the future crown prince would forget about him and instead become best friends with Choi Han and his crew? Sure, he would use them a bit more, but they could become friends in the process, what did he care?!
Why on earth did Cale´s plan have to backfire like this?! If he knew, he´d have never agreed to become friends!
Notes:
I know, I know, I didnt expect to update this soon either.
I felt sick today and stayed at home, and instead of rotting away, I decided to be productive and study for my upcoming chemistry exam on wednesday (who knows anything about alkane, alkene and halogenoalkane?) but then in the midst of my studies I got bored and decided to write something and the word document was already open so...I have very little self-control, but hey, you´ve got another update. And after I was finished (it was a while ago) I could continue my studies (I´m practically a pro now ... not) and finally remembered to update, so, here you go~
Thanks for the many kudos and comments up till now and thanks for reading (this is easier than replying to every single comment hehe) <3
Chapter 5: 4. A lovable but reckless fool
Summary:
Backstory time~
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Cale stared at the dark ceiling above his head. He couldn’t see very much since it was so dark outside, but he could see the detailed outlines. The fancy chandelier with the many diamonds looked like the biggest thing Cale had ever seen, almost as big as a grade 1 monster´s head. Just how many diamonds had been needed to create that massive thing?
The boy let out a deep sigh and finally sat up in his bed. He wasn’t able to sleep. Who did he try to play by lying in bed? Cale didn’t recall any nights he hadn’t been able to fall asleep before. Usually, he was extremely exhausted after work – so much that he didn’t even give falling asleep a second thought. And even if he wasn’t, falling asleep was an easy thing for him to do.
So why couldn’t he sleep now?
Cale sighed, not knowing what to do. He had no one he could go to, and honestly, he didn’t want to go to anyone because of a simple matter such as this. He didn’t even think of this as a problem, to tell the truth. Perhaps it had been time that he experienced insomnia for one night or something like this.
Letting out a deep breath, he decided that it was no use and got out of bed – attempted to do; that would be a more precise description of what happened. The boy actually tripped over his own unmovable feet and fell face first down on the floor.
“Huh?”
Just then did the boy notice that his limbs had been shaking. Cale did not know why his body was trembling like this, he was certainly not cold. The room was relatively warm and since it would be summer soon, the weather would become warm really soon.
It had already been two weeks since he became Cale Henituse, two weeks since the funeral of his birth mother. During those two weeks, he had gathered all sorts of information about his life here and it wasn’t that bad of a life – with the exception of the neglectful father he got. But he could just roll with it; it wasn’t like he planned to see that guy as a real father anyways.
He had also noticed that other servants, besides his loyal subject Ron and his loyal servant´s son Beacrox, had started to act up. The novel didn’t even bother to tell Cale Henituse´s personal story and now that he was experiencing it firsthand, it annoyed him quite a bit. It was no surprise to him anymore that Cale turned out the way he did.
He naturally gathered all sorts of other information as well, but that just proved his point that he didn’t really do anything to be in the condition he was right now! Taking deep breaths, Cale forced his shaking arms to push his body from the carpet, which they did. After many, extremely slow movements, Cale even managed to sit normally on the floor, as if he had deliberately decided to sit down here instead of fallen over from the bed.
Sitting there like this was giving the young boy a strange feeling – a feeling he was incredibly unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time with. Wait…he recognized that feeling. It was hopelessness, fear, terror, anxiety and dread kicking in all at once, along with a strange sense of despair.
Cale was very familiar with those emotions, even if he hadn’t felt them in a decade. He also quickly realized the cause of his current state – it was his ´Record´ ability acting up on its own accord. Ignoring his weak body, Cale forced his body up to stand, supporting himself on the edge of the bed.
´Record´ acting up was no unusual thing, it happened every now and then, normally whenever Cale felt tired, overwhelmed or over-exhausted. The strange thing was; he didn’t feel any of those three triggers for ´Record´ to act up right now. It was the opposite even, he felt calm and relaxed for a change.
It would only be a matter of time until unpleasant memories would start playing before his eyes and-
No, Cale forbid himself to think negatively. Since he was powerless whenever ´Record´ was acting up, he had always been at a disadvantage against it, yet he didn’t feel that way right now – meaning there was a good chance of him being able to narrow down its effects or make it stop acting up completely.
Of course, Cale was going for the latter option of the two. He concentrated on one of his two abilities, trying to make it stop through forcing it. Yet that plan quickly backfired, giving him a severe headache and making him fall to the floor once again. Breathing heavily, Cale tried his other plan that he had come up with in the process – using his ´Record´ ability so much that it kind of overpowered itself and couldn’t act up anymore. Believe it or not, it worked similar to a powerful computer, meaning it´d shut down eventually when it was continuously overpowered. It would make Cale overheat, but anything was better than seeing those ugly memories again.
Seeing people he lived for die in front of his eyes-
No.
Just no.
He stopped thinking about it before his ability could get the better of him and began recalling all sorts of relatively useless information that he had recorded back in South Korea for his company. He forced his ability to show him the list of names and pictures of the new recruits of the last ten years, the list of employees, the list of important job requests. The documents he had been working on for the last few months; just anything that wasn’t a real memory related to real emotions. The only thing he felt while going through those records was annoyance, exhaustion and displeasure.
Then, it all stopped.
He was breathing heavily and sweating incredibly much. He had forgotten to take off his shirt or something like that. The room suddenly felt cool instead of normal and there was a big headache coming; but no memories of his past – which was a big relief.
Cale sighed and got up from the floor with shaky hands. It was still dark outside, meaning his former assassin but loyal butler Ron wouldn’t come wake him up too soon. With him getting rid of his sleeping problem, he climbed back into bed and closed his eyes, his tiredness finally overcoming him.
~
Alberu had a big smile on his face as his aunt handed him over a couple of blank paper sheets she got from the market. She was unfamiliar with that excited expression of her nephew, but decided not to give too much thought into it as he was clearly happy.
“Auntie, how was Cale´s mother like?”
She stopped her lighthearted thinking method and stared at her nephew as if he´d grown a second head.
“What?”
Alberu shrugged as he didn’t even look up from his paper sheet and pen.
“I don´t know, could you just tell me how she was like?”
Tasha frowned, not really knowing where this was coming from. Alberu hadn’t been curious about anything regarding the Henituse territory, not even as she asked him to join the funeral of her dead friend. He had just played along, doing his relative a favor. Even after the funeral, he hadn’t really shown a great interest into the things happening there. The only change was that he had often asked something about children around Cale´s age, what they liked, what they disliked, information in that direction.
Wait, did that mean her nephew had an interest in the eight year old kid? Sure, he was cute, but he couldn’t be used as a pawn in Alberu´s game. Tasha wouldn’t let that happen to the child of her dead friend. No matter how much she loved and wanted to support Alberu, that didn’t mean that she had to be supportive of all of his ideas. And if he truly wanted to use the small Cale – no, she wouldn’t allow it.
“Why do you want to know?”
Alberu, being indirectly denied his request for the very first time by his aunt, looked up from the papers sheet that wasn’t blank anymore. No, there, in a beautiful, cursive font were the words “Dear friend” which was all Tasha needed to see to clear her throat and return to the conservation.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. What do you want to know about Jour?”
Alberu shrugged and continued to write his letter.
“I don´t know, the basics I think? I don’t know anything about her, yet I´ve been to her funeral. It´s a bit awkward.”
Tasha nodded and then started talking about her longtime friend Jour whom she met before Alberu was even born.
“Back then, when your mother just got out of the underground village and into the palace, I was working as a knight instructor at the northeastern noble´s academy.”
Alberu looked up again, furrowing his brows.
“Northeastern? Why there?”
Tasha shrugged and smirked her famous, carefree smile. She then finally sat down on one of the free chairs in Alberu´s little and shabby office.
“Who knows? It kind of just happened that I was in that region as they were looking for instructors. And I was curious what it was like being a teacher for knights, so I did the job interview and got the position. It was all a big coincidence, but it allowed me to meet Jour.”
Tasha stopped talking, a bitter expression on her face, as if she recalled something long forgotten. Alberu did not mind the pause. He had temporary stopped writing on the letter and was actively listening to his aunt talk about something she probably didn’t tell anyone, not even her grandfather.
“Well, it just so happened that I was assigned to teach her class and let me tell you, all of them were a pile of garbage. And in that pile of garbage, there was blooming, a beautiful flower, it was naturally Jour. She was reckless, no, she was stupid. She didn’t think but just did it. I believe she did it so that her comrades wouldn’t get hurt, but I didn’t really care for that because she always sacrificed herself. When we were team-sparring against other classes, it was always her who ended up with the most bruises and cuts. Haaa, now that I think about it, this behavior can´t even count as stupid. It´s just foolish; let me tell you my dear nephew.”
Tasha smiled playfully as she rubbed Alberu´s hair. Alberu was curiously listening to his aunt´s story and as she didn’t seem to continue, he couldn’t help but ask for her to do so. Tasha laughed as she finally did.
“She was the strongest of the knights in the academy and in addition to that exceptionally beautiful. It was to that extend, that she´d attract men and women alike, even animals were more friendly with her than with others, though that could be because she was also very kind.”
Alberu immediately believed his aunt. Cale was cute, but Alberu had no doubt that he´d grow up to become a handsome young man who´d easily attract women and men alike. Though he didn’t seem to be as free spirited as his mother had been – at least in Alberu´s imagination – he was sure that Cale was very kind. Why else would he continue to sit with him and talk to him without prejudice?
“The only thing she had that was holding her back was her weak body. If she had been only a bit, a little bit, stronger, she´d have become one of the best knights in our kingdom.”
Tasha chuckled, but it was the truth. She nodded to herself.
“But, she gave up after meeting that husband of hers.”
Immediately, Tasha´s face fell and she looked displeased. Alberu partly understood it. The Count Deruth Henituse that he´d met at the funeral, that weak ass coward that was crying instead of letting his own son cry, he didn’t seem to be a very good match for someone like Cale´s mother.
“Tsk, he was such a troublemaker back in the day, always blowing up this or that, a total imbecile! He wasn’t even that good looking, mid at best! The only reason why she liked him was because he was foolish and reckless like her, and because he was the only one who actually dared to approach her!”
Tasha shook her head in disdain and clicked her tongue.
“If Jour would have waited one more day, Sir Lucas would have proposed to her, but no, she just ran off with that bastard. Haaa, excuse me my dear nephew, that man simply annoys me so much.”
Alberu nodded his head in understanding. It was okay. Tasha sighed, a slight smile reappearing on her face.
“But she loved him. I don’t know what she saw in him, I probably never will, but she did love him. And I can tell that he loved her as well. We often met up after the two of them got married, I was probably the only one who opposed the marriage, but well, what can I do? She had once been a student of mine, and it was quite hard giving up on a talent like her and leave her to become…that man´s wife.”
Alberu smirked at that. His aunt was usually very collected at all times, yet she truly seemed to lose her nerves about this matter that had happened almost ten years ago. Tasha took a deep breath, patting her nephew on the shoulder.
“Let me tell you, I´ve visited the two of them after they got married almost every single day, and that imbecile always got annoyed instead of welcoming me~ it was quite funny how Jour scolded him every single time he even tried to voice his displeasure or looked annoyed. Haaa, those are a couple good memories~”
Alberu immediately believed it. Deruth Henituse – that man seemed awful, even more so than his father, Zed Crossman – and his father let him rot in an abandoned palace. But at least he was there as a king for him; not what he needed, but something that was okay, he guessed.
“And what happened then?”
Tasha smiled and recalled how everything had changed from one moment to the other.
“Well, then she got pregnant. You must know; it was incredibly hard for her. You remember how I told you about her weak body, right?”
Alberu nodded, still recalling how his aunt told him that Cale´s mother´s weak body had been the only thing that had restricted her from becoming one of the best knights in the kingdom.
“Well, that stupid imbecile didn’t want her to get pregnant as it would, and I quote him on this ´kill her eventually´. He´s such a stupid man; let me tell you. But, in the end, she got her way. And that´s how your little friend came to this world.”
Tasha laughed at the end of that, watching her nephew blush as he got all embarrassed about finally having found a friend. But, it was a good thing in the end.
“After giving birth, it turned out that that imbecile´s words weren´t exactly wrong. Jour got sick and her body condition worsened, but her smile, her eyes and her face, there was more life in them than I´d ever seen before. She had wanted to become a mother her whole life rather than a knight. Just then did I finally realize that she run off not only because she was in love, but because she didn’t want to be a knight that much~ those were still good times.”
The dark elf chuckled at the end of her speck and looked at her nephew who seemed to be thinking about something. She smiled and waited for him to ask his questions – it was because she knew he had some.
“Auntie, doesn’t that mean that she was a good woman with a happy life?”
Tasha nodded.
“That´s right, she was one of the very few people who attained happiness before death.”
Alberu frowned.
“But the Count, did he really love her back?”
It was now Tasha´s turn to frown and she immediately nodded her head.
“Believe me Alberu, there was no one he loved more than Jour, otherwise I´d have done something a long time ago.”
Alberu still didn’t understand. If Count Deruth Henituse really loved his wife, shouldn’t he cherish all of the things and people she cherished? Shouldn’t he love his child that she gifted to him? Alberu clearly recalled the events of the funeral two weeks ago. Deruth had not even once as much as glanced over at Cale. He had completely ignored him, as if he hadn’t been there to begin with. For some reason, it didn’t look like it was caused just because Deruth´s devastated state because he had lost his wife.
“What´s wrong with him then?”
Tasha raised her brows, not immediately understanding her nephew´s question. The first prince then proceeded to tell her his observation and hypothesis. Tasha simply shrugged.
“I can´t answer that, my dear nephew. I wasn’t close with him; I was close with Jour. But I have never liked him because he always put himself over everyone else – his needs, his body his anything. While I´m not entirely opposed to that, after all, everyone should put himself first and not be like Jour, Deruth had been utterly selfish and arrogant.”
Alberu got his answer immediately. He stared at the wall for a few seconds until he smiled at his aunt.
“Okay, thanks!”
Tasha nodded and stood up from the chair again.
“Do you need anything else?”
Alberu smiled. Yes indeed, there was one last thing he´d have his aunt do for him.
“Auntie, could you ask my father for an audience please?”
Tasha was surprised at first, but quickly nodded her head.
“As you wish, Alberu. I suppose you know what you´re doing?”
The first prince of the Roan Kingdom nodded.
“Yeah, I know.”
Tasha nodded one last time, meeting the determined eyes of her nephew. Letting out one last sigh, she exited through the door, looking like any other normal servant. Little did she know, a certain swordsmaster had been listening to their conservation the whole time while sharpening his sword. He looked up into the sky, thinking about a certain redheaded woman and a certain redheaded kid.
He then returned to where he had come from, as he had fulfilled his order within coming here. Still, there was a smile on his usually calm and rather deadpanning face.
~
Ron stared at the eight year old child who had trouble breathing. He frowned, thinking about how he could have gotten sick. He didn’t wander around the estate, he usually just stayed in his room, only coming to the kitchen for his meals – well, those times he actually went there to see Beacrox and the head chef just happened to prepare a meal for him while they talked.
He didn’t go outside, Ron made sure he always dried himself after he took a bath, and he also didn’t do anything exhausting. He never slept with his window or balcony door open, he had warm and many bedcovers he-
“Haaa.”
Ron sighed. What use did it have to think about the reason why Cale might have gotten sick if he was sick already? He was running a fever and his whole face was flushed red. And not just his forehead but his whole body was burning up.
Ron didn’t want to leave Cale alone, but at the same time he needed to go get a wet towel. But what if Cale´s state got worse in the short time he´d be gone. The old butler was cautious enough not to trust the other servants – he had a variety of reasons for that distrusts in other employees of the Henituse County, since they were all loyal to Count Henituse and Count Henituse only. Well, besides him and his son, naturally.
The old butler, who once had been the strongest assassin on both the eastern and western continents, got defeated by his favorite child having a simple fever. It weren´t neither the poisons of the torture chambers, nor the dagger of a fellow assassin or one of those dirty bastards who were responsible for the death of his wife and destruction of his household.
It was Cale suffering from a fever.
While Ron was aware that he was getting too soft for that little child, he couldn’t do anything against it. It was the same for his son.
“Wait here young master-nim, I´ll be back right away.”
Cale did not respond as he didn’t hear the old butler at all. While his body was hot on the outside and he was indeed running a fever, he wasn’t actually in any pain. Rather than that, he was just resting peacefully after getting his ´Record´ ability back under control.
It didn’t take Cale long to come to his senses and wake up, only to be greeted by a wet cloth being placed on his forehead for the seventh time already. Cale immediately widened his eyes, extremely unused to someone taking care of him.
Ron immediately noticed the child´s movement and quickly put the cloth away for now.
“Young master-nim!”
Cale frowned and tried to sit up, yet almost fell over wasn’t it for the man on his left supporting his back. Beacrox looked the same as usual, but he had a strangely worried look in his eyes. Actually, Beacrox wasn’t even that “scary” as Cale had first imagined. During the two weeks he had been here, he noticed that Beacrox was actually a little softie. While Ron was even more of a softie, he didn’t let it show. But Cale trusted the both of them, at least to some extent.
“Ron? Beacrox? Is something wrong?”
Beacrox simply scoffed while helping adapt the pillow behind the young boy´s back so he was more comfortable. His father, on the contrary, sighed and shook his head in disbelief.
“Young master-nim, are you still in any pain? You had a severe fever for the past two days.”
“Ah.”
Ron ignored the child´s surprised noise and continued to say what needed to be said.
“Young master-nim, have you done anything tiring? And how are you right now?”
Cale looked around the room, then used his ´Record´ ability. Everything worked just fine and he wasn’t overheating as well.
“I´m fine now.”
Ron nodded his head, his benign smile still plastered to his face. But there was something about that smile of his that disturbed Cale. It was as if he didn’t really feel like smiling like this at all.
“…Are you alright, Ron?”
The old butler chuckled at the small child´s cute remark and immediately nodded his head.
“Do not worry young master-nim. We are fine.”
It was the truth. The only reason why Ron´s smile was so strained right now was that he recalled all the times Cale had been running a fever before – every single time, he had been in pain, he had only calmed down when he was in his mother´s arms, listening to her soothing voice, feeling her warmth.
This time though, Cale hadn’t even asked where his mother was. It was as if…to him, she had never been there to begin with. As if he had never needed her to live life. Ron´s son noticed it as well. It was painful to the two servants to watch a child who had relied on his mother ever since he could take his first step and speak his first word, act as if he had done anything alone his whole life.
The two of them couldn’t help but think that the shock of his mother´s death must have been so much more hurtful and painful to Cale than the boy even cared to admit – so much, that he pretended she didn’t exist to begin with.
But if that was what it took for Cale to not be hurt, the two servants would gladly roll with it. Someday, he´d have to face the Countess´ death either way, but whenever that day would come, the two servants would be by his side.
“Okay. Did anything happen?”
Ron and Beacrox exchanged meaningful glances, before both of them started to smile. Ron for once didn’t smile benignly which was extremely unusual and creepy – and seeing Beacrox smile, someone who never really smiled…well, it is self-explaining.
“What?”
Cale got nervous when no one said anything and finally attempted to get out of bed, but was held back by Beacrox´ firm yet gentle grip.
“You´ve received a letter and an invitation, young master-nim.”
Cale´s eyes widened. What?! There was another change in the plotline? The novel said that Cale had never received any invitations in his eighteen years of life because he had been too young as a child and too much of an alcoholic with a bad reputation when he got older.
“Huh?”
Ron returned to his benign and professional smile as he handed Cale the letter addressed to him and the invitation to a banquet, both which were sent by the new friend he made.
Cale stared at the two envelopes, one fancier than the other, both with the royal seal, not knowing what to do. Deciding that it was his entire fault for misjudging the first prince´s still childish character, he saw no other choice but to open these envelopes and just go with the flow.
“Um, Ron, could you please open them?”
The old man smiled benignly as he did as he was asked and handed Cale the open envelope with the invitation to a banquet first. It was a royal banquet that must be attended by every single noble – it was a banquet held to honor…the second prince´s ability to read.
Cale almost fell over face first, then almost broke out in a mixture of laughter and tears – almost. The reason stated on the invitation to the banquet, it was ridiculous and definitely not something that deserved the attention it currently got. If the ability to read counted as such an honorable milestone nowadays, where had been the other ceremonies celebrating other noble´s “debuts”?
Ron who had looked over Cale´s shoulder had an amused expression on his face, the same that Beacrox had as well. Cale felt played. For some reason, he was certain that his new friend was responsible for this ridiculous banquet forcing every single noble of the kingdom to attend it – well, one of each family, but it resulted in the same thing. Either way, whether Deruth allowed it or not, Cale would be forced to attend as well, since his invitation was a special one, leaving him no choice but to come.
Cale stopped himself from sighing and just put the invitation aside on his nightstand. He´d deal with it later.
For now, he would first have to receive the second envelope. Ron silently handed it to him, making sure to watch the young boy very carefully. Cale swiftly took out the letter of the envelope – as if he had years of experience of doing it – and stared at its contents. The butler shook his head, knowing better than to think something so stupid. Naturally, Cale had learned by watching his mother do it all the time, he was a quick learner after all. He must miss her dearly, and it must be extremely difficult for him right now to suppress his real feelings and emotions (though Kim Rok Soo was practically a pro in doing so…).
Cale, who didn’t know what scary thoughts the butler was having, almost threw the letter away and started crying. Just how much more did people have to torture him, huh? In the letter, the first prince of the Roan Kingdom asks Cale to come to the banquet which – just as the redhead suspected – was Alberu´s work. Furthermore, Alberu asked him to stay in the capital for a couple of days after the banquet. He was as shameless as to bait him with freshly baked cookies and- haaa, it totally worked on Cale, even though he could have freshly baked cookies any time he´d like to have them.
But that wasn’t the only reason Cale wasn’t as opposed to stay in the capital. It was also to gather even more information about this world. He knew many things because of the five volumes he read (it was information that was relevant only in a few years from now) and the information he gathered for the past two weeks. Of course, Cale could search for that information here as well, like he did before, but the royal palace was bound to have more information that the public.
And therefore, it wouldn’t be that big of a loss if he accepted his friend´s request after all – though he did really not want to do that. This banquet the future crown prince organized was enough of a hassle to Cale, and now he had to stay with that problematic and troublesome guy for a few days?
Well, at least he´d get freshly baked cookies.
He certainly valued sweets a bit too much. But it didn’t matter, since he´d be productive either way.
“Young master-nim, do you plan to accept your new friend´s invitation?”
Ron was smiling as benignly as always, not giving any of the emotions he was feeling away. Cale nodded his head and placed the first prince´s letter on his nightstand as well.
“I guess it´d be rude if I didn’t go, wouldn’t it?”
Ron smiled as he nodded.
“Indeed, young master-nim. Let this old man and his son accompany you then, it´d be more fun than to just go with the Count, don’t you think?”
Cale simply nodded his head.
Well then, it was decided. What wouldn’t he do for a couple of freshly baked cook- information! What wouldn’t he do for information?
Notes:
A new update~
Man, I´m way too motivated right now, idk why at all.
I have like zero motivation for my other fics, but who cares? Someday, I´ll update them as well.I´ll write my chemistry exam tomorrow and french after that (I suck at french even more than I suck at PE and I really do suck at PE so we all know I´m gonna fail) and I just wanna cry and play sick TvT!
(But with my parents its imporrible! Waaaaah~ Why does my life have to suck sm?)
I´m not even having spanish lessons and I still know more spanish than I know the french language (my only words are baguette et croissant and even that is wrong probably! In spanish I can also say te nada, adios, bueonos dios, hola, et amigo!!!)So... just wish me luck I guess? I sure hope I won´t fail all too badly...
(I really suck at every single language besides English)
Chapter 6: 5. For the sake of my slacker life (1)
Summary:
Some funny Alberu-Cale/Ron-time cuz it´s nice
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Cale looked out the window of the carriage. It wasn’t a fancy carriage, but a normal looking one, as if it belonged to a rich commoner, but definitely not a noble. It didn’t exactly matter to him, but he began to understand the original Cale Henituse with each passing day a bit more and more. He didn’t wonder any longer why that boy turned out the way he did. It was because he understood it.
While the original Cale Henituse´s life wasn’t even half as difficult as his own, Kim Rok Soo understood. He lost his parents at a very young age and then moved in with his uncle. Two weeks. That was the amount of time everything was still normal, mostly because other relatives had stayed with him as well. But after that, everything went to shit.
It began with his uncle, Kim Seung Jong, yelling at him at every little thing he did wrong. Brought him the wrong paper sheet? Didn’t bring the beer from the kitchen? Forgot the time and stayed outsider longer? Didn’t go to bed at time? Yell, yell, and even more yell.
But it was still okay, back then, compared to what it became. The yells became more aggressive until at one point, they stopped and got replaced by hits. Those hits became beatings and those beatings got worse and worse over time.
While the original Cale didn’t have to go through that, he was still neglected by his father – his only remaining relative. Now that it was Kim Rok Soo and not the original Cale, he would make sure not to let Deruth´s ignorant and cowardly behavior get to him. It wasn’t like Count Deruth Henituse was his real father either way – and it wasn’t like he had planned to play family with him.
He wasn’t Cale Henituse either way, his parents were long dead and his uncle got what that bastard deserved too.
“Young master-nim, are you excited?”
Cale looked up at his old, benignly smiling butler. Over the past few weeks he had looked into a lot of things – one of which was Ron, the former assassin and his loyal subject. Cale had been afraid of that benignly smiling old man ever since realizing to whom he had become, but that wasn’t the case anymore. It was because he had come to the conclusion, after a couple of very risky experiments, that Ron wasn’t as cold-hearted and neglectful as in the novel. ´The Brith of a Hero´ had described the old man as someone who would leave Cale, even when he was dying. It stated that the former assassin had no feelings whatsoever for Cale, no affection, no nothing, that he had been there for Cale only because it had been his job and in order to survive.
No.
Just no.
That was not the truth. It annoyed Cale to some extent that the words Nelan Barrow, the author of ´The Birth of a Hero´, used were false. They portrayed both Ron and Beacrox as people who wouldn’t even care if the whole County would burn up as long as they wouldn’t be found by the organization that had destroyed their family, as ignorant assholes, who would kill without remorse.
And that was simply not true. Ron and Beacrox, while they looked intimidating and cold-hearted, they weren´t – not at all. In fact, they were incredibly soft-hearted even, at least to Cale. Sure, they were hard to read, but their eyes did not look like the ones of a cold-hearted man, Cale could tell. It was because there was still shine in them; they had not given up on hope, emotions or living altogether.
“I´m not.”
Ron smiled benignly, shaking his head. The few grey hairs in his dark brown hair were almost invisible. Cale smirked. He was thankful – thankful that this world was nothing like he had imagined it to be, that these people were nothing like they were described in the novel. Still, he hoped that it was the original Cale experiencing all of this, and not him. It was simple, if it was him, everything would go to shit at some point.
But Cale put that thought in the back of his mind, not thinking about it.
“Oh my, young master-nim, are you certain?”
Cale nodded his head, turning his face away to look out the window again. Ron watched the small child who had changed from one night to the other so much that he was unrecognizable. While Ron minded that change very much, he was thankful that Cale seemed to be somewhat fine. Of course, such a grave change in attitude couldn’t mean that the child was fine – but Ron was always with him and he showed no signs of grief and mourning.
It was probably his mind´s self-protecting mechanism to pretend as if he never had a mother in first place, was what the old butler had been thinking. And perhaps, just maybe, that was for the better.
“Young master-nim, do you have a certain place in mind that you´d want to visit while staying in the capital?”
Cale turned his face away from the window and landscape and looked at his loyal butler, then nodded.
“Yes, I´d want to visit the library there. And maybe some sweets shop.”
Ron smiled benignly, but his eyes sparkled with joy.
“As you wish, young master-nim. I shall accompany you then.”
Cale simply nodded his head, lost in his own thoughts once again. That´s right, he should go pay a visit to the library and look up a few history books. And when he´d be done, he could go pay a visit to the candy shop – or even better, go and take the cookies from the future crown prince! Well, since he would stay with Alberu Crossman to begin with – since he was invited as the first prince´s personal guest – he could do the best out of his visit and steal a few cookies.
“Hey Ron, how long does it usually take to travel to the capital?”
Cale looked at his butler with his usual, calm and stoic gaze. He probably wasn’t even aware of that expression of his. The old butler shook his head at the impatient child. They had departed merely three hours ago and haven’t even arrived at the Stan territory just yet, and wouldn’t in the next three hours as well.
“It´ll take one week, young master-nim.”
Cale immediately frowned. He wasn’t used to riding carriages and rests during trips. Back in South Korea when he still had been Kim Rok Soo, people didn’t have the time or power to take breaks from their trips. Everyone had to get from one point to the other really quick, else he would probably not survive.
“I see.”
Ron smiled benignly, seeing the eight year old´s expression.
“Don´t worry young master-nim, we´ll still arrive three days before the banquet so you can have a fun time playing with your new friend.”
Cale furrowed his brows but didn’t say anything, just returned to look outside the window again – there was nothing fun to do, and this was close enough to slacking off for him to just go with it. Plus, the not-destroyed landscape was something he didn’t get to see that often in his life as Kim Rok Soo. As his ´Record´ ability developed after the apocalypse and monster invasion, he forgot how an undestroyed landscape looked like. It was…nice to look at.
Not burnt grass, not black earth, not ripped out trees; and birds singing, animals living. It sure was something calming to look at as well. Cale made sure to record all of these all so little things not to forget it under any circumstances.
And just like that, the remaining three hours of the day passed. Ron got a bit uneasy after Cale simply looked out of the window and didn’t even try to talk to him, but it was something he had somewhat gotten used to. Still, it didn’t mean that he stopped worrying over it. The normal carriage without a crest soon arrived in a small territory in the Tolz territory. It was because Count Deruth Henituse had shortly decided that he didn’t want to go to the Stan territory under any circumstances.
Ah.
It was something that almost slipped Cale´s mind. His father, Count Deruth Henituse, had been invited as an official guest to this special banquet as well. And he was on this trip with him too. Why the two of them weren´t in one carriage? Because of Deruth Henituse´s resentment for his son; no, it was more because of his cowardly personality.
Either way, it wasn’t like Cale cared about something like this. He was indifferent towards the Count who wouldn’t even come when he had been told that his only son was sick. But it did not matter. Cale wasn’t Deruth´s real son anyways and he was used to no one caring about his condition, all thanks to Kim Seung Jong.
“Young master-nim, let me guide you to your room.”
Cale looked up at his frowning butler who waited for him outside the rich commoner-carriage he was in. Cale sighed as he got off and silently followed his old butler inside the small inn. He had noticed how his father had stayed in his carriage and only got off as soon as he entered the inn, as if to tell him that he didn’t want to see his face at all.
Cale didn’t actually mind, as it was for the better. Seeing Deruth´s face – no, he wouldn’t want to see that, now would he?
That little situation happened whenever the Henituse party stopped at every single inn on their way to Huiss City, the capital of the Roan Kingdom. The Count was probably ecstatic that Cale had been invited as the first prince´s personal guest as he was to stay with the one who invited him.
After the Henituse party crossed the borders, the two carriages that carried Cale and his father split up almost immediately. Cale let out a deep sigh. If he had been Cale Henituse indeed, an eight year old kid who just lost his mother, he´d have been devastated upon seeing his father´s behavior. It was quite funny actually.
“Ron, do we have to stop by his highnesses´ place immediately?”
Ron had his usual benign smile on his face as he nodded his head.
“Unfortunately, yes. Since your friend is part of the royal family we must follow proper etiquette and first pay him a visit before you may go out and look at the city.”
Cale nodded his head in understanding and watched the many people bypassing the carriage he was in. He was sure that if his father had given him a formal carriage with the Henituse crest on it, he´d have gotten a lot of attention contrary to now, when he got no attention at all. He was partly thankful even.
It didn’t take long for Ron and him to arrive at the first prince´s palace, and since the security was incredibly lack, it didn’t take long for them to get in. Cale sighed, pitying the young child who was pitying him even more. The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ had mentioned that Alberu didn’t have an easy life before he became the crown prince when he turned twenty-one. But it didn’t go into much detail after that.
Cale suspected that the author didn’t hit the bull´s eye with Alberu Crossman´s character either, and trusted that the circumstances the first prince lived in were by far worse than he had imagined – hence he readied himself for the worst.
He wasn’t welcomed by any servants upon arriving, and no one even spared him a look when he entered the vast, run down palace – well, actually, it was more like there was no one to even spare him a look.
While the palace was vast, big and roomy, Cale had noticed, even before he entered, that it was similar to his old run down shed. There had been no flowers in the garden and the supposedly green grass looked almost brown, either it was dried up or totally muddy. The insides of the palace didn’t look that much better; there were cracks in the walls – literally. The once fancy wallpaper looked used and old, there were spider webs in almost every single corner and furthermore, the floor was dirty and the furniture was dusty.
Cale and his old servant exchanged looks. While one was surprised, the other simply wanted to watch the other´s reaction – naturally Cale was calm.
“Do we just wait?”
Ron, for once speechless, simply nodded his head.
“I suppose that would be the right thing to do, young master-nim.”
Cale nodded his head and took his old butler´s hand out of habit. Perhaps it was because he was in an eight year old child´s body, but he had developed quite the habit of holding onto older people´s hands – preferably Ron´s hand. The old servant smiled as he guided his puppy like young master-nim inside the vast yet dirty hallways into what looked like the lounge. The crimson couch next to the two same colored armchairs that looked somewhat clean and the maroon coffee table with a cookie bowl on it became then the waiting place for the small kid and his old servant.
Cale immediately started nibbling on the cookies, after all, the first prince baited him with those sweets; so it was just fair, wasn’t it?
It didn’t take long for the two of them to be noticed. A servant with plain brown hair and blue eyes, an average looking woman, soon approached them with a bright smile on her face.
“Excuse me, may I ask whether you are Cale Henituse?”
Cale looked up at the woman. He had zero information about her and since the novel didn’t go into much detail about past events – besides Choi Han´s past naturally – he simply assumed that this woman was a normal servant of the first prince.
“Yes, I am.”
The woman nodded her head and her smile got a bit brighter and wider. Cale found this odd but didn’t say anything against it.
“Pardon the late welcome, young master Cale. Please let me welcome you properly in the first prince´s palace. Shall I lead you to him right away?”
Cale looked up at his old servant who nodded his head reassuringly. Cale didn’t actually look at him to ask for help, but rather to observe the old man´s reaction – after all there was still, even if it was extremely tiny, the possibility of this woman not being a normal servant but something else, like another assassin or whatnot. And since Ron didn’t seem to have his guard up, his strange hunch had probably been nothing.
“Very well.”
The servant nodded her head and then simply guided the small boy and his personal butler to the first prince´s bedchambers. While she was, just like Cale had thought, no usual servant, she had no intention of revealing her true identity. Furthermore, a certain someone was already more than aware of it.
“Right this way please~”
Cale and Ron patiently followed the servant to the third story and did every left and right turns like their guiding servant. While the first prince´s palace didn’t look that complicated from the outside, it was much more fun and difficult to navigate through it – so much that it was astonishing.
“Here we are. I wish you a great stay here.”
The female servant bowed down before she turned to knock on the door. After the formal “you may come in”, she opened the doors for the eight year old kid and his servant. She didn’t follow them as they entered the vast yet run down room.
The moment the door closed though, the maid let out an excited yelp and wasn’t able to maintain her ever so calm expression. It was because she was incredibly excited for her nephew and how he finally was able to find a friend.
Inside the room though, the atmosphere was nothing as excited as the one outside of it. Alberu openly stared at his formal guest who ignored the run down room completely and simply walked in, sat down on the emerald green couch as if he owned it and took the cookies that were displayed on the coffee table next to it.
No greeting whatsoever came from him.
His butler, naturally, followed his example and didn’t even bow down in front of the first prince of the Roan Kingdom. Instead, he stood still behind his young master and smiled his usual benign smile.
Alberu could already feel a headache coming, yet he felt unusually happy too. It was because Cale was his friend. Perhaps that was the reason why he completely ignored that boy´s rude and extremely disrespectful behavior, or perhaps that was the reason why he slowly began to accept it.
“Now you´re not even greeting me anymore, huh?”
Cale stopped nibbling on his cookie and shrugged.
“Was I supposed to greet the host of such a banquet before he would greet me?”
Alberu frowned, confusion was written all over his face.
“…But I´m not the host?”
Cale had an unusually radiant smile on his face that reminded the first prince way too much of the smile of someone who was about to sell you trash for a million gallons. He got a strange feeling upon seeing that kind of smile.
“Well, you´re the host´s son, aren´t you?”
Alberu immediately recalled where this was coming from and couldn’t help but chuckle. Well, well, an eight year old kid who knew how to use sarcasm and was smart enough to beat his “foes” with their own means. He sure was befriended with no simple kid.
“Haaa, I´m gonna die really early because of you~”
Cale shrugged and continued to nibble on his cookie. Alberu watched the small kid eat one cookie after another. He was just glad that he asked his aunt to prepare lots of cookies.
“You´re really- haaa!”
Cale looked up from the cookie bowl, clearly not understanding what the first prince was getting at. Alberu, deciding to ignore his friend´s innocent puppy-like look (he really did see the resemblance between Cale and an innocent puppy), got up from his own chair behind his desk to go sit down with Cale.
“Hey, you´re good, right?”
Cale raised his brows, not really understanding the question. The first prince sighed in defeat. He had forgotten that his new friend wasn’t just all smart but also extremely stupid in those sorts of things.
“What do you mean, your highness?”
It was now the first prince who frowned. He had always wanted to be called “your highness”, yet for some reason, hearing Cale say it – he didn’t want Cale to ever call him that. Alberu sighed and shook his head.
“Don´t call me that. Just call me hyung instead.”
Cale showed no reaction whatsoever and just continued eating one cookie after the other. It was kind of amusing to see the eight year old kid, who looked like he hadn’t eaten in days, eat the cookies with such a stoic gaze.
“I´ll. So, what do you mean, hyung?”
Alberu chuckled at that and shook his head.
“What could I mean? You´re here alone without the Count, just what could I mean?”
Cale frowned. He really didn’t understand what the big problem was. Wasn’t it normal for only him to come to the first prince – especially since he was the future crown prince´s only personal guest? Etiquette said that this was the norm, and etiquette was as much as the noble´s laws.
Alberu, seeing that kind of confused expression on Cale´s face again, just sighed and immediately dropped the topic.
“I guess you are.”
Cale shrugged while Ron also didn’t show that big of a reaction besides his eyebrow flinching. Sure, that was what it looked like to the first prince. If Cale would have looked, he would have noticed that this old man was incredibly close to snapping – if he´d have looked.
“Y- Hyung, what were you doing before?”
Alberu pointed towards his bookshelf and smiled.
“I was studying politics, not that you´d understand.”
Cale rolled his eyes at that, not that small kid talk again. He already got the feeling that Alberu wouldn’t let go of that kind of thing that soon.
“I´m sure I will.”
Alberu´s smirk turned into a genuinely amused smile. He shrugged, it was obvious that he wanted to but didn’t believe Cale´s words.
“Sure, I believe you.”
Cale pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest instead of eating another cookie which would be his fifth already – and he wasn’t even five full minutes with Alberu.
“Well, anyways, what do you wanna do? Do you already have to go to sleep? What do children normally do?”
Cale´s pout got even bigger. Even he knew that children weren´t supposed to go to sleep this early – it was only three pm!
“…I do not, your highness.”
Alberu smiled, fully aware that his new friend was upset after his little teasing. Would he stop though? Never! The pout on the eight year old kid´s face was simply too cute and kind of funny to see for him to stop. Furthermore, when he´d grow up, and when Cale would grow up, he wouldn’t have that many chances to tease him probably.
So it´d be better to do it just now.
“Really? Don´t tell me you need someone to read you a bedtime story too?”
Cale stopped pouting but his arms remained crossed. He returned to his usual, stoic expression that was somewhat calculating.
“Even if I did, you´d be the last person I´d ask, your highness. For that, your voice is a bit too rough and unpleasant to listen to, unfortunately.”
Alberu couldn’t help but laugh at that retort and Ron smiled too.
“You know, lèse-majesté (means defamation of the royal family = insulting the royal family) is a crime, no?”
Cale smiled innocently, finally uncrossing his arms and taking another cookie. Alberu´s cookies truly were the best.
“Oh really? I didn’t know, as I am nothing but a kid, as you said before.”
Alberu chuckled once again and the two friends continued this playing back and forth for a while longer. It was only when Cale finished the whole cookie bowl that he got down to “business”.
“Hyung, I want to go to the library. It´s fine if I just take Ron, right?”
Alberu smiled as he looked back at his desk. There were still a lot of books and papers on there, naturally it were his studies in history, politics, the economy and other important subjects. But then again, he could always continue those studies of his. Cale, on the other hand, wouldn’t come to visit him every day.
“It´s fine, I can come along.”
Cale frowned. That was not his plan. His plan had been to get rid of his so called new friend who was fated to become Choi Han´s ally and forget about him. If the future crown prince was to accompany him on this little trip to the city library, wouldn’t he only deepen their friendship bond? Wouldn’t that make it harder to get rid of the first prince?
On the other hand, the novel did say that Alberu Crossman had had a lonely childhood. Maybe he could still manage to hand Alberu over to Choi Han after he had spent some time with him, just so he didn’t have to be too lonely. Back in South Korea before the apocalypse and monster invasion, when Kim Rok Soo had still been a child, he had no friends. Be it because he didn’t want anyone to find out about his uncle, or because he had been the odd one out. It was no pleasant feeling, something he didn’t want any other person to have to go through.
“I suppose it´s alright.”
Alberu shook his head, trying to hold in his laughter. Yeah, he was certain now, he sure got himself an odd friend. But something deep inside him told him that Cale Henituse, this eight year old kid that acted nothing like a normal eight year old kid, would become someone he could not just trust but also rely on.
If Cale would have known what the first prince was thinking, he would have fainted indeed.
~
Huiss city was known for its 24/7 market. It was also known for its sweets and many other foods which were all in the 24/7 market. The way to the city library naturally led through the 24/7 market.
Alberu sighed as he watched Cale´s eyes widen in excitement upon seeing all different kinds of stands; one was a fire-breathing man eating water and producing dragon-formed smoke, another was a stand with a chocolate fountain and freshly baked cookies, and yet another was hot sausages. He suspected it already before coming here that Cale would act this way. It was because, no matter how mature he was, he was a sweet-tooth-fanatic.
But, it was a good thing.
Cale, who had not once in his life been on such an exciting market, pulled on his old butler´s hand as he tried to take him with him to the cookie stand with the chocolate fountain. And how could Ron say no to those eyes? There was a reason why he always compared his young master-nim with a puppy.
Beacrox, who was forced to stay behind in the Henituse territory, frowned. He got the feeling that he was missing something incredibly important but couldn’t exactly put his finger on what it was, thus decided to continue to cut the meat with his butcher knife.
“Do you want more cookies? Aren´t you afraid that you´re gonna get a stomach ache or that your teeth will hurt from eating too many sweets?”
Alberu frowned as he watched the eight year old happily eating the in the chocolate fountain drowned cookies. Naturally it was Ron´s fault for “accidentally” dropping them in the chocolate fountain for which one was supposed to only take a small dip.
“Why?”
Cale honestly looked clueless at that, making Alberu feel exhausted.
“Haaa, just know that I´m not gonna let you throw up on me if you eat too much.”
Cale now looked even more confused than before. Why should he throw up? Was there even such a thing as throwing up because one ate too many sweets? Was there even such a thing as too many sweets? He honestly doubted it. Back when he had been Kim Rok Soo, he hadn’t had the chance to eat any kind of sweets. Perhaps that was the reason for his literate obsession with those sweet things.
“I won´t though?”
Alberu let out another sigh and continued to guide Cale and his servant through the market.
Before they finally reached their goal – the city library – the three of them stopped at two more stops, one that sold chocolate cake (Cale´s eyes had light up so much upon seeing that cake that Ron saw no other solution but to buy it, it wasn’t spoiling if it was below one gold coin, so…), one that sold fruit gummy (don´t let the fruit confuse you, it was 101% sugar) and one that sold caramelized nuts (because Alberu refused to leave the market without those 2% healthy things and Cale only wanted to eat them if they were sweet, so hence they got caramelized nuts).
Cale looked happier than ever before, still eating his in chocolate drowned cookies and occasionally the nuts Alberu practically forced into him. Since this was the public city library, no one really cared whether the two boys entered with those sweets or not and thus they didn’t face any problems.
“So, what kind of books do you need?”
Cale took the nut out of Alberu´s hand and ate it before answering.
“History books, best would be one that would have a bit input of every century.”
Alberu frowned, honestly surprised.
“How old are you again?”
Naturally, Alberu was fully aware of how old his only friend was, but it seemed like Cale misunderstood.
“I´m currently eight.”
Cale had a very serious expression on his face, clearly not understanding that Alberu didn’t mean it like that. It wasn’t until Ron chuckled and patted his head.
“I don´t believe your friend has forgotten your age, young master-nim.”
“Ah.”
Cale furrowed his brows and pouted once again.
“Well, you don´t have to help.”
Alberu smiled and patted Cale´s head as well (only to show the vicious glaring butler that he could do it too).
“If a history book like that is what you want, I shall find it for you, as your friend who is taking care of you.”
Cale wanted to protest, but decided against it since Alberu would get the job done either way. If he was to protest, he would unnecessarily drag this whole ordeal out, hence he didn’t. Ron smiled benignly, watching the blonde kid somewhat run off to the history section to find the book his young master-nim had come here for.
The first prince would be enough to get the job of finding the book done, thus he decided to just take care of the small child eating his sweets contently.
It didn’t take the first prince long to find what Cale had been looking for and it take even less time for Cale to flick through the whole thing. Both Alberu and Ron stared at him in surprise, one more obvious than the other, but decided not to say anything.
But it didn’t matter to Cale, since he got a good idea of what era he was in and what had happened in the past. The basics was all he´d need to survive in this world for now.
~
That was what he had been thinking. Obviously, that proved to be wrong.
Notes:
Hi!
I wanted to thank y´all again for wishing me so much luck for my exams, I didnt need it much for chemistry (if you believe me or not, I think I got it) but I DID need it SO VERY MUCH in my french exam today! I´m in 10th grade, so naturally my french isnt supposed to be at a bad level, but god, i didnt understand what they wanted! Well, I kind of did, but I am only like 45% sure...and I didnt have enough time! Waaah!
Anyways, tomorrow is a math test, and after that it´s the weekend! So I´ll be free~
I also finished the outline (if I dont use an outline, it will get out of hand, believe me) of this fic and hell, I had so many ideas, so stay tuned!I hope you´re happy with this fluffy chapter and enjoyed it!
Til´ next time <3
Chapter 7: 6. For the sake of my slacker life (2)
Summary:
Helping out a friend in need (at a royal banquet)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Three days passed since Cale read that history book, and in those tree days he was convinced that everything would go well, after all, he knew the facts, no? But it was on the evening of the third day that he noticed that history knowledge wasn’t enough in the Roan Kingdom to survive.
It was a Friday, the day of the banquet that was held to celebrate the second prince´s ability to read – a funny reason for the king to hold a banquet, especially since his son was already ten – two years older than the average kid to learn how to read (though his mother insisted that he was just a late-bloomer) – that Cale noticed his problematic thinking.
But let´s return to the beginning first.
The morning was the same every single morning: Cale had been in Alberu´s palace had been; Cale occupied his friend´s bed while the older boy slept on the uncomfortable couch that was full of cookie crumbs.
And as every single morning before, Cale had trouble getting out of bed. Alberu sighed as he noticed that his friend was still sleeping, even though it was already one pm. Every passing day, Cale had gone to bed earlier and earlier and woken up later and later. While the boy insisted that he simply loved sleep, Alberu couldn’t help but doubt it.
Sleep was one way to escape reality, after all. While Alberu had thrown himself into studies back when his mother died, Cale didn’t have to do the same. Everyone was different, after all. Cale´s attitude changed, but perhaps that hadn’t been the only thing that did.
Ron, the old butler who was sitting on the cookie crumbs-filled couch that the first prince had slept on, was frowning while looking at the young, eight year old child sleeping soundly and peacefully.
“So…it´s one pm, do we wake him?”
Alberu was looking up from his papers and book about the current economic situation. Yes, he was just thirteen, but he had started studying at a very young age, and even before, his mother always made sure to educate him properly so he´d one day become the crown prince and take over the king´s throne.
Ron frowned and got up from the couch without responding to the future crown prince – as he always did. Alberu was almost completely certain that the old butler just didn’t like him, hence treated him – a member of the royal family – this way. Or that old man simply didn’t care about anything else than his young master-nim…
The frowning, old man approached the sleeping child. Now that Alberu observed Cale like that again, he noticed how small he truly was. Besides his cheeks, his body was 90 percent bones and the rest was skin (besides the like 1 percent cheek fat Cale had).
Alberu didn’t really comprehend how that was possible. In the past two days, Cale only ate when he wasn’t exactly sleeping. Cookies, apple pies, chocolate cake, cupcakes but also normal food; so how come he still looked like that? Alberu simply didn’t understand it.
“Young master-nim, wake up. It´s time to rise and shine.”
The old man gently shook the small child for him to wake up – yet it was of no use. Cale simply grumbled something no one understood in his sleep and hid under the blanket, trying to prolong his sleep just a bit longer.
Alberu noticed the loyal servant´s tired sigh, yet he had a genuine and almost fatherly expression on his face – no! – he was certainly more like a grandfather! That would explain the spoiling!
Ron continued to try to wake his puppy-like young master-nim and get the boy out of bed with little success. Alberu sighed, partly regretting what he was about to do already. Letting out a loud breath, he got up from his chair and approached the bed.
Okay, maybe he wouldn’t regret this as much as he thought he would.
A devilish expression on his face was enough for Ron to realize the thirteen year old´s intentions. He immediately wanted to stop him – that was why he disliked the first prince despite him being Cale´s friend – yet the blonde boy was a tad faster and was already pulling Cale´s blanket away before anyone could even do anything.
It didn’t even pass a full second before Cale sat up straight in the bed, taken aback by the sudden cold. It was then that he noticed Alberu smiling smugly with his warm blanket in his hands.
“Rise and shine shorty~”
How nice, wasn’t it? To start your morning (noon/after noon) with a pouting Cale? Especially since the boy´s cheek were the only part of his body that wasn’t stick thin, he looked even cuter.
“I´m not that short.”
Ah, and there it was; that frown on his face. Alberu smirked. Yeah, he wouldn’t regret anything besides getting the old servant´s hate – but that would have been inventible so…
“Sure, whatever you say~”
Alberu Crossman. He was someone who didn’t many things; actually, it would be more precise to say that he had nothing. His whole life, even as the first prince was a poor one, at least it turned out that way his mother died mysteriously. Yet, all of a sudden, ever since meeting this small, eight year old kid whom he believed to be nothing else but a normal eight year old kid, his life had changed.
Hell, he even teased that very boy just because it´s fun while he´d usually stay silent or say nothing but formal stuff – or use his glib tongue.
But with Cale – he could do whatever.
“Tsk, you´re really annoying. Why did you wake me up, huh? I was sleeping dammit.”
Alberu´s smirk grew bigger and bigger with each passing word coming out of Cale´s little mouth.
“Well, for one, I was feeling bored, so isn’t that reason enough?”
Cale rolled his eyes, knowing that Alberu didn’t mean it. It was obvious that he had been focused on his studies just now, but still, he was here now, with Cale´s blanket.
“Okay, you woke me up, done? Can I go back to sleep now?”
Alberu couldn’t help but laugh at that and finally threw his blanket at the redhead.
“There, take it. What will you do? Go back to s-“
Before Alberu even finished his sentence, Cale lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes, completely back asleep.
“…Huh?”
Ron let out a deep breath, then proceeded to stare at the first prince hatefully. It was because he knew exactly that taking away the blanket from a sleeping person was not an option to wake someone up; especially no child.
“Tsk, you punk.”
Alberu got even more confused. Since when did that old servant treat him casually? And why on earth was everyone who treated him casually (it were only two people up til now) by that kid´s side? Did they know that lèse-majesté was a crime?
“…”
Alberu, who was speechless, decided to let this go just this once and returned to his desk to continue his studies. After all, he didn’t have enough time to do it in the evening, since the banquet was being held. Now that he thought about it, this banquet was probably his best idea up till now. How else would he have gotten to see Cale again and deepen their friendship enough that it was okay for him to show up unannounced at the Henituse territory? Yes, that was right, that had been his plan all along.
With a content smile gracing his lips, the first prince who was fated to become king one day sat back down on his uncomfortable, wooden chair and did what needed to be done.
~
In the end, the old man somehow managed to get his young master-nim up before it was time for the banquet and even managed to dress the young boy up. It was quite funny to witness to Alberu, especially since he had been ready ever since taking originally his blanket away from the kid. Ron then guided the two boys to the main palace of the king, where the banquet would be held, yet he wasn’t able to accompany the two children to the banquet hall.
“Are you gonna meet up with the Count?”
Alberu looked at his small friend, who stood next to him with the same stoic expression as usual. He looked like he wouldn’t even budge if someone would die in front of his feet right now – although Alberu sure knew how to shock the boy to the core.
“Why should I?”
Cale did not look up at Alberu as he answered. Right now, he behaved the same as at the funeral of his mother and the beginning of the mini tea party at the Henituse territory after. The first prince did not like that behavior at all.
“Well, he´s you father…”
Cale snorted and had a somewhat grim expression on his face. It was because he, no matter how much he tried, could not see Count Deruth Henituse as a father. Up till now he had only met him twice – one time at the funeral, and the other time when the two of them got into the carriages to depart to the capital for the royal banquet. Perhaps if the man tried to behave more like a father…no, Cale knew he wouldn’t look at Deruth as a father figure ever, even if he had been a good father.
“Why aren´t you with the king? He´s your father, isn’t he?”
While Alberu would have felt offended by those harsh words, he did not. Perhaps it was because it was Cale who said it; perhaps it was because he just didn’t care anymore. Either way, he simply chuckled and nodded.
“Fine, then let´s stick together for today.”
Cale finally decided to look up at his tall friend with a confused expression on his face.
“What do you mean with ´for today´? Don´t we usually stick together?”
It was true. The two friends usually stuck together, ever since they went to the 24/7 market and the library. While those past three days were a short amount of time, it was enough for Alberu to realize that this eight year old kid was a true friend. Yes, he was lazy. Yes, he went crazy for sweets, and yes, he was still a kid but-
But he was Alberu´s very first friend who stuck close to him without ill intentions. He was also not hired by his aunt to act as his friend and was there out of his own free will.
“Well, I´m just saying. It´ll be better if you don´t run off to the chocolate fountain – or well, at least wait for me.”
Cale´s eyes immediately widened at the mention of a chocolate fountain, which made Alberu sigh. Yeah, that was to be expected. But it was better to say it now than to see Cale´s incredibly cute reaction upon seeing that chocolate fountain – especially since other nobles would too.
And as expected, the redhead quickly regained his neutral and stoic expression, as if he hadn’t ever heard that word come out of his friend´s mouth.
“I´ll, but you should hurry, your highness.”
Alberu furrowed his brows. He simply could not get used to Cale calling him that. While Cale only did so in their very little arguments to tease him, the small child had told him that it´d be for the best if he was to call Alberu by his title at the banquet as well. While Alberu understood why Cale would want to do so – to somewhat strengthen his position, even if it was just very little, and pay him the respect (in public) that he deserved – it didn’t sit quite right with him.
“Okay. I´ll try to keep the political conservations short – that is if anyone´s willing to talk to me.”
Alberu chuckled to seem somewhat confident, yet it was obvious that he was anything but that and incredibly nervous as well. Cale sighed. He had never seen anyone get this nervous before – besides the rookie employees of course. He did not know how to calm the future crown prince down. The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ described Alberu as someone who was arrogantly confident in himself – someone who didn’t know the meaning of the word nervous or anxious.
That was obvious another thing the novel got wrong.
Without giving it much thought, Cale took Alberu´s hand. It was the only thing he could think of to calm the thirteen year old kid down. He had noticed that holding someone else´s hand was calming, so he hoped that would be the case for the first prince too.
At first, Alberu was taken by surprise, but quickly calmed down. A slight smile appeared on his face and he felt a bit more confident and less nervous than before.
“Hey Cale,”
Cale looked up at the blonde kid who looked a lot more like the Alberu Crossman from the novel.
“I´ll make sure you get as much chocolate and cakes as you want.”
Cale smiled and his eyes light up at the mention of sweets. While he did not understand Alberu´s reason for saying it, he didn’t question it.
On the other hand, the first prince felt like he could do anything with Cale Henituse by his side. In that little moment, he just knew that he would have zero regrets after becoming friends with him.
Little did the thirteen year old Alberu Crossman know; that his future self would cuss him out infinitely for bringing such a headache into his life.
Finally, the future crown prince and the man who was fated to become a powerful figure in the whole kingdom – no, whole continent – entered the banquet hall.
It was a fancy hall with marble floor and dark wooden walls with golden accents. The chandelier was even fancier than the whole room with its diamonds and sapphires giving the room an extra unique shine. While the middle of the room was empty – naturally it was reserved for dancing – it was surrounded by many round tables around which many nobles were sitting, eating and chatting happily. At the other end of the room, opposite from the entrance door, stood a throne on which king Zed Crossman himself was sitting. Next to him, there sat, in all her elegance, the third prince´s mother with her small child in her hands – that “small” child was the same age as Cale.
Cale turned his head away from the woman that resembled Baba Yaga quite a lot. Luckily, he didn’t record her. While she looked alright, that expression on her face, in combination with that odd look in her eyes – it was horrifying to say the least.
Alberu didn’t lose another moment and gently pulled on Cale´s arm to get him to move, which wasn’t that difficult. The two small children finally entered the banquet without their names being called by the guards – it was actually the opposite, they ignored those two children to the best of their abilities, and if not, they gave them those disgusted looks, to which both Alberu and Cale were used to.
That too, would change at some point in the future.
“What are your plans, your highness?”
Alberu shrugged. He didn’t really have a plan.
“I guess just walking around and approaching nobles that look like they could become part of my faction, my supporters?”
Cale sighed and shook his head, stopping in his tracks and holding his new friend back.
“Your highness, you can´t be serious?”
Alberu raised his brows, not understanding why Cale was reacting the way he was. The redhead, on the other hand, took a deep breath.
“You have a few cards up your sleeve to get the nobles´ interests, so why not use them, your highness? If you simply walk up and approach nobles, they might think that you´re desperate, which would mean that they would realize that you need them. Instead, I´d suggest that your highness pretends that you aren´t in need of any supporters and gain their interest as well as attention.”
Alberu was shocked by that eight year old kid´s master-mind plan before he finally broke out in quiet laughter.
“Hahaha, you´re an eight year old kid, right?”
Cale simply shrugged, making Alberu unable to calm down for a while longer. Yet, as the first prince finally got a hold of himself, he had a calculative expression on his face as he nodded.
“That´s right, it makes a lot more sense that way. Furthermore, I have you.”
There was a somewhat mischievous expression on the thirteen year old´s face, yet Cale paid it no mind. It was because he was aware more than any other person of what he just had provided for the crown prince. He didn’t do it for free though.
If Alberu, his dear, royal friend, gained a lot of supporters, he´d become the crown prince faster than in the noble; that would mean he´d get busy very soon. That again would result in Alberu not having time for Cale and gradually forgetting him, instead replacing him with the protagonist Choi Han.
Cale smiled upon his plan and nodded to himself. Little did he know, he just created an even bigger problem...
Alberu on the other hand was already thinking through this plan. A benign smile was on his face as he looked down on his friend with that expression on his face. To Cale, it looked too similar to his old butler.
“Hey Cale~”
The redhead got the chills, listening to Alberu talk like this. He gulped, a bad feeling making itself known.
“Your friends, the ones from the tea party, they are here as well, right?”
Cale slowly nodded, not immediately understanding what Alberu wanted to achieve by that question.
“Good, very good~ Let´s go to them.”
Cale frowned even more, making Alberu´s benign and somewhat mischievous smile even bigger.
“Your highness, may I ask why?”
Alberu shook his head.
“You´ll see.”
~
And that he did.
Surrounded by not just Alberu (to whom he was still holding on to) but also Eric, Amiru and Gilbert, Cale finally realized the first prince´s master plan, which was technically his idea. Alberu Crossman, the “forgotten” and “thrown away” prince who had lost the king´s favor and usually hid himself at banquets or tried to get the noble´s favor was mindlessly chatting with children from powerful, noble families. Since there was no occasion known to the public in which Alberu Crossman went out, how could it be that he knew all of those children?
And then there was the little detail that he was holding on to the child of Count Deruth Henituse, the wealthiest noble in the kingdom, perhaps even richer than the royal family!
Did the first prince get acquaintances with those kids because their families visited him? Did he gain the support of the neutral Baroness Urbarr, the indecisive Viscount Chetter, the reserved Count Wheelsman and the wealthy (ass-rich) Count Henituse who were known to not have chosen a faction just yet?
Wait, did that mean that those four nobles knew something they didn’t yet? Did that mean that the first prince had won over the king´s favor? Did that mean that he wasn’t out of the picture just yet?
Thinking about it, made the nobles realize that the second prince, while he was still fancied by the king, didn’t exactly have much to give them. His mother was nothing but a lowly concubine, and he was a rascal. The third prince was still young, yet he was a mama´s boy.
Would it be fine if they invested in the first prince? If they supported him early on, like Count Henituse and Wheelsman, perhaps they could get something out of it too?
The atmosphere in the banquet hall quickly changed and, just as planned, Alberu became the main focus of the attention. Cale sighed as he continued to play the innocent, eight year old kid who had no idea of what was going on.
It didn’t take long for the first noble, Marquis Stand, with two of his children, to approach the friends group. Cale did not like Marquis Stan, or his family. Truth to be told, the only tolerable one of that family was Taylor Stan, the eldest son.
Luckily, Taylor was here, together with a girl, probably one of his three sisters.
“I greet the future sun of the Roan Kingdom, my prince. If I may introduce myself, I am Marquis Stan.”
The Marquis smiled wickedly as he pointed to the girl that was about Amiru´s age and the teenage boy who would turn seventeen soon. Both of them smiled and bowed down in front of Alberu as soon as their father introduced them.
“If I may ask, my prince, do you know Count Henituse?”
Alberu smiled the very smile that was described in the novel. Cale, for whatever reason, felt proud.
“But of course, how could I not know the father of my best friend?”
Cale tried not to flinch upon being called Alberu´s best friend. He knew he was Alberu´s only friend, but since when was he his best friend? Nevertheless, he could not let this ruin his master plan. Alberu needed power, no matter what. Even if he wouldn’t forget Cale (which the redhead doubted), at least he would be busy enough to not bother with him.
“Oh, really?”
Marquis Stan was taken aback. Best friends. While that really didn’t sound like much, it actually was. He looked down at the small redhead who looked cute and innocent, everything that Count Deruth was not. He did not resemble his father at all.
Marquis Stan was no good with children; furthermore he was an incredibly vicious and ruthless man, even to his own children, yet that small eight year old child- Marquis Stan crouched down in front of Cale, shocking not just his own children but also the future crown prince.
He then did the one thing he hadn’t ever done before in his life – he patted a child´s head. Even he himself was quite surprised with his own actions, but he actually didn’t regret anything.
But before he could do anything, Alberu pulled Cale behind his back and stood in front of him protectively. The first prince had seen Cale´s discontent look and he didn’t want Cale to suffer too much. Furthermore, Marquis Stan, he was unpredictable and dangerous. He did not want his only friend to get involved with a man like that.
“Marquis Stan, I must apologize for my rudeness, but I fear Cale doesn’t like strangers all too much.”
Alberu laughed off the awkwardness and surprisingly enough, the Marquis smiled.
“I understand, hahaha. I must be intimidating for such a small and frail child.”
Behind Alberu´s back, Cale started to frown again. It was because he was disgusted. Marquis Stan, he was part of the underworld. He had done so many dirty deeds, one of which would be torturing a small dragon in the future, yet dared to act like this. He was the one man Cale did not want to support Alberu. Hence, the small, eight year old kid pulled on his friend´s sleeve. While Alberu did not look back, he did immediately understand.
“Yes, indeed. I must apologize, Marquis, but I fear that I cannot chat any longer with you. You see, I am responsible for Count Henituse´s child, and I doubt he´d be happy if I make his son uncomfortable.”
Alberu purposely used Count Henituse´s name to give off the impression that he spent time with Cale not only because he supposedly was his best friend, but also because he was the son of his supposed supporter. Marquis hid his disdain behind a disgusting smile as he nodded.
“But of course. Then, it was nice meeting you, my prince. I´ll take my leave then. But I hope that your friend is fine with my children. You see, it seems that Taylor has taken an interest in him. Haha, you know how teenagers are like, don´t you?”
Alberu smiled and nodded his head until the last minute. As the Marquis finally turned away, Alberu finally dropped his smile and turned around to Cale. But before he could even say anything, Taylor did.
“Hah, um, I´m sorry… My father is a very…difficult person to deal with, my apologies.”
Alberu simply nodded his head. He had lost his chance to talk with Cale in private because of that stupid Marquis´ son!
“I don´t really mind, but you see, big people aren´t exactly Cale´s thing.”
Cale glared at his “friend”, no, he gave him the death stare. Alberu may not know, but Cale did not mind a person´s size. Hell, it were the small people one had to be cautious around, the big ones were idiots most of the time!
While Marquis Stan wasn’t a complete idiot, he was quite reckless and partly stupid as well.
Actually, not just partly stupid.
In ´The Birth of a Hero´, Marquis Stan found his end through the very children he had “raised”, it was Venion, who killed him after he had killed off every single one of his siblings, including Taylor. It happened in the third book and was the downfall of the Stan March (equivalent of Duchy estate of Marquis). All his dirty deeds were made public knowledge by Venion as he proceeded to play the innocent man he was not. He then blamed the dragon´s torture on his father as well, though he certainly was involved.
“Haha, I see! Don´t worry much about my father, he´s not really a person that pays attention to others that much.”
Taylor smiled and looked down at his seven years younger sister. She just stood next to him, not doing anything and waiting for him as an unimportant side character.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, my prince, then we won´t disturb you any longer…”
Alberu simply nodded, until he noticed how Cale pulled on his sleeve once again. Furrowing his brows, the future crown prince looked down only to see Cale nod in the teen´s direction. Alberu immediately understood.
“Young master Taylor.”
Taylor, who was following his sister back to their father, stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the first prince who had called out to him, in anticipation. He didn’t know what he should expect, but he felt excited for some reason.
“Yes?”
Alberu smiled his princy smile as he waved for the teen to come closer, which Taylor did.
“You must not worry as your father´s behavior has nothing to do with you, young master Taylor- that is in case it was still on your mind.”
Taylor smiled awkwardly as he drove his arm through his pale, blonde hair matched his pallid green eyes and all in all he looked quite weak for a noble, but that was nothing Alberu did not know. It was a wide known rumor that the first young master of the Stan March was quite weak.
“Thank you very much, my prince. It indeed calms my mind.”
Alberu smiled, then quickly looked down at Cale. Cale simply nodded, for him to continue.
The first prince let out a tired sigh as he continued his conservation with the first born son of the Marquis. Meanwhile, Amiru, Eric and Gilbert stayed silent, quietly observing the whole conservation. Even though they were still young, all of them were noble children who had tutors. Furthermore, they weren´t complete morons that they wouldn’t understand what was going on right now.
“It must be difficult, having such a man as your father.”
Alberu´s words were meant as a joke, yet Taylor nodded seriously.
“It is. He wants many things from his children, things we cannot fulfill. It´s not just difficult, but also extremely nerve-wracking.”
Alberu chuckled at that, trying to keep everything light and simple. The two elder boys conversed for a few more minutes. It was important for Alberu to build a base with someone of Taylor Stan´s position.
After a while, Taylor excused himself and followed to catch up to his father and younger sister. After that, many other nobles, mostly with their children, approached the young children. And subsequently, noticing that staying wouldn’t be much fun, Eric, Gilbert and Amiru left Cale and Alberu behind.
“My, my, what a shy child he turned out to be.”
But the luck-streak soon ended.
Alberu frowned upon noticing who was standing before him.
It was the queen, the third prince´s mother.
She smiled her venomous smile.
While she wasn’t exactly ugly (she was, and holy cow, how ugly she actually was!) the expression in her eyes was something that took very much time getting used to.
“How old is that boy again?”
Cale now stopped hiding behind the first prince´s back and stepped forward, his usual calm expression on his face. He tried not to look that witch in the face, but it simply couldn’t be helped.
“I greet her majesty, the moon of the Roan Kingdom without which we citizen of this great land couldn’t survive at night. It is such an honor meeting her majesty whose existence alone lets me be at ease at night. You are the light that guides our kingdom at night while the king rests.”
Cale bowed down while using his extremely trained glib tongue. He knew how to deal with insects like that, who were too full of themselves. Just flatter them, and they leave you alone.
The queen was the same. She giggled as she nodded her head in surprise.
“Oh my, where does such a talented young boy come from? To be honest, I didn’t think he´d be this well-mannered, especially since he´s the child of a lowly woman like Jour.”
Cale showed no reaction whatsoever at the mention of his dead mother. The reason was simple: He ignored everything the queen said the moment she opened her mouth. He did feel disrespected by that witch´s words, but he was not allowed to show it.
It was the same for the first prince.
“I feel honored that her majesty herself flattered me with such meaningful words, but I doubt I´m worthy enough of given so much praise at once.”
“Ho, what a humble child you are. If only you weren´t her child…haaa.”
The queen then glared at Alberu who showed no reaction just like Cale. After that, she finally turned around (without as much as saying goodbye) and left the two children on their own; which was, naturally, for the better – without question.
After she left, Alberu took a deep breath and looked down at his friend.
There sure were a lot of things he didn’t know about him, for example how he had such a glib tongue, but the future crown prince didn’t feel the necessity to ask.
“Hey Cale,”
Cale looked up at his taller friend with raised eyebrows.
“Wanna go to the chocolate fountain?”
The answer was obvious.
Notes:
Hello~
Sooo...
I totally failed my maths exam... (BLAME IT ON MY TEACHER!!!) and well, ever since, I´ve been complaining about her. In all honesty, SHE is in the wrong. You must know, our math teacher hasnt gotten her college degree yet and is more like a part-time worker (we call it Praktikant). She can´t explain shit but I still understand it (because it´s math and my father is the best in explaining stuff).So, I expected the math test to be MATH QUESTIONS and not DEFINITION QUESTIONS! Naturally I studied math and not some stupid ass definitions!
Sorry, I just had to complain again and again. I understand that it may be easier to grade, no, hell, I can´t understand it at all!
Anyways, I hope you liked the new chapter. Up till now, I´m still following my outline as planned, though I´m dragging this event out for like no reason. The banquet was supposed to be half a chapter, maximum would be one, but now it´ll be more than that. I have zero idea about how much longer this ff is going to be, but well...
I really don´t know.
Perhaps I have to cut it short...
Well, we´ll see.Sometimes, dragging fics are the best because they don´t end so soon or apruptly (I´ve read quite a few fics where the ending got rushed and I cried my eyes out!)
So, stay tuned ~
Chapter 8: 7. For the sake of my slacker life (3)
Summary:
First step towards slacker life - Cale´s wishful thinking.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As promised, Cale got provided as much chocolate from the chocolate fountain and as much cake as he wanted. Both Alberu and the small child ignored the nobles (not so quiet) comments on an eight year old eating too much sugar before going to bed.
It was true, at first, Alberu had been reluctant to give Cale cookies in the evening too because he doubted that he´d be able to sleep, but he realized right away that there had been no need to worry. The redhead would be able to fall asleep no matter what he ate, he it tons of sugar. The question was whether he´d be allowed to eat that much.
“Hey Cale, you´re okay, right?”
Cale looked up from his strawberry cake. Currently, Alberu and he were sitting outside on the balcony as they had managed to escape the many noble´s vicious glares.
“Of course, why do you ask?”
Alberu sighed and patted Cale´s head too. He didn’t like Marquis Stan doing the same thing with the redhead´s hair he always did.
“No reason.”
There was a reason. The insensitive witch/queen had mentioned Cale´s mother before, merely a month after the funeral. Just what had she been drinking?!
“Okay.”
Cale didn’t notice Alberu´s inner dilemma as he contently continued eating the cake on his plate. Alberu soon stopped thinking about those two unfortunate encounters and watched his little friend eat so happily. He was never able to enjoy food, either because of it having the possibility of being poisoned or it being by far too simple to enjoy, yet seeing Cale eat so happily…
“Hey!”
Alberu smiled as he took a bite out of Cale´s strawberry cake and finished it completely after that. Indeed, he enjoyed it for some reason. How strange, a few days ago, before Cale´s visit, his aunt brought him the same cake, yet he didn’t enjoy it. Right now, it tasted different as well…it was more sweet, much nicer on the tongue.
He liked it.
“If you wanted cake, you should have taken one! Why steal mine?”
Alberu chuckled as he reached out to take the remaining half of Cale´s chocolate cake. Contrary to the redhead´s words, he didn’t turn his plate away and let Alberu have it, disregarding his unhappy expression.
“Dunno; if I steal it from you it tastes better.”
Cale rolled his eyes, thinking Alberu was sarcastic again. But for once, the first prince was dead serious – yet, Cale didn’t have to know, now did he?
“You have to bring me a new one when I´m finished, just so you know.”
Alberu shrugged.
“As if I´d leave you on your own. What will you do if that madman comes again and tried to pat you like a pet?”
Alberu laughed again, only because he knew that this was impossible. And even if that Marquis tried to do so, he would be punished. Yet, Cale didn’t have to know this.
“Tsk, don´t be so smug about it. You´ll have to carry all of my treats then.”
Alberu simply nodded, enjoying the moment with his new friend. It was already very late and the sun was setting. The wind was cool but not exactly cold. It meant that it would be summer soon.
“Hey Cale, do you have any plans for summer?”
Cale looked up once again to see Alberu watch the sunset. He sighed and shook his head.
“No, hyung, I don´t.”
Actually, he did have a plan, quite a few plans actually. For one, he needed to finally get the shield ancient power. It´s already been a bit over a month since he got here and he had the feeling that he had to move faster than his six month time limit. Secondly, since it would be summer, the northeastern noble´s meeting would be held. While it usually wouldn’t concern him, this year, it was supposed to be held in the Henituse County, which meant that other families and their successors would be coming over. Just in case Venion would come, Cale had to prepare. And thirdly, and most importantly, Cale had to slack off. After such a long time, Cale could finally relax and chill until something dangerous would come up – which hopefully wouldn’t.
After summer was over, he wouldn’t have to do anything ever again. Sure, he would have to collect a few ancient powers to be able to protect himself; but he could do that in a few years just as well. He would also have to rescue the small dragon before he even got the chance to be tortured, but that too could wait.
He had lots of time on his hands until the events of ´The Birth of a Hero´ would begin, and until then, he would just slack off.
Alberu, who didn’t know about any of this, just nodded his head.
“Okay.”
Cale looked at the future crown prince and sighed.
“Hyung, what about you?”
Alberu smiled and turned to face Cale instead of the setting sun.
“Well, I have to start building up my faction, don´t I? It´ll be quite the busy summer, but all the hard work of today should pay off, right?”
Cale smiled at that.
In the novel, Alberu didn’t get the chance to build his faction until he turned sixteen. Up until then, he didn’t even have the chance to talk to nobles. But now, now that he would start with thirteen, it would be quite the big change – a good change, naturally.
“Are you happy, hyung?”
Alberu smiled back.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Both boys laughed at that and spent a bit more time on the balcony until it was time to return to the banquet. As it was almost over, they didn’t have to stay and hear out the nobles as much as before. After half an hour, Zed Crossman got up from his throne and officially ended the banquet with a couple of words.
The nobles exited, the royal family went back to their chambers and the two boys didn’t lose another second and hurried out of the building where Cale´s loyal servant had been waiting patiently. Ron immediately smiled upon laying his eyes on his puppy like young master-nim, yet he wasn’t able to hide his discontent about Alberu´s presence.
“Did you have fun, young master-nim?”
Cale smiled as he shrugged.
“It wasn’t as bad as I expected, but the nobles were quite a pain in the ass…”
Ron laughed at that bold choice of words coming from his young master-nim. He then stared at the first prince who was still holding onto Cale´s hand. By now, Cale had completely forgotten about it, and perhaps, Alberu did too, but to Ron it was anything but appropriate and okay!
The butler cleared his throat and forcefully (well, in Alberu´s point of view even violently) separated the boys´ hands by taking Cale´s small hand in his. Obviously, Cale being Cale, he didn’t notice anything amiss and just rolled with it.
“Young master-nim, did anyone do something that might have offended you?”
Cale stopped looking down on the ground and instead looked at his benign smiling butler with the vicious expression in his eyes. Perhaps it was because he was a child and children trust easily, but he didn’t think Ron was as scary as he did when he was still reading the novel. Actually, it was the opposite even, he kind of trusted that benign old man.
Still, that didn’t mean that he was completely stupid.
“Don´t worry about it, my hyung got me covered.”
For once, Cale let out a mischievous smile both Ron and Alberu were uncertain of. What was that smile? They haven’t ever seen Cale smile like this before. Naturally, it was just Cale trying to hold his laughter.
“Oh, this old man understands.”
The three of them then started walking back to the first prince´s palace in a comfortable silence. It was already dark outside, yet it wasn´t too bad. The many magic street lamps light up the dark alleys, enough for them to see everything just fine.
Just before entering Alberu´s palace, Ron stopped and looked down on his expressionless young master-nim.
“Young master-nim, on how much longer do you plan on staying with your friend?”
Cale furrowed his brows and turned to Alberu who lifted his hands defensively.
“Don´t look at me like that, I won´t kick you out.”
That answer seemed to satisfy Cale enough for him to stop glaring at the poor prince. Little did Alberu know, he´d come to regret that answer eventually.
“Ron, when will the Count leave?”
Ron frowned, but answered nonetheless.
“In the early morning, young master-nim. He plans on staying only as much as needed and wants to return as soon as possible.”
Cale nodded thoughtfully, then smiled.
“Okay, then we´ll leave a week after that. You´re fine with that, right hyung?”
Alberu smiled happily. How could he be against that?
“But of course, do you even need to ask?”
That week that Cale stayed with his friend the future crown prince, passed faster than those three days before the banquet. Alberu didn’t even know where the time vanished to as he stood in front of his palace, watching his aunt help Cale´s loyal subject ready the carriage.
He let out a tired sigh, then gazed at the eight year old kid who was eating cookies once again.
That had been the only thing he had been doing the past week – eating one cookie after the other. His butler literally had to force him to eat normal food, but it was fun. Alberu was certain that his palace wouldn’t be the same without this sleep-loving redhead.
“Young master-nim, we´re almost ready to depart.”
Cale nodded and got up from the stairs he had been sitting on. He turned around to face Alberu and held out his hand – very professionally, as always.
Alberu chuckled at that and ignored the hand; instead he leaned in to give Cale a hug. Cale sighed as he accepted that very heartfelt hug.
“Hey, don´t cry, okay?”
Alberu let go as quickly as he grabbed the small boy, yet he couldn’t hide his smile.
“Tsk, who´s the one who´ll cry, huh?”
Cale shrugged, his usual stoic expression on his face.
“I´m certain it won´t be me, hyung.”
Alberu couldn’t hold in his laughter. He knew Cale was right. There was no way the redhead would cry over something as simple as departure. Furthermore, it wasn’t like this was his last visit. And if Cale truly wouldn’t visit any time soon – there was always the option to just go visit him at the Henituse County.
“Yes, it won´t be you. You´re way too wicked to cry.”
Cale ignored Alberu´s words as if the first prince hadn’t said them to begin with. Ron smiled benignly, he was very proud of his young master-nim.
“I´ve learned from the best, my heartless hyung~”
Alberu snorted at that. Sure, he was a bit…well, he liked to make fun of his friend, but that didn’t have to mean anything. Alberu let out a deep sigh.
“Hey Cale,”
The young, eight year old redhead turned around to face his friend. He was met with a serious gaze, which gave him the chills. Cale already regretted having turned around, yet he couldn’t just pretend he never did it to begin with.
“What?”
Alberu had a deadpanned expression on his face as he was incredibly serious about this right now.
“Visit me.”
Cale´s chills disappeared and he had a genuine smile on his face. He then simply shrugged and didn’t give a serious answer to Alberu´s request. But Alberu was actually thankful for that, it was because he knew that was Cale´s way of trying to do it, after all, he didn’t say anything he wouldn’t be able to do.
“Then, see you soon.”
Cale nodded his head and finally got into the carriage, ready to head back to the Henituse Estate. Ron smiled benignly as he closed his door and got in the driver´s seat. With a head-nod in the first prince´s direction, the old butler left – and with him, Alberu´s best friend.
The week was over way too fast.
~
It was a Friday on which Ron and Cale returned to the Henituse County. While it was already early July, the weather in the Henituse territory was unusually cold and humid. The clouds were dark and it looked like it would rain soon again.
It was strange, usually, the Henituse territory in the northeast, while it wasn’t the hottest, didn’t have bad weather in summer.
Cale got off the carriage with Ron´s help and was immediately greeted by the head chef who wasn’t allowed to accompany his favorite child on this trip. Beacrox didn’t smile, but that gentle expression in his eyes was enough for Cale to realize that the “torture expert” had missed him.
“Welcome back, young master-nim, father.”
Beacrox bowed down, like any other servant. Cale shook his head and waved his hand for Beacrox to stop. He didn’t want his people to bow in front of him.
“Good afternoon to you too, Beacrox.”
Cale smiled after saying that and nodded to himself. He didn’t know why, but he felt oddly happy. Perhaps it was because someone actually greeted him – which he had never experienced before. Sure, Alberu greeted him too, but it wasn’t the same.
“Young master-nim, may I interest you in a late afternoon snack? I´ve been working on a new cake.”
Cale immediately nodded his head. If it were sweets, just like if it was money, he wouldn’t think twice.
“Yes please.”
Beacrox´ lips curled up and that resembled a smile enough for Cale to see it as a smile. He looked up at his old butler who nodded, encouraging him to follow the head chef and to try this new cake. Cale didn’t waste a single second, quickly walking towards Beacrox. He took the man´s hand and pulled him towards the County in order to get to try the new cake he was talking about.
It was quite a funny but welcome thing to watch.
Ron proceeded with Cale´s luggage and then finally entered the County himself. He had a bad feeling, and as a former assassin, he had learnt to trust his every so little feeling. Sometimes, a feeling was more precise than one´s own judgement.
First thing first, Ron walked towards the Count´s office as the protocol said. Naturally, he didn’t want to face that cowardly, incompetent father-bastard, but did he have a choice? The answer was simple, he didn’t.
The old butler knocked on the door and just like usual, Count Deruth Henituse called him in. Ron bowed down, Count Henituse nodded and asked him to stand comfortably, then Ron waited for his questions.
But no questions came, at least not any questions about Cale.
“Ron, you have to tidy the estate up flawlessly. The northeastern noble´s meeting will be held in three weeks at our estate and I will not tolerate even the smallest of dust particles.”
The old butler frowned, immediately understanding the between the lines order.
“My Lord, I understand your order. But I must say that I am your son´s only-“
“What son? Do you mean that devil´s child that took away my wife? That evil creature that resembles my late wife so much? Who allowed you to serve that brat? Who cares about that thing? Just do as you are told. I don´t care about what happens to that thing.”
Ron stood there, emotionlessly, in Count Deruth Henituse´s office, without responding or moving for a few seconds. He just stood there, as if he´d become a statue. Those ugly yet heartfelt words cut deep inside the old butler´s heart. The child he loved, the child he would die for, that child that had gotten a place in the former assassin´s heart was called a thing, devil´s child and evil creature by the man who was his supposed father.
But that man, Ron could not kill him. Because if Ron was to kill him, that would leave the child he adored so much without both father and mother. But that wasn’t something Ron wouldn’t be able to deal with. The real problem was that this would leave the small child as the target of all nobles. While his new friend was the first prince, he wasn’t powerful enough yet to protect the redhead.
So, Ron could only nod and smile.
Smile benignly, nod and bow, telling that scumbag of a cowardly father that he´d do as he was told. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t manage to do that. As the current head butler, Ron held the highest position in the County out of all servants. He would pull the Count´s order off one way or the other.
And if things got a bit complicated, he still had his son. Beacrox adored Cale just as much as he did, so it wouldn’t be a problem to leave the small child in his care for a few hours.
“Good, if you understand, then I expect you to go to the Breck Kingdom right away. There´s a merchant that sells rare tea leaves. I expect you to only pick the best of the best, then return and clean the entire County up. You have a whole week after returning from the Breck Kingdom for that, after all.”
Deruth, that bastard, that cowardly motherfucking bastard, had the audacity to smile. Usually, a trip to the Breck Kingdom and back would take one week, but the merchant Deruth was talking about lived far away, making the trip one week longer. And Ron´s speed was already accounted, naturally.
“I understand, my Lord. I will do as you say.”
Deruth´s smile widened. Ron was more than just convinced of it now – Deruth, that motherfucking coward sent Ron to separate him from Cale! But there wasn’t much Ron could do besides follow the bastard Count´s order. Still, he was extremely displeased as he exited the Count´s office. There was his son who would be able to take care of the child, but his son wasn’t him.
It annoyed Ron more than he´d like to admit.
He walked through the hallways like he had always done, and finally arrived at his destination – the kitchen. He sighed and entered after talking a split moment to think about what he was going to tell his son and adorable child.
“It´s good! Can I have some more, pretty please?”
Ron smiled. He immediately recognized Cale´s voice. He stopped in his tracks and leaned on the wall, quietly observing his son and protégé.
Beacrox had a knife in his hand with which he had just cut the cake in front of the eight year old kid. Cale, who had already finished two pieces of cake, looked up at the head chef with puppy eyes. Not even Ron stood a chance against those weapons of Cale.
And so did Beacrox.
He sighed in defeat as he cut the redhead yet another piece of cake. Ron smiled at that and finally made his presence known, telling both Beacrox and Cale what was about to happen – that he had to depart for two weeks and that the two of them would be on their own.
Both his son and Cale didn’t show much of a reaction, so it wasn’t all too bad. The rest of the day passed quietly and so did the next day, on which Ron departed.
The two days after that went quietly.
It was the third day that the first problem arose.
“I want to go out.”
Beacrox looked down on the small child, sitting on a bar stool in his kitchen while eating breakfast and talking calmly about going out. Beacrox didn’t know much about children, he never needed to know much about children, but there was one thing he knew about himself; he loved children and was unable to ever say no to them, especially to Cale if he was to use that puppy look again.
The talented head chef cleared his throat and looked Cale up and down.
“Where do you want to go to?”
Cale shrugged, thinking about an excuse to use on the cook.
“I don´t know where to, I just want to take a look around Rain City. I´ve noticed that I haven’t been out lately, so I just want to take a look.”
Beacrox sighed. That´s right, before the Countess died, she and Cale had often been out in Rain City, for whatever reasons they had – be it just to take a stroll. Hence, Beacrox misinterpreted the child´s desire as a desire to do the one thing again he often had done with his dead mother.
“Hm, shall I accompany you, young master-nim? It is dangerous for children your age to go out a-“
Ah, and there it was, those puppy eyes Beacrox wasn’t able to say no to. The head chef already sighed internally, regretting his every word greatly.
“Alright, you may go out. But you have to be back before lunch, understood?”
Cale nodded fiercely as he got up from the bar stool and hugged Beacrox´ - which was more like hugging the man´s long legs. Nonetheless, Beacrox smiled and accepted the hug. Not soon after, Cale was gone – he finally went out in the city to fulfill the first part of his plan: Getting the Indestructible Shield ancient power.
Cale´s plan to get that ancient power was rather simple, as he was an unloved child and didn’t get any allowance so he simply had to get some allowance, which he had done in the two days before. Now, the eight year old child was the proud owner of three gold coins, which meant three million gallons – it was more than enough to get enough bread to feed to the black tree in the slums!
Since the Henituse territory had the reputation as safest territory in the Roan Kingdom and had the least bit of thugs, Cale didn’t really worry about anything bad happening to him. And even if, he trusted that Beacrox would find him if he didn’t come back before lunch – even if he simply lost track of time for a few minutes.
That was the kind of person Beacrox Molan was.
“Oh my! What a cute child you are! Sweetheart, how old are you?”
Ah, perhaps he should have waited a couple more years before getting the Shield ancient power so that he wouldn’t have the appearance of such a weak and frail child. Nevertheless, once started, Cale couldn’t just take it back, hence he tried to act to the best of his abilities – and Cale´s acting was perfect.
“I´m eight!”
The old lady who stood behind the counter at the bakery laughed at that cute response as she nodded her head.
“Oh my, you look even younger than that! How can I help you, sweetie?”
Cale smiled innocently as he placed his order.
“I need a full sack of every single bread you have! And I need one for tomorrow and the day after that as well!”
The woman furrowed her brows in suspicion, but one look at the small child and she was back to normal again.
“Alright! I´ll do that for you. Do you want to pay already or-“
Cale placed a gold coin on the counter, which was more than enough for three full bags of breads. The woman was quite shocked and stared at Cale in disbelief.
“Sweety, by any chance, do you know how much money that gold coin is?”
Cale looked down and pretended to be sad.
“I-Is it too l-little?”
Almost immediately, the woman shook her head so fast, it was painful to watch.
“No! Of course not, sweetheart! It is by far too much! Child, the three bags of bread are not even worth half of what you´ve given me!”
Cale quickly looked up, full of energy once again.
“Then can you give me as many full bags of bread as that coin is worth?”
The baker didn’t let the child repeat his question and nodded her head.
“Do you want one bag per day?”
Cale pretended to think for a while, before he shook his head.
“No! I want now two days per day!”
The baker woman laughed as she nodded her head. The bags full of bread weren´t heavy, so she didn’t worry that the small child wouldn’t be able to carry two of them.
“Alright, then I´ll give you eight bread bags, two each day. So you have to come back three more times, is that okay with you, sweetie?”
Cale pretended to be cheerful and smiled as he nodded his head full of energy.
“It´s super!”
The baker woman couldn’t help but laugh at that, then handed Cale two bags full of bread.
“Be careful, sweetheart! Don´t fall on your way back!”
Cale nodded his head while he smiled brightly as if he was the most innocent and happy kid to have ever walked on earth. He actually was the complete opposite, but no one had to know, now did they?
As soon as Cale exited the shop quarter of Rain City and entered the slums, his smile fell. Even though he was a powerless and weak kid, no beggar approached him just because of the two bags full of bread. They did notice him, but didn’t dare do anything to him. They may be beggars, but they weren´t thugs. And they weren´t as shameless as to ask a little kid for food.
Additionally, they still had their pride as human beings.
Hence, Cale managed to get to the famous man eating tree without any trouble or anyone trying to stop him. A proud smirk was on his face as he walked up to the black tree that was famous to make men disappear.
This was one of the ancient powers that haven’t ever been picked up in the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´. The novel mentioned that there was the Indestructible Shield ancient power hidden in the man eating tree that could only be obtained by feeding the tree with bread, yet no one was able to find out the secret behind that black tree, causing it to rot until the very end.
But Cale wouldn’t let such a useful defensive ancient power go to waste, especially since it would be able to protect him from all sorts of things. The novel did mention that this special ancient power was one of the most powerful ones and that it had been a shame that no one had found out the secret behind it.
With a big smile on his face, Cale opened one of the two bags full of bread and started to tip it into the black hole next to the man eating tree. Almost immediately, he heard a voice in his head.
-Food! Real food! More! I need more! Give me more food!
Cale frowned upon hearing that voice, but he complied with what she said and tipped the other bag full of bread into the black hole next to the man eating tree as well.
-Ahhh! I can´t remember eating such delicious bread before! It´s been such a long while!
-More! Give me mooooore!
Cale finally emptied the two bags full of bread.
“Don´t worry, I´ll come back tomorrow and feed you again, so don´t worry too much.”
-Yes, bring more bread! Bread! That tasty bread was so yummy!
The voice in Cale´s head then started to describe the taste of the bread in detail which annoyed the eight year old kid immensely, yet he couldn’t just cut off a voice in his head, now could he? So he simply had to roll with it. Furthermore, while the voice of that glutton was talking in his head, he noticed how the pitch black hole next to the pitch black tree had turned a bit lighter, now it was a bit more of a dark grey. Cale couldn’t help but smile – it was just like it had been described in the novel.
The following three days, Cale asked for permission to go out again and again. Beacrox didn’t find it suspicious as he suspected that Cale may have simply found playing mates with whom he spent his time until his father would get back.
It was on the fourth day that he started visiting the man eating tree that something changed. The hole next to the black tree was almost completely white and Cale was certain that he wouldn’t have to come there for a fifth time. Furthermore, the glutton´s words have changed.
Instead of asking for more bread, she was talking about her past. Her voice, contrary to the last three days, wasn’t excited but calm and collected.
-In my past life, I didn’t get the chance to eat such delicious food.
-I was captured in a dark forest and forced to eat dirt! Dirt!!!
-My friends and I, we got separated.
-I don´t think any of them survived.
The rambles of the glutton went on and on while Cale fed the hole under the man eating tree bread. As the hole finally turned a holy white color, the glutton´s words stopped for a few moments.
-So I am very thankful for this delicious bread!
And there it went again, with that crap of an evaluation of the bread, just as Cale thought it was finally done with that.
“Yes, yes, I understand that-“
-You do? What a wonderful human you are!
Cale furrowed his brows, not understanding what was going on.
-I´ll protect you!
Then, the black, man eating tree suddenly turned white and an ominous light approached Cale, no, it practically flew into his chest! Cale expected it to hurt, yet, nothing happened. Instead, he could hear the glutton´s voice one more time.
-Don´t worry about any attacks in the future, I will make sure you won´t get hurt!
A smile appeared on Cale´s face. It was a happy smile. A smile that appeared on Cale´s face because he knew that the first step to his slacker life has finally been done and fulfilled.
´I did it.´
He did it.
Notes:
Hi.
So... if you got the feeling that this chapter was somehow rushed, yes, it was. And not just a bit. I tried to make it not as obvious, but I still get the feeling that y´all can tell, so please ignore it.
I just had to update today because I don´t know whether I´ll be able to update this week again. Firstly, I´m probably sick (idk what´s wrong either, I´m just feeling dizzy every now and then and my head hurts, plus my nose is stuffy and yeah, not the best feeling). Secondly, I have an exam tomorrow (we call the subject NwT, it´s akin to engeneering class, but for dummies), and a history exam on thursday and history is the one subject I don´t wanna fail. Thirdly, my friends and I have to work on an english project that´s due on friday so...
Yeah, you see, it´s rather difficult to update this week. But who knows? Maybe I´ll write something at two am or some shit. Furthermore, my shedule for firday is still free...
Anyways, I just wanted to tell y´all that it´s a bit difficult right now, but I´ll try my best~
(I still hope you liked this chap, even if it was a bit rushed T^T)
Chapter 9: 8. Birthday Gift (1)
Summary:
Fluffy time at a certain someone´s birthday <3
[Watch out for strong language in the second half of the chapter]
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
After obtaining the Shield ancient power, Cale was able to slack off for two weeks and a half. It was a time he did nothing but roll around in bed, he only ate and slept all day long – which naturally worried his two loyal subjects Ron and Beacrox. But after a thorough conservation, in which Cale repeatedly said that he was fine and truly nothing was the matter, Ron and Beacrox let him be.
Naturally, he couldn’t slack off for long because of the northeastern nobles´ meeting which was held at the Henituse estate this year, yet he managed that relatively well – considering he didn’t come across Venion Stan and was able to get unnoticed by any of the other nobles, including his “friends´” parents.
After that nobles´ meeting, Cale continued his slacking off. He had lots of time to do so, seeing how he could prepare for his survival in this world much later, a whole decade to be precise. The ancient powers wouldn’t run away and they wouldn’t be discovered by anyone else either. Plus, he had the most important one already; the Indestructible Shield was sure to protect him.
His father didn’t bother him and most servants avoided him now. He didn’t have to go out of his room to eat dinner and he didn’t have to go out of his room at all, actually – something Cale didn’t have the privilege to do in his life as Kim Rok Soo.
For Cale, this was the heaven on earth!
That is, until that fateful day arrived…
With a fat grin on his face he stood there, holding a big ass bag in his hands. No, the bag wasn’t even the main problem right now…!
“Happy birthday~ you´re nine now, right?”
Cale couldn’t take his eyes off of the boy in front of him, the boy who was supposed to be in his run down castle, studying economics and politics or whatever – hell, he could also not be doing that, as long as he wasn’t here! But he was here in fact!
Alberu, seeing and enjoying his friend´s shocked expression, made sure to remember to pay more surprise visits to him in the future. This expression – it was too good to let go that easily.
“Why are you looking at me like that, huh? Aren´t you happy that your hyung came to visit you on your birthday? I even brought a present with me~”
As soon as Alberu mentioned the present, in this case the bag in his hands probably, Cale´s eyes light up and he stopped looking as shocked as before. Instead, he cleared his throat and tried to tidy himself up, at least mentally. Ron who was watching the two boys carefully worked hard in order not to smile.
He had been surprised too, at first, as the little (well, not so little) first prince was standing in front of him, staring up at him with that intense glare. He had teleported here – there was no questioning it. How he had pulled that off was another question though, one that Ron wouldn’t ask as of now.
“Well, I suppose it´s not that bad?”
Alberu couldn’t hold in his laughter as he watched Cale stretch out his hand, awaiting a certain present to be handed over to him. It was quite amusing. He recalled how he had doubted that Cale would want a present, but he still had gotten one after listening to his aunt telling him that all children loved presents. Guess she was right after all.
But, teasing came first.
“Ah~ you want a present? Isn´t your busy hyung coming to your birthday enough of a present?”
Cale´s pouting expression was gold, that´s for sure. Alberu, even if he didn’t know it just yet, would never be able to forget that kind of expression on his friend´s face. It was a mixture of shock, confusion and utter disappointment.
“…You didn’t bring a present?”
Alberu simply smiled brightly. Naturally he did bring one, but teasing Cale was too much fun.
“Haaa, this is disappointing. Hyung, you sure have a talent for making me feel excited for nothing.”
Ron stopped smiling so benignly, instead there was a somewhat strained expression on his face which neither Cale nor the first prince noticed. It was all because the old butler, once again, misinterpreted the child´s words and thought they meant something they did not.
It was because, in the past, Cale had always loved his birthdays, it was the best day of the year, a day which even Deruth managed to not ruin (due to Jour´s excessive warnings). Cale always got so many presents, there would always be a little party and he would always smile – something he did not do right now.
Ron wouldn’t know the reason, but he was certain it was because of his mother´s death a couple months ago.
He wasn’t all too far off actually. While it wasn’t because of Jour Henituse´s death, it had something to do with a dead person. Today, the day on which Cale Henituse had been born, was the 8th November – the very same day Choi Jung Soo and Kim Rok Soo had been born too. It was quite the funny coincidence, yet Cale had never, not even once, enjoyed his birthday.
On the 8th of November only bad things happened, no matter what. Even when he had still been a child as Kim Rok Soo, nothing good ever came of his birthday.
The 8th November was the day his parents had the accident, it was the day he was adopted by his uncle.
The 8th November was the day his uncle had started his abuse, had started yelling at him, and had then started throwing something at him.
The 8th November was the day he had lost a good middle school friend due to another accident.
The 8th November was also the day the monster apocalypse started in South Korea (technically it was the 7th, but since it had been midnight, Cale counted it to the events of the 8th November).
The 8th November was also the day the Unranked Monster appeared and the day Kim Rok Soo miscalculated everything, causing his newfound family to die.
The 8th November was the day he was born on – the day every single person´s life had started to go downhill.
While Cale had no idea of all of these lingering emotions that were connected to those sorts of deep thoughts, he did have all of them, especially the last one.
Even if his birthday had ever been something special, he wouldn’t remember. Maybe it was for the better, he didn’t deserve to. But- No one would ever find out about this, Cale would make sure of it. It was something he and he alone would have to deal with.
“Don´t make that kind of expression, you´re supposed to be happy! If it´s making you that sad, here! Here! I´ve got you a present! A big one! But don´t smile like that again, it´s creep- it´s strange!”
Immediately, Alberu pushed the big bag he had held in his hands to the small child. Cale looked up, a confused expression on his face. He did not know what Alberu was talking about, yet he didn’t exactly care so he chose to ignore it. Little did he know; he had had a very odd expression of longing and something akin to regret and despair on his face.
The first prince and future crown prince didn’t exactly know why, yet he couldn’t bear seeing that sort of expression on Cale´s face. It broke his heart for some reason and he wanted Cale to pout again, or do something else, anything honestly. Perhaps it was because Cale was his only and one true friend…Perhaps it was something else the child hadn’t discovered just yet.
Ron stopped frowning as well and smiled benignly too.
“Young master-nim, wouldn’t you want to open the present?”
Cale looked up at the old butler, then back at Alberu and finally glanced at the big bag half his size that was put in his hands. It was quite heavy actually, but not that heavy for it to be simply toys. Cale frowned. He didn’t know, but he was feeling excited.
But Ron and Alberu knew, it was because they could read him well.
“Ha! I knew it! You only want the present and not you hyung!”
Cale ignored Alberu´s drama-queen-like behavior and sat down on the expensive carpet, carefully pulling out a box of the big bag. It was a box that was, contrary to the black bag, completely white with silver details – something which made it look extremely expensive. Cale was sure this was no simple toy or tool that would be gifted to a nine year old.
“What, you don´t like it? Do you even know what that thing is?”
Cale looked up at Alberu, an innocent and surprised expression on his face which made Alberu sigh in defeat.
“How could you say that, hyung?”
Alberu shook his head and finally sat down on the armchair opposite from Cale, the one Ron was standing behind. The old man was benignly smiling, but he seemed happy.
“Well, you were furrowing your brows.”
Cale frowned and shook his head.
“Hyung, this looks expensive. Are you sure you want-“
Before Cale could continue to say something else, Alberu raised his hand, stopping his speech immediately. There was a partly insulted expression on the boy´s face, as if Cale had insulted not just him but his entire family and beliefs, anything he stood for, as well as his future children.
“Don´t say such crap, it´s complete bullshit. Today is your birthday, right? And who are you?”
Cale frowned as he reluctantly said his name, making the future crown prince sigh once more.
“No! You are my best friend. And who am I?”
Cale frowned even more, stating that Alberu was his friend, which made Alberu sigh even deeper.
“No! I am the first prince, a part of the royal family, the King´s first son!”
Cale tilted his head, even more confused than before. What did that have to do with anything? Naturally he knew who Alberu Crossman was, but he was also aware of his circumstances, the small detail that he was ignored by the king – not that he´d care naturally!
“Young master-nim, I strongly believe your friend tries to tell you that the price of the present doesn’t matter.”
Cale´s gaze turned to Ron and the old and loyal butler would have almost died of cuteness, wasn’t it for his son who entered Cale´s chambers at that very moment. That gaze, that innocence, that expression- Ahhh!
Beacrox immediately noticed his father´s state (how could he not if the man´s ever so emotionless face was suddenly of light pink color?) but decided to not pay it any mind and instead approached the small child sitting on the floor, leaving his food cart [do you say it like that???] behind.
Then, without proper warning, he lifted Cale swiftly, trying not to hurt the light child or damage the white box that was on the floor.
“Happy birthday young master-nim~ I hope you´ve had a great morning and want to eat breakfast?”
Cale turned in Beacrox´ hands – the arms of his safe person – and hugged the man. He may not be able to accept his congratulations, he could still give the man a hug, since he was the one who prepared his food and took care of him.
Beacrox smiled for real, not just his (almost-) smile and watched his father and the first prince mockingly. The jealousy in both of their eyes was very prominent. After a few moments, Beacrox let the child down and finally brought the food cart while Cale continued to eye the white box that was gifted to him by Alberu.
The future crown prince let out a deep sigh as he got up from his seat and sat down next to his friend, gently taking the white box out of the boy´s hands.
“Listen, that old guy is right. The price doesn’t matter if it´s that what´s bothering you so much. I have enough money to buy my only friend a good and useful present, okay? And your birthday is just once a year anyways~”
Alberu chuckled at the end as he tried to make his little speck sound less serious. He watched the head chef prepare the food behind Cale and sighed once more.
“And if it´s not expensive enough for your taste I-“
Almost immediately, Cale took the box back and opened it without much of a hassle. His eyes widened in surprise as he noticed what was inside of it. At first glance, it was nothing but a red silk, yet as soon as he pulled it away carefully, it revealed a crystal orb.
“Huh?”
Alberu grinned after seeing his friend´s shocked reaction once more, it was almost as good as the one he had upon laying eyes on him in the morning.
“Hahaha! Do you know what that is?”
Actually, Cale did not. He had a bit of an idea due to having read the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´, yet he couldn’t be too sure. After all, this was almost a decade earlier than the novel. Hence, Cale looked up at Alberu and bravely shook his head.
It wasn’t that much of a surprise to Alberu and he nodded. He noticed how both Ron and Beacrox had stopped what they were doing and were watching the two children converse. His grin got bigger.
“You see, as a certain someone didn’t visit me even once during summer, or at any other time up til now, I´ve decided to gift you a so called ´communication device´. One would ordinarily need a mage to connect it with mana, but the one I gifted you already has mana embedded in it, so it should last you quite a few years before you have to reload it. It´s really easy to use, but I can show you later.”
Cale stared at Alberu. He didn’t even know what kind of expression he was making. ´The Birth of a Hero´ had mentioned that the ordinary communication device´s price was in the millions already, but this was no ordinary communication device but a special one Cale wouldn’t need a mage for?! Just how expensive was this?
Wait…more importantly, how could Alberu afford this? Did he have to starve just to gift this to him? Did he even eat properly? He was aware that this friend of his had quite the tendency to act strangely close with him which reminded him of Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk-
“What? Why are you looking at me as if I was a ghost? Do you not like it?”
Cale quickly shook his head. How could he not like it? But it was gifted to him by the first prince, someone whose situation was the worst! (Little did he know…)
“Haaa, don´t worry about it and just accept this gift from your hyung for once in a while, okay?”
“Hyung, have you been starving yourself?!”
Cale couldn’t help himself as he blurted those words out, unable to stop it. Alberu, finally understanding Cale´s thought process, couldn’t help but break out in laughter. Even Beacrox and Ron seemed amused, now that Cale looked at them.
“Hahaha! No way you thought that way! Hahaha!”
Cale pouted his usual cute pout. He didn’t even notice when he had started caring about this cunning future bastard. Perhaps it was because Alberu was still a thirteen year old kid, perhaps it was because Cale had gotten softer himself- no, it was the first option. Definitely.
“Pfft, no worries there! You see, if you had visited even once, you would have known that this hyung of yours isn’t the same he was before the banquet. Your plan worked and I´ve gained quite the number of supporters, supporters who´d do anything from borrowing some money to what do I know. So don´t worry about me~”
Even though Alberu said that, he felt touched. Perhaps it was because they were friends, maybe it was because they were very similar, or perhaps it was because of something else Alberu couldn’t put his finger on just yet; but either way, it was a good thing.
“Fine, I won´t worry anymore then, if hyung has indeed managed to get such a stable position for himself.”
Alberu smiled. Even if Cale said that, the look in his eyes said otherwise. It was something Cale didn’t even notice himself, and it was something he probably never would.
“So, now with all your worries gone, do you like it?”
Before answering, Cale looked down in his hands. The orb was beautiful and also looked extremely expensive. While it seemed fragile, it wasn’t – Cale could tell. A sigh escaped the child´s lips as he nodded; a slight smile was on his lips.
“Yeah, I like it.”
Alberu smiled too. He didn’t know why he didn’t laugh, but he I simply couldn’t. He observed the small child for a small while longer until Beacrox, the reliable head chef who loved Cale over everything, forced the children to go eat before the food would turn cold. Naturally, he and his father joined on Cale´s wish; else it wouldn’t be the same birthday breakfast banquet it was supposed to be.
The four of them, well rather Alberu and Cale, kept their conservations short and simple, but it was mostly because there was no need for long and deep conservations. They were friends, not acquaintances.
“So hyung, you intend to stay here for quite some time, right?”
Alberu smirked.
“Naturally so~ my dear dongsaeng, you didn’t believe I´d leave you alone that soon, did you?”
Cale shook his head with his usual stoic expression on his face, yet everyone was able to see the warmth in his eyes and the twitch at corners of his lips.
“Haaa, I suppose you can stay. It´s not like I can kick out the first prince.”
Cale´s playful grumbles were answered with Alberu´s loud chuckles. Ron shook his head disappointedly and Beacrox was just happy if Cale was happy (as he was not aware of what a brat Alberu could actually be just yet).
After breakfast was over, both Beacrox and Ron had to return to their work, one to the kitchen, the other had to go as the Count had called for him. While Ron wouldn’t have gone, usually that is, these were special circumstances, thus he left the redhead in the first prince´s care.
While Ron did not like the first prince, he did trust him enough to leave Cale in his care. Naturally it wouldn’t change anything in the way Ron looked at the thirteen year old kid.
“So…What were you doing that you were so busy and couldn’t even visit your dear hyung this whole time?”
Alberu smirked as he watched Cale quickly revert his head, as if not to meet his eyes. Cale was actually exactly doing that. It wasn’t like he had been busy either way, well, technically he was. Sleeping and eating (as well as the sporty activity of rolling around in bed) were things one would be very busy with. And since Cale had not once been bored, he had technically been extremely busy with not a single minute on his hands.
Either way, it wasn’t like Cale could tell that to the first prince who had actually worked instead of slacking off. He cleared his throat and finally looked the boy in the eyes.
“Well, I was…dealing with…things.”
Alberu rolled his eyes at that strange and stuttering answer that was coming out of his friend´s mouth. It was very untypical for Cale to stutter, let alone speak of something so odd.
“And the truth?”
The young, now nine year old child finally gave in and let out a deep sigh.
“I´ve been busy sleeping and eating. I also had to breathe-“
Alberu broke out in laughter before Cale was even able to finish what he was going to say. The future crown prince simply couldn’t help it. Cale had dealt with things? And these things were everyday things? Hahaha!
Cale crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for Alberu to laugh his butt off and get serious again. That turned out to take quite some time, but in the end, Alberu got a hold of himself again.
“Well, I suppose I can´t do anything against that, now can I? Breathing must be very difficult these days~”
Cale pouted.
“It´s my form of exercise, hyung.”
Alberu almost broke out in laughter once again, yet managed to hold it in this time. Instead he asked another, a very serious, question.
“You must be very trained then, exercising every single day, every single minute like that.”
It was obviously sarcasm, but Cale didn’t care as he nodded his head and played along.
“It can be very difficult at times. But as sporty as I am, I also roll around in bed to strengthen my musc-“
And there it was; the laughter. Cale took a deep breath and waited until the ever so dignified first prince and future crown prince broke out in laughter yet again. His laughter sounded happy and somewhat free, as if there was nothing weighing down on his mind. Cale wasn’t aware of the smile that snuck on his lips – though Alberu sure was.
“Yes, how hard that must be. I cannot imagine ever doing something at that impossible level in my whole life.”
Cale nodded his head seriously.
Yeah, it was hard.
It was very hard even.
-I like him.
Cale´s unintentional and subconscious smile got bigger at the Indestructible Shield´s comment.
Yeah, the original Alberu Crossman from the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ had been described as a cunning bastard who´d do anything for the Roan Kingdom´s people and future, including using certain people. He was ruthless cunning, ever since he was a kid.
That person and the one sitting in front of Cale right now, dying of laughter, were not the same.
It was the same with Ron and Beacrox – Nelan Barrow described the two of them as cold hearted. People who left Cale because they were impressed by the strength of the guy who beat their master to a pulp – that was nothing what the two of them truly were like. Sure, both of them had their scary sides, but they were really warm hearted and kind.
And then there was Count Deruth Henituse, the man who was described as a good father who put all three of his children above anything else, ever since his first son had been born. That was the biggest bullshit Cale had ever heard.
´Yeah, I like him too.´
Naturally, Cale didn’t say his thoughts out loud.
~
Knock, knock.
“My lord, may I enter?”
“Yes, you may.”
Ron was standing in front of Count Deruth Henituse´s office as he finally opened the vast door and entered the room.
There he sat; the man whom the former assassin wanted to kill the most right now – the irresponsible and cowardly, motherfucking bastard-like asshole dirt- and scumbag father of Cale Henituse, his protégé, the child that meant to him as much as a grandson would.
And he sat there, as if today would be the same as every other day, a simple and normal day. Ron´s hatred for that man skyrocketed once more, and that would probably not be the last time it did that.
“You called for me, my lord?”
No matter what his personal feelings might be, he was currently working. He had to disregard his thousand insults for that douchebag of a count and focus on that bitch for now, after all he couldn’t let his personal feelings influence his work (else he would probably be kicked out and would have to leave his dear grandchild behind, though he would most probably take him along…).
“Yes, I indeed did that.”
Count Henituse did not look up from his desk while talking to the former assassin. He went through a couple more documents, then put the papers away and finally made eye contact with the servant. The expression on his face was strangely calm – which was the complete opposite from his usual expression.
After the death of his wife, he had always had that emotional look in his eyes, it was as if he was convinced that she´d come back if he just hold on long enough. That desperate look in his eyes was now gone, replaced by something calculating but also something oddly similar to joy and happiness. Ron did not believe his eyes for a second and had to furrow his brows, but it was joy and happiness indeed.
What on earth was happening?
Did that dickhead do something that could harm Cale? What did that shitty son of a bitch do that could possibly cause his grandchild trouble?!
“Ron, you have to decorate the mansion quite a bit today.”
Ron couldn’t help but frown. Just what was that asshole planning? The former assassin couldn’t not recognize that fucker in front of him as Cale´s father – not in any way! Not after that man talked about his biological son as if he was an object. No man who talked like that deserved to be called a father, let alone a father of such an amazing child that Cale was.
“Today, my lord?”
Still, he couldn’t show his emotions, now would he, instead, he smiled benignly.
“Pardon this old servant´s impudence, but must it be today?”
The Count clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. He then let out a deep and tired sigh, his eyes now turning completely cold and emotionless, but there was a very strange glint in them, it seemed almost evil even.
“Do you not want to do it today because that little brat was born on this day nine years ago? Do you prefer to play that thing´s babysitter instead of doing the job I pay you for?”
If Deruth had said one more word, he would have died by Ron´s hands that day. It was incredibly close this time, Deruth probably noticed as he shut his mouth and averted his gaze. The room´s temperature fell a couple degrees as Ron simply stared at the man who dared to speak so ill of his perfect, puppy-like young master-nim.
No insult in this world would be able to describe such a man – no, such a monster – who talked about his own child as if he was worth less than a dog. Hell, even black widows (the spider) didn’t eat her children!
Count Deruth Henituse cleared his throat as he nodded his head, fully aware of the fact that Ron was observing him.
“It must be today. I await two guests who will arrive in the afternoon, so I trust you do an excellent job. If you finish early…I don’t care what you´ll do then.”
Both Ron and the Count knew, he would have almost insulted Cale again, but managed to not do it.
That bastard – Ron had known all along that he was no father. But still, somehow, as a father himself, he had had the hope that he would turn around at some point. That little stray of hope was now gone completely. There was no point to hope that a man like Deruth Henituse would change.
He didn’t even wish his son a happy birthday, let alone ask how that child was doing.
That man, he was no man. He was a beast. A heartless monster who was not worthy of being a father, let alone a father of a wonderful child! He was the true it, the true thing.
“As you wish, my lord – I´ll do as I´ve been told then.”
Count Deruth Henituse only nodded his head, then quickly dismissed the old butler, almost as if to get rid of him and his attentive gaze.
As soon as Ron exited, the Count let out a relieved sigh and fell into his chair.
“You little brat, I´ll have to get rid of you one way or the other…”
Ron who had stopped in front of the Count´s office doors had heard every single word. It took him everything he had not to turn around to storm in there again and behead that monster.
Instead, he quickly went upstairs to fulfill his orders – and hopefully to quickly return to his puppy like young master-nim whom he already missed dearly. He sure became cuter by the day!
Still, his anger could not be forgotten.
~
“Hyung.”
Alberu, who had been half asleep in Cale´s armchair, quickly jolted up. His heart beat unusually fast and it was then that he noticed that he had almost fallen asleep completely.
“Ah?”
Cale smirked at that, yet he couldn’t exactly think about it for a long time. Instead, he pointed outside the window for Alberu to come see.
“Hyung, who is that?”
Looking back at it, Alberu now wished he´d have actually fallen asleep and ignored Cale´s words. But, he didn’t know back then, hence he got up and stood next to the young birthday-kid, looking out the window with him, and then he also answered.
Notes:
Hi.
So, I´ve been sick these past few days and hell, my nose has been running, I´ve had a high fever and felt like a fish on dry land, as if I´ve been frying while it´s incredibly cold outside! And it was all because of a STUPID COLD!
Anyways, I´m way better now, thank all of you for your get-well-wishes! You´ve made my day with all of those comments, whether you know or not. So, naturally, I´ve hurried to get well to give all of you another chapter. I skipped the northeastern nobles´ meeting where Cale would meet Venion (since I hate Venion and he isnt important enough to get mentioned in a whole chapter more than once) and I thought it´d be better to return with a fluffy chapter either way.
Also, who doesnt love Cale and Alberu spending fluffly time with each other? Anyways, it´s like the calm before the storm, so I hope y´all stay tuned for the next chapter.
I´ll try to update as soon as possible, promise!
<3(PS: I got one of my exams back and got a 2 [which is akin to a B, 80% or for the russian: 4]! I SCREAMED AS MY BFF SQUEALED AS SOON AS SHE SAW MY GRADE AND PRACTICALLY THREW MY EXAM PAPER IN MY FACE! LIKE I DIDNT STUDY THAT MUCH, I WROTE ON THIS FF INSTEAD OF STUDYING!!!!!!!)
Chapter 10: 9. Birthday Gift (2)
Summary:
Alberu goes, fluffy time is over, trouble arrive...
Notes:
So, watch out, there is triggering stuff (domestic abuse) in this chapter. For all the readers who are a bit more sensitive but still want to read, I marked the start and end of it with ´[T]´ this. Feel free to skip it, it´s nothing important either way and just one of the "angst-aspects" of this story. It mentions KRS past (when he was nine) and his abuse uncle, so it really is nothing important and I tried to keep it as short as possible (but to still make it a bit angsty).
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Plain brown hair which was tied up in a perfect bun without even a single strand lose, cold, icy blue eyes which seemed like they were able to pierce through anything and an expression that showed disinterest but also something akin to dignity.
The woman, who looked to be in her thirties, looked like a highly educated professor or noble. She wore an expensive purple dress and an even more expensive seeming fur coat. Next to her, there stood a small kid that looked like a male copy of her. He was Cale´s size but Alberu could tell he was younger.
The boy was cheery and happy – that kind of innocence that he would have loved to see on Cale´s face. It took the first prince a few seconds, but he eventually recognized the two people. Without thinking much about it, Alberu answered Cale´s question.
“If I´m not mistaken, which I´m not, that´s Baroness Violan, fallen Baroness would be more proper.”
As soon as Alberu said it, realization hit Cale.
Violan.
Basen.
He knew those two names. They were names mentioned in the ´Birth of a Hero´, even though only for a few sentences. Violan was Deruth Henituse´s second wife, whom he married after Cale turned nine and she already had a son, Basen, whom Deruth decided to be the successor of the Henituse County.
Now that Cale was thinking about it, he forgot the two of them completely. He had been too focused on his slacker life to renew his knowledge about the original Cale´s childhood, though it didn’t really matter either way as the novel didn’t mention many things besides the very basics.
“Hm, but what are they doing here?”
Alberu frowned. Contrary to his little friend, he did not have any “outsider” knowledge (-privilege). He observed the woman of the fallen Baron´s family whom he still called by her proper title, mainly because it sounded a lot more appropriate. He leaned on the windowsill and tried to get a better view.
“Did you expect any guests, my dear dongsaeng?”
Finally turning back around to Cale, the future crown prince smirked. He already knew the answer – naturally, who wouldn’t? – but there was no way in hell he´d let this chance to tease Cale slide.
Cale, who did not notice Alberu´s mischievous tricks, just shook his head.
“I did not; I planned to do nothing today actually.”
Alberu let out a deep and tired sigh. His dongsaeng sure was a bit slow in things like these. It wasn’t like he already knew. He continued to observe the scene outside until he noticed a man welcoming the two newcomers.
He turned around immediately and grabbed Cale´s hand for him to not look outside. It was because he got an idea of this situation really quick – he didn’t even need to see what was currently going on outside. It made him angry – very angry even.
It was because the man who came to welcome the newcomers, the man who looked extremely happy, was Count Deruth Henituse.
How much time had passed since Countess Henituse´s death? What, about six months? Was that amount of time enough for the Count to first accept his late wife´s death, get over it and then find a new woman, let alone move in together?
By any means, yes couldn’t be the right answer.
He must have known that woman even before his late wife had died… Did that mean that he cheated? In all honesty, in the past Alberu would have laughed at that thought. It was the best known rumor in noble society that Count and Countess Henituse loved each other to death – they were the perfect couple, a children´s book romance. But now, now that Alberu was friends with Cale and got to know more about the Henituse family, he didn’t think it was impossible.
Count Deruth was a bastard, that´s for sure.
“Is something wrong, hyung?”
Almost immediately, Alberu stopped thinking about what was currently going on outside and shook his head.
“No, I just thought that I should gift you a new pillow next time.“
Alberu shook his head. He should have done that this year, judging by Cale´s hopeful expression. Well, perhaps he really should do it and not simply joke about it.
“Anyways, what a stupid ass situation.”
Cale raised his brows. He did not understand what Alberu was getting at once again. Perhaps it was because he already knew that Deruth was no good father and more of a cowardly bastard, maybe it was because he had had no expectations whatsoever; or a mixture of both even, yet Cale did not think this would be a big deal, thus didn’t follow Alberu.
“Tsk! Don’t look at me like that, I´m not gonna tell you anything.”
Cale just shrugged and decided to avert his gaze since he already got an idea of what Alberu may have been thinking. Violan and Basen have finally come, which meant that nothing much would change.
A slight smile appeared on Cale´s lips.
This was the best birthday present he could have imagined! Because his father doesn’t seem to care about him but only had him as a son, he would have become the heir to the Henituse family. But if Basen was to come, he could push the successor´s-position to him! And he finally did!
In the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´, Cale had always avoided his family – due to him being a drunkard etc. – and Cale would have no trouble doing the same. It would all work out eventually either way. Since Basen was here now, he would have zero chances of becoming the successor and could continue life as planned – run away as soon as he turned eighteen, loot the Count´s money and life his slacker life in some remote house on a hill, a place no one would be able to find him ever again.
And most importantly, Cale could somehow make it that Alberu and Basen would meet. Since Basen would become the successor either way, he would become an incredibly important resource to Alberu. The Henituse´s family money was practically endless; having a family like that support you automatically boosts not just your image. To Alberu who had a difficult time right now, well more or less, it would give him the position he yearned for – the title of crown prince would be his.
Naturally, this was only a minor matter. The main thing was that, since Alberu and Basen would be really good friends, the future crown prince would forget Cale completely. It was for the best.
The redhead nodded to himself, glad he came up with such a master mind plan once again. Little did he know, the second Basen and Violan stepped foot into the Henituse Estate, three pairs of eyes would forever look at them just as hatefully as they would at a certain Count.
~
And just like that, the days passed. A week later, the first prince had to return to the capital and a week after that Ron was forced to go on a “business trip”. Coincidentally, it was the exact day that Beacrox was out to buy new cooking ingredients on the market.
The redhead frowned as he put down the novel he had been reading. Something in the air smelled fishy and didn’t feel quite right. Up until now, either Ron or Beacrox would be there with him, or at least be at the estate, or at least try to be. It seemed to much of a coincidence, especially for Cale who was suspicious of many things either way.
Maybe it was because he didn’t know much about Cale´s life but had a good feeling what it was all about now.
Letting out a tired sigh, the nine year old child got up from the comfortable couch and approached his nightstand. It was, obviously, no simple nightstand. In it, there was a secret compartment in which he hid the birthday present that was gifted to him by the dear first prince – the communication device.
Since something didn’t feel quite right and neither Ron nor Beacrox were there, he could simply call his dear hyung. He didn’t know why he would think of that, yet he did and it just felt normal. Yeah, that´s right; he always felt at ease when he was talking to Alberu for some reason. Maybe it was the boy´s face…
Just as he was about to try to call his (only) friend, someone knocked on the door, causing him to put the expensive magical device back and hide it as quickly as possible – not that someone would find out he owned one.
“Young master Cale.”
The servant, who simply entered before Cale could call him in, bowed down. It was one of the rules all servants had to follow: bow down in front of people with noble blood, yet something about the way he did it didn’t feel right and honest. Cale frowned, finally seeing what the problem was. The servant had a sneering expression on his face and an arrogant look in his eyes. He didn’t seem sincere and more like he was dealing with a plague.
´He must have noticed that something´s changed in the past two weeks by now. Naturally he would think that I´m worthless.´
While any other person would have thought that the servant was insolent and would have worried about their image and how to get it back – at least with the servants – Cale was happy. He really was. If even the servants thought he was worthless, if they thought he was worse than trash, then no one would approach him out of their own free will! It was such an amazing thing! No one would disturb him, everyone would avoid him and most importantly, no one would get attached to him!
The servant who was annoyed as he had to deal with such a stupid and idiotic kid, who had no mother to raise him properly anymore, instead of playing with the smart and bright Basen like he usually did, had to restrain himself from snorting.
“The lord wishes to see you. I was instructed to bring you, so follow me.”
Without awaiting an answer, the servant turned around and started to walk away, leaving Cale not even a second to think about the current situation. Cale did as he was told, yet his mind was working the fastest it ever had since he had gotten here. He was thinking about why the Count would call for him out of a sudden. He didn’t bother with him in the past six months. And it couldn’t be to introduce Violan and Basen as he hadn’t done that in the last two weeks either.
So what was the sudden occasion that demanded his presence?
No matter how hard Cale kept thinking about it, it was no good, and soon enough he stood in the middle of Count Deruth Henituse´s vast office. Forget his room, this office was twice as big and practically half a library. Cale had no idea how any person could ever afford to own a building with such vast rooms but he dreamt of having enough money to do the same in the future.
He didn’t have much time looking around before he had to turn his head to the Count. He was sitting in front of him, not really looking at the redhead until the servant left the room and closed the door.
As soon as Count Deruth Henituse made eye contact with Cale, the nine year old could tell what kind of man that guy was. Almost immediately, his usual stoic and cold expression returned. Even if he finally saw it with his own eyes, it didn’t change anything. Cale had already known that Deruth Henituse was not a good man.
The two family members (more or less) continued to stand and sit for a long while in an awkward silence neither wanted to break – and Cale certainly wasn’t the one to say something first. The Count, who observed Cale, finally cleared his throat. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that worried Cale, yet he decided to ignore it for now. In case that man truly tried to attack him, he still got the Indestructible Shield ancient power.
“…Tomorrow.”
Cale raised his brows, not certain what that one word was supposed to mean. Tomorrow was Monday, the 22nd November; there wouldn’t be a festival nor anything else.
The Count let out an annoyed sigh and mumbled how stupid the kid standing in his office was. Cale naturally ignored it as if he hadn’t heard it to begin with.
“Haaa, get ready tomorrow, you worthless brat; it was decided that you should get an instructor. He will make sure you study properly. Now get out.”
Cale´s eyes widened ever so slightly. He´s got a very bad feeling for some reason and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. Without as much as bowing, Cale exited the Count´s office in silence.
A personal instructor… He recalled Eric Wheelsman, Amiru Urbarr and Gilbert Chetter talk about a personal tutor in the past. They said that it was normal for a noble child to get a private instructor between the ages of six and eight. Since Cale didn’t get one, he thought he was off the hook, yet the world seemed to love to prove him wrong.
Still, a personal tutor wasn’t that big of a deal. He would just sit study and do as he was told – no big deal. What was a big deal was the strange feeling in his stomach. Something was wrong and Cale couldn’t tell what. The young redhead frowned. He remembered how he had had a similar feeling a long, long, very long time ago.
But something like that couldn’t happen again. Not anymore and never again.
Cale nodded his head, as if to agree with his unsaid words. It was also a bit to convince himself a little more, just a tiny, little bit more.
Then the next day came and Cale couldn’t help but cuss.
“I am Simon van Augustus, your new instructor.”
Cale looked at the man standing in front of him. The bad feeling from yesterday only got worse while looking at that guy. He was very tall and big, had a muscular built and looked nothing like an intellectual and more like an ex-military guy. He had short, blonde hair and amber eyes that Cale did not dare look into for some reason. Something just felt odd about this guy.
“Sit down properly, pup.”
Cale did as he was told, mostly not to cause any unnecessary trouble with that man. He felt disgusted after being called a ´pup´ but it wasn’t like he had the authority to say anything against that. Instead, he continued to listen to his supposed instructor.
Van Augustus, seeing how the small child did anything he told him, frowned, yet proceeded with the “first lecture” as planned.
“Since you´re not seven like the average noble´s child, I´ve got a lot of stuff to teach you. History, Politics, Economy and Society – that are the four categories that I will teach you in. You will get homework and we will meet every. Single. Day – even on weekends. Homework is out of the question as you will get it like any other kid. Don’t overestimate yourself just because you´re a noble´s kid. Understood?”
Cale simply nodded – which he would do usually. Yet, for some reason, van Augustus didn’t seem to like that as he threw his fat history book at the coffee table between him and the small, nine year old child. A loud bang echoed through the vast library which forced Cale to look his new instructor in the eyes.
“Talk properly, pup. If you don´t, I will punish you. There will not be another warning in the future, understood?”
This time, Cale did not nod his head.
“Yes.”
“You call me ´sir´; it´s ´yes sir´.”
“Yes sir.”
Content with the redhead´s answer, van Augustus leaned back. He then observed the properly sitting child who looked oddly calm. Usually, if he did the same with other children, even those older than Cale, they would be shaking and in distress, afraid of what he might do to them. Cale didn’t seem to be any like them, which meant he would have to teach him especially hard.
His parents must have spoiled him too much so that he now thought he was safe.
With a disgusting smirk on his relatively ugly face (one that rivaled even the queen´s), the man bent forward and picked the fat book up from the coffee table, only to give it to Cale, which was more akin to throwing it at the redheaded child.
“Read all of it until tomorrow and memorize everything perfectly. If you don´t, it will have consequences.”
Cale frowned as he stared at the fat history book. It had almost two-thousand pages and was written in an extremely small font. Naturally no one (who wasn’t Cale) would be able to finish reading all of it and memorize it in less than a day! Did that mean that the new instructor wanted him to fail? Or was it really possible for the children in this-
No, it was impossible. This world wasn’t that different from South Korea. Reading such a book in even a whole month and memorize it was impossible too, let alone a single day.
“What? Don´t like it?! Do you have an attitude already, huh?!”
Cale shook his head and looked at his instructor once again. He finally grasped in what kind of situation he was in.
“No sir. I will do as I am told.”
Naturally, the answer satisfied van Augustus, enough for him to lean back again. He continued to talk about how he would punish Cale if he did not listen to his every word as if it was a god´s order, then the time of the so called “lesson” was finally up and he left.
Cale remained seated with the fat ass history book in his hands.
His stoic expression was gone, replaced by something that could only be called terror – something which he didn’t even notice himself.
That man was an asshole. He loved to see people struggle. He loved seeing people in distress. He was a sadist, someone who loved to pain others, break them mentally and see them come crawling and crying back to him, to beg for mercy or whatever.
Why Cale was so certain about his assessment?
The answer was very simple, actually.
[T]
“Rok Soo! Where are you again?!”
“You little brat how dare you hide from your uncle?!”
“Ah! There you are you pain in the ass!”
Cale, no, he was back to being Kim Rok Soo again, looked up from the book in his hands. It was a children´s book he was currently reading. He immediately recognized that book – it was a Korean folktale called ´The Green Frogs´. Seeing it almost made him smile. It was a book which made him wonder if he was a badly behaved child and whether that was the reason for his uncle treating him the way he did.
“U-uncle, I-I´m s-sorry f-for w-what I d-“
Hit.
Next thing he knew, Kim Rok Soo´s cheek burned as if someone had put fire on it. He didn’t dare speak nor look up after that and kept his eyes on the ground.
Ah, so he was back to this day again. How…unfortunate.
“You useless shit!!! What did your uncle tell you?!”
Kim Rok Soo immediately replied, yet he stuttered the whole time and spoke in a very low volume, causing his uncle to hit him once again.
“Speak up!”
By now, Kim Rok Soo was shaking and trembling, yet he wasn’t crying. He was never someone who´d cry, especially not over something or rather someone as unimportant as himself. Hell, he didn’t even cry when his parents died! He wouldn’t dare cry now!
“If I-I´m so s-sorry I shouldn’t a-apologize but make it r-right immediately.”
Kim Seung Jong nodded his head, somewhat content with his nephew for once. But it was foolish to believe that he would calm down this easily, yet the nine year old Kim Rok Soo did. And not just that, he truly thought – even after three years of experience – that his uncle had calmed down.
Naturally, Cale who was now Kim Rok Soo again, knew better.
“Haaa, fine, I forgive you. Now bring this hard working uncle a beer!”
Kim Rok Soo nodded and he felt relieved, relieved that he was right about his uncle. He exited the small broom closet that was his room and quickly hurried to the kitchen to do as he was told. He was used to this anyways.
Taking a beer, opening it, then bringing it to his uncle.
But something went wrong; oh hell did it go wrong. In the midst of walking to the living room where his uncle and some of his guests were, Kim Rok Soo tripped over his own feet and fell first floor on the ground – naturally he broke the beer bottle.
It didn’t matter to him that the glass shards were all over him and caused him to bleed. He also didn’t care that it hurt him to get up again. The thing that concerned him was the now wet and reeking rug and the broken beer bottle. Kim Rok Soo didn’t know many things, but what he knew was that one broken beer bottle could cause him incredibly trouble – even if he wasn’t the one responsible for it.
He wasn’t stupid enough to try to hide it, his uncle Kim Seung Jong had noticed by now either way. The crash, it was very loud and had naturally reached the living room. Kim Seung Jong, Kim Rok Soo´s guardian, put down his cards with which he was playing Blackjack just a moment ago. His happy expression immediately turned back to the ruthless and cruel one.
“Ho! Watch out guys, Seung Jong is at it again! His nephew broke the Terra beer! Hahaha!”
That man, one of Kim Seung Jong´s friends, was naturally right. Like Kim Seung Jong, he was no clean citizen – none of Kim Rok Soo´s uncle´s friends had a clean record. One was a rapist, the other was a thief, the other was another domestic abuser; thus they knew when shit was going down – which it was now.
Kim Seung Jong´s steps were unusually slow and steady, his expression unusually calm and stoic.
Kim Rok Soo would have broken out in laughter if he was in the same situation as before. It was almost funny how this exact thing still managed to make him tremble in fear, even though he knew that he´d been through much worse things. His body – his mind – everything remembered that fateful day perfectly.
There was a smile on Kim Seung Jong´s face as he tilted his head and knelt down in front of the in alcohol drenched child. Kim Rok Soo was bleeding everywhere, especially on his palms and hands.
“Rok Soo, what did you do?”
Not having the time to stutter, Kim Rok Soo answered exactly what happened. Kim Seung Jong stayed silent and nodded his head. As Kim Rok Soo finally finished, he was suddenly pushed back and an incredibly sharp pain, incomparable to any hits he received before, went through his stomach.
One look at it, and he could see the neck of the beer bottle, which was surprisingly fine, stuck there, causing incredibly much blood to flow out. Back then, when Kim Rok Soo finally passed out, he didn’t understand what happened, not even when he came to and when his uncle proceeded to treat him as if nothing ever happened. Looking back at it now – Kim Rok Soo was scared.
He was never scared.
But he trembled right now.
Why did he tremble?
Ah, it must be because he was remembering stupid things he shouldn’t.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t snap out of it.
[T]
Back in reality, Beacrox knocked on his young master-nim´s room. His father asked him to take care of Cale for the time he was gone yet again, and even without his father telling him to, he would have come either way. It was because Cale was too cute of a child to not visit!
Having not received an answer, Beacrox didn’t think much of it and simply entered the room, assuming that the young redhead was sleeping – something he did rather often. Yet, he wasn’t in his bed, no, he wasn’t even in his room. He didn’t sit on one of his armchairs, he didn’t lie in bed and he wasn’t in the bathroom too.
Wondering where the small child could have wandered off to, Beacrox left the food chart in the boy´s room and went out to search for him. It was unusual behavior for Cale to not be slacking off in his room in the evening, especially now that there were two other residents in this mansion.
Beacrox frowned even more as he didn’t find Cale in either the study or the library. He wasn’t in the kitchen too – nowhere at all! The usually very calm and collected head chef stopped in his tracks as he finally searched in the entire kitchen without finding Cale. He stood there and stared at the floor, disbelief overcoming him.
He recalled his father´s words before he left.
´Watch out for the small child, Beacrox. I can´t be entirely sure, but the Count seems to be planning something against him.´
What if his father had been right? What if Count Deruth Henituse really tried to get rid of Cale?
What if Beacrox had been too careless, too reckless? What if he was already too late? What if-
What ifs were not an option or solution here! Right now, Beacrox must concentrate on finding Cale. He could always ask himself those questions later just as well! The only place that he hadn’t searched yet where Cale could be, even though the possibility for that was incredibly low, was outside.
Seeing nothing wrong in checking it, Beacrox practically jumped out of the kitchen window (not actually, he ran rather quickly through the hallways and exited the mansion like any other person) and hurried to the garden.
At first, since it was already dark, he didn’t see or notice anyone. That is, until he approached the bench in front of the flowers.
There he saw a very slim silhouette, sitting on the bench while trembling. No questions asked, he immediately recognized who that was.
“Young master-nim?”
Beacrox approached the small, nine year old child very slowly and carefully, as if he was a scared animal that would run away. Cale showed no reaction whatsoever, if anything, his trembling only got worse.
Convinced that the redhead wouldn’t run away, Beacrox finally approached him a bit less cautious.
“Young master-nim, are you cold? You don’t seem to be wearing a jacket.”
Cale showed no reaction whatsoever. Beacrox who had not once seen Cale act like that, couldn’t bear this sight any longer and finally stepped in front of Cale. The child wasn’t crying, contrary to what he had expected – which was actually even worse than if he had been crying. He was shaking and had a terrified expression on his face. He didn’t seem to be conscious despite his eyes being open.
“Young master-nim?”
Beacrox couldn’t bear the sight of his young master-nim, the child he loved more than any other, in that state. It was extremely distressing to him.
He didn’t waste another second as he finally picked the redhead up and carefully held him in his arms. Cale´s body was extremely cold, something that distressed Beacrox even more. The head chef didn’t bring Cale to a doctor, not trusting any of them, but instead put him back to bed.
The next three day, he didn’t let anyone, including Cale´s new instructor, visit.
That was the amount of time it took the redhead to wake up.
And when he did, he didn’t seem to remember anything and continued to behave as if nothing happened.
Beacrox never found out the reason for that odd event of Cale sitting on the bench and trembling like that.
Notes:
Hello~
I´m really unsure about this chapter for some odd reason, but well, you can´t be happy with every chapter I suppose. I just think this is missing something, but nvm that. It´s a bit shorter than the others (if you´ve noticed, you´re like a super human, if not, I love you) BUT it´s planned (actually not really, but I decided to make the best out of it)! So I promise that the next chapter will be a bit more eventful and longer, so you´ll get these lost words back, no matter what!
sOoOoOo...
I tagged "angst" and "child abuse", so I´m not gonna aplologize for that, you knew exactly what was coming at some point...
BUT what I will aplologize for is this chaotic chapter. I wanted to introduce Cale´s crappy instructor, but he doesnt really deserve a whole chapter so... I just kept it short, put angst into it to somehow get to the 5k mark and well, I couldnt bring Alberu (my beloved) back since he just departed for the capital so... it kind of turned out like this.
I hope it´s fine, BUT LIKE I SAID, next chapter´s gonna be fire again, I´ll put my whole soul into it, even if I have to make a deal with the devil hehe.AND as for my English project that I mentioned at some point, my best friends and I finally turned it in! It was a podcast that was supposed to be between ten and fifteen minutes (we were almost 14 mins) and hell, it costed me about ten years of my life. Let me tell you, it was so difficult to do that shitty thing (and I cusses on take T^T)...BUT it´s off my plate, gone, and I never wish to see it again.
As for my math test...let´s just say the teacher said she had to adjust the mark-scale since it was so bad...<3
Chapter 11: 10. Busy rolling, eating and sleeping
Summary:
Fluffy chapter (Violan´s appearance was changed on popular demand => y´all wanted her to beat the shit out of Deruth, and I SWEAR it will happen in a couple more chapters, ok, ok, a lot more chapters, but the scene IS PLANNED!!!!)
Chapter Text
Cale did not like that man who was supposed to be his instructor. Not only was he an incredibly disgusting human being, but he also loved to talk about his past students – only about their failures and how he punished them. With every single word Cale felt like throwing up, yet he composed himself, not letting his emotions show or get the better of him.
He was already used to these type, thus he knew how to deal with them cleanly: Just listen and do as you are told. Not gonna lie here, he was tempted to tell Ron or Beacrox at first, but then again, he couldn’t. No matter how anyone was gonna look at it, the two of them were nothing but servants. They had not the least bit of influence in this mansion – well, besides whether the curtains should be cobalt or maroon colored. And if anything, he would simply give them trouble and make them worry over nothing – especially since he hadn’t been hit yet.
It didn’t matter that his uncle Kim Seung Jong didn’t hit him at first too and it all started with yelling (which Simon van Augustus did too by the way).
Sighing, Cale looked out the window.
“It´s already the eighth, I should call some time, right?”
Behind him, Ron smiled while putting down the cookie bowl he had Beacrox prepare for Cale. The old man was thankful for that little brat (don’t get him wrong, he still found Alberu to be incredibly annoying). He was the first real friend his young master-nim actually sought out. There were still the northeastern noble´s children, but they were more of acquaintances than friends. Earlier they had been close, sure, but over time they lost touch with each other.
So seeing how Cale still thought about that little punk, it was kind of nice. Ron surely felt like a very proud grandfather.
“But of course the young master-nim should greet his friend and wish him a good new year´s.”
Cale turned around. He had been admiring the snowy Henituse Estate but had had enough. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t mind snow, no, he even liked it, very much so, but it was nothing special. The Henituse territory was extremely cold, the winters were long and the summers were cold – similarly the capital Huiss City. He wondered if it was still warmer there since it was located in the middle of the kingdom.
Well… There was always a way to find out, no?
“Yes. I should do that. But it´s a little bit strange…over the phone, no?”
Ron immediately understood what Cale was getting at. His benign smile turned wider and more genuine as he nodded his head.
“But of course, young master-nim.”
Cale smiled.
There was nothing good here anyways, nothing besides Beacrox that is, so it wouldn’t that much if he was to disappear for some time. Similarly Ron; ever since the new deputy butler was hired, he recalled his name to be Hans, the Count didn’t pay much attention to Ron.
Furthermore, he would get away from that disturbing personal instructor who didn’t teach him anything besides how to be a bad person either way. Cale may be trash, but he wasn’t such trash as that bastard of an instructor.
“Ron, the Count wouldn’t mind my departure, would he?”
Ron smiled at that. It was a bitter smile. He hated the Count for ignoring and neglecting his one and only true son and treating him like shit. While one may think it was good, since it gave Cale the freedom to do whatever he´d like, it wasn’t anything like that. He was a child, he still needed his parents.
“I doubt that will be the case, young master-nim. Although I must say, there will be a big festival tomorrow, so it might be a bit difficult to depart today or tomorrow.”
Cale nodded his head, already forming a plan inside his mind. That´s right, there would be some kind of festival at the Henituse County. Neither Beacrox nor Ron knew what that might be since the Count didn’t care to fill any of them in, instead insisting the tasks that Ron would usually take care of would be handled by the new deputy butler.
Not that Ron would mind, since he got more time to spend with his puppy like young master-nim. Still, something felt fishy. As if he was missing something incredibly big.
But Cale was different.
He knew exactly what day tomorrow would be.
And while he didn’t plan on going, he knew that he would be forced to – at least the original Cale had been forced to go by the new deputy butler in the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´. He didn’t think this time it would be much different.
“Alright, let´s just go on Saturday.”
Ron smiled and nodded his head. Just as he was about to go back to the kitchen (just to bring either tea or Beacrox – who would then come with more sweets), Cale stopped him by pulling on the old man´s sleeve. Even someone like Ron could only resist this much cuteness.
“Young master-nim, what may this old man do for you?”
Cale had a serious look in his eyes, causing Ron to straighten up. Little did he know, Cale just wanted to warn the old butler. In the novel, Ron wasn’t present at the ceremony and tried to assassinate the Count in his sleep in the night. It was his own son who managed to stop him. While Cale didn’t know why Ron did so at first and just thought the former assassin had had enough of the Count, he now understood that Ron may have done so because of the original Cale. Since he wasn’t Cale and didn’t want Ron to get in a troublesome position (he already liked Ron very much and saw him as a grandfather, even if he didn’t notice it himself yet), he could just tell him.
“Tomorrow, the festival you were talking about, it´s a wedding.”
Ron raised his brows, thinking those were the words of a delusional child; but then again, Cale was no boy who spoke such stupid and absurd words.
“A wedding? What may the young master-nim be talking about?”
Cale let go of Ron´s sleeve and sat down on the couch. He then looked even more serious than before, if that was even possible.
“The fallen Baroness that is staying here ever since November – don´t you think it´s strange? She doesn’t sleep in any of the guest rooms, since I´d have noticed if she did by now, so where does she sleep? And her son, the little boy, isn’t it strange how he´s staying in the second floor – which is reserved for visitors of higher social standing or extremely important family members?”
Now that Cale said what was weighing on Ron´s mind ever since he noticed it, the old butler´s suspicion grew more and more. It was strange indeed. But… Wait… Did that…
“She will marry the Count tomorrow.”
To make his ´presumption´ more reliable, Cale gave a source so it sounded more believable.
“I´ve heard the servants talk about it yesterday. And it would explain all of it and why Beacrox was tasked with baking a white cake. Isn´t a big white cake reserved for a wedding?”
While Ron felt incredible anger overcome him, he still felt proud for some reason. It was all because of Cale´s exceptional analysis! He had come up with this just because of a few observations – even though he was staying in his room all day! He was such a smart child!
And that´s how Ron became the grandfather he already had been at heart.
Cale let out a deep sigh, not knowing what he had just done, but it didn’t matter that much either way, since Cale didn’t mind Ron at all (just like he didn’t mind the little prince who wasn’t actually little – tho he would realize that much, much later).
~
The next day, or rather the (second) wedding day of Count Henituse, was rather normal – it was as if it weren´t the day of the second wedding of the Count at all. But Cale knew better – it was all because of Violan – the woman the Count was about to marry. She didn’t like attention at all and preferred to keep things small, thus the small wedding which only the northeastern nobles were invited to attend.
She also did it because of her son, Basen, and to protect him from the vicious nobles, the really vicious ones.
Cale looked up at the celling. He didn’t want to get out of bed, not at all. Rather than here, he´d have loved to be in Alberu´s bed. Believe it or not, in that run down shank called palace, the bed was way more comfortable than his own, an extremely expensive one. Thinking about it, Alberu´s cookies were extremely good too, so good that he preferred to eat them to Beacrox´ cookies.
He didn’t get to think about it for long as someone knocked on the door. As expected, it wasn’t Ron but the new deputy butler Hans.
With a bright smile, the man entered the room. He seemed way too cheery for Cale, thus the child rolled on his side and pretended to be deep asleep despite knowing that the new deputy butler has seen him awake.
“Young master Cale~ Rise and shine, the sun is up already!”
Cale rolled his closed eyes. What did that man want him to do just because the sun was up?
“Young master Cale, I know you aren’t asleep. C´mon, please don´t take too much of my time.”
Cale finally sighed in defeat. Deputy Butler Hans, Cale wanted nothing to do with him and thus didn’t want to be with him longer than he had to. That cheery and happy attitude simply didn’t match Cale´s tired and low energy.
“Ah! I knew it! You were awake the whole time! Hahaha, don´t play such jokes on me anymore!”
Cale would have rolled his eyes again, yet he didn’t dare do that in front of this new butler he was extremely unfamiliar with. Deputy Butler Hans had been mentioned in ´The Birth of a Hero´. He was the only one who, after Ron and Beacrox left, stayed by Cale´s side. Naturally, the man was only doing his job. The novel said that it was because Count Deruth asked him to do it, but seeing how the Count behaves first hand, Cale doubted it. Perhaps that cheery man simply didn’t like seeing anyone hurt. After all, he was incredibly afraid of the trashy young master of the Henituse family.
“…Yes.”
Hand didn’t pay the short and very reluctant answer of the child no mind as he continued to open the curtains. He then opened the balcony door to let in some fresh air. It was a very cool breeze coming in (and given that it was winter, a very cold winter, it was only natural) and Cale shivered, hiding under his blanket once again.
“Young master Cale I suppose you weren't informed about what day today is, were you?”
Cale, deciding to play innocent, shook his head. Deputy Butler Hans smiled very brightly after that, so much that Cale wondered how that smile still fit on his face.
“Ah! Then let me explain it! Today is the day your family becomes bigger! You will get a new little brother and a new mother! Isn´t that exhilarating?”
Cale did not – could not – believe his ears. Did Hans just say new mother? Did he really say that just now? To a nine year old child whose mother passed away not even a whole year ago? Cale wanted to laugh and cry at once, but then again, he couldn’t let his emotions show. Thus he decided to think about the fact that Cale´s mother may be his body´s mother, but she wasn’t his, thus these extreme emotions weren't his too.
“…A new mother?”
Deputy Butler Hans, ignoring the strange tone of voice, nodded his head cheerfully.
“Yes, a new mother! The Count must have introduced you already, hasn’t he?”
As Cale shook his head (not really to give the Count more trouble, but well, he deserved it, so why not?) and Hans´ smile finally fell. His cheerful attitude changed in less than a minute, making Cale wonder whether that man had split personalities or something.
“He did not?”
Cale shook his head once again. Well, he didn’t really need to be introduced to Violan either way. Contrary to Count Henituse and Cale, Violan Henituse had been described very thoroughly in the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´. Both her visuals and her personality were put in a whole page worth of words of description.
She was kind, she was beautiful. She loved all her children equally, even Cale who wasn’t her biological son and avoided her. She had once tried to get close to him, not as his mother 2.0 but as a friend whom he could trust and rely on, yet she failed. After noticing that the redhead didn’t want anything to do with her, she gave her best to avoid him – yet her love for him did not falter even once. He behaved shitty? No problem, mama bear Violan got him. He threw tantrums and the servants talked bad about him? No problem, which servants were they again? Ah those, they´re fired; no worries. Mama bear Violan got him. He damaged and practically destroyed a whole bar? Which bar? Is 200 Million Gallons enough; good, no worries then. Mama bear Violan got him.
Actually, she was probably more of a parent to the original Cale than Deruth had ever been. Now that Cale thought about it, not a single line in the novel stated that Deruth Henituse took care of his son´s damages – it was all Violan.
A slight smile which Cale could not control appeared on his face. He was actually incredibly thrilled to meet that woman, yet, at the same time, he didn’t want to. It was because if he got too close with her, he wouldn’t be able to loot the Count´s money and disappear someday. She would always hold him back.
Cale, no, Kim Rok Soo didn’t have a mother (he did, but she died too early so that he couldn’t remember her or his father´s faces at all). His whole childhood, he didn’t even know what the word ´love´ meant. He didn’t ever get to experience mother´s love, but he had read about it – and he knew, if he was to get to experience it, he would probably get attached and think of her as his only mother – since she was. He wasn’t the original Cale either way, and since she wasn’t his real mother, well his body´s, he would be able to accept that woman´s love.
“Tsk, then let me do it!”
Cale got snapped back to reality really quick as Hans grabbed his little hand that was still hidden underneath the blanket and tried to pull him out of bed. Cale, having an extremely weak, sickly and especially child´s body, he wasn’t able to resist at all, thus had to follow the deputy butler all the way to his slippers, then to the floor.
A little remark here: Cale was still in his pajamas, his hair looked like it always did when he just got out of bed – messy – and seeing him get dragged by the deputy butler really gave off the wrong impression (an impression which would cause him a lot of trouble in the future until Ron and Beacrox take care of it).
Cale was too lazy to say anything (which would cause him to talk to Hans again), thus let himself get dragged to Count Henituse´s bedchambers. It was a vast bedroom that didn’t look very special. It looked more comfortable than extravagant and hence much more livable. It reminded Cale of the first prince´s bedroom: It wasn’t a big room, but it wasn’t exactly small either, it was only small for royalty to live in. The walls were wooden, on the floor was a warm carpet and the bed was heavenly. There was still Alberu´s desk where he studied to become the crown prince, but that didn’t exactly go against the ambience.
Finally, Hans stopped dragging the nine year old child and he smiled brightly and cheerfully once again.
There, in front of him and Cale, stood the very woman Cale secretly admired, even while reading ´The Brith of a Hero´. She was as gorgeous as they came – her “plain” brown hair which looked “plain” seemed to shine and her icy blue eyes didn’t seem the least bit cold and incredibly warm instead. She wasn’t smiling, but her face was gentle. Her hair was tied up in a perfect bun, not a single strand was missed. Her make-up was modest and she still managed to look extremely beautiful. She wore the typical white dress. Even though the wedding was supposed to be small and not too extravagant, that didn’t mean the same rules applied for the dress.
But Cale didn’t know much about dresses. The one thing that caught his attention was the surprise on the woman´s face; it was as if she didn’t know who he was. Perhaps it was because of his pajamas, which he really doubted though.
It was Deputy Butler Hans who broke the incredibly awkward silence, seemingly not noticing it at all. He cleared his throat, still smiling as brightly as ever. That bright smile, honestly, it kind of made Cale want to run away as far as possible. He wanted to go back to Ron and Beacrox!
“My Lady, it came to my attention that your fiancé, the Lord, failed to introduce his son to you. Please forgive my Lord, he is a very busy-“
Before Hans could continue (to find excuses for the incredibly incompetent Count), Violan raised her hand, making him stop talking immediately. She looked at the small child. She did not know that Deruth had a son. She knew that he had a wife who died, but she was not told that he had a son too. Now that she looked at the child, he and Deruth looked nothing alike (he looked so much cuter and so much more gorgeous!). Did that mean Deruth didn’t want her to find out? Had he been afraid that she wouldn’t want to marry him? That couldn’t be it though…
No matter how hard Violan thought about it, she simply did not know how her fiancé; her soon to be husband, could have forgotten such an important detail, like that he had a child?! She didn’t let her shock show any longer and instead smiled. The child in front of her seemed to be about Basen´s age too, so perhaps the two of them could become good friends. Well, it wasn’t like she minded that Deruth had a son either way, since he was so cute and adorable!
Violan cleared her throat.
“Hans.”
One word was enough, and the deputy butler left the room after bowing down respectfully. He closed the door as soon as he exited, to give the two of them more privacy. Violan mustered the child, then sat on the bed (in her extremely expensive wedding dress) and patted the seat next to her for Cale to sit.
The child didn’t let the bride wait for long as he climbed onto the bed. It was a little difficult, but nothing he didn’t manage. Seriously though, why did beds have to be this tall? Violan smiled. She knew he had lost his mother – since Deruth had lost his wife. The child must have avoided her because he didn’t want to have his mother replaced, which caused Deruth to not tell her that he had a son – out of fear she would go to the child and try to get to know him.
Yes, that must´ve been the reason Deruth didn’t tell her! And judging by the extremely stoic expression on the child´s face, he wasn’t all too happy to be here either. Little did Violan know, that was Cale´s usual, every-day expression which showed neither annoyance nor joy.
Violan cleared her throat and looked down on Cale. He didn’t look at her but instead on the shelf in front of him – probably to avoid eye contact.
“Um, may I ask who you are, sweetheart?”
Cale finally looked up at Violan. The moment she was met with those reddish-brown eyes, Violan´s heart opened up without her being able to do anything against it. And before she knew it, she regarded this child as her own. Call it mother-bear instincts or a mother´s sense. Violan realized what had happened very quickly, but she was definitely not opposed to it. Since she would become Deruth´s wife, she should get along with his child (and she should probably love him as if he was her own).
“I´m…Cale.”
Violan nodded. Cale, that name stood for bravery and loyalty. It was a very nice name, very pleasant to the ears too. It was probably his mother who gave him that name, seeing how Deruth couldn’t name anything even if his life depended on it.
“What a nice name you have.”
Cale simply nodded. Violan, she was as friendly as he imagined her to be. At least the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ didn’t ruin her character – though that would make it even more difficult to keep a certain distance from her.
“And Cale, do you know who I am?”
Cale nodded his head this time. There was no point in lying this time and causing Violan to be flustered. The last thing he wanted to do was to ruin Violan´s wedding day.
“Ah, so it was just me who didn’t know you, hahaha.”
Violan laughed awkwardly, but actually, she felt relieved. It was because if Cale knew who she was, he also knew about the wedding, meaning his father must have told him. It would support her assumption that Deruth simply followed Cale´s wishes.
“Sweetheart, I mean Cale, how old are you?”
Cale shrugged, then answered honestly. He didn’t like lying either way, and it would be quite troublesome too. Violan was a bit shocked, but she recalled Deruth telling her that his wife had always been quite sickly. Perhaps her son was the same. It would explain the extremely pale skin and weak stature.
“And do you mind me being…around?”
Cale shook his head. He really didn’t. He just had to keep a bit of a distance to Violan so that he didn’t get too attached. Violan smiled awkwardly. She was a mother; she could tell that Cale didn’t really mean it. But what could she do? She loved Deruth. And she also loved Cale. She didn’t have to be a mother to him, she could just be someone who listened, that was all she wanted.
“Ah hahaha, sure, then I hope we´ll get to know each other better. Surely you also know my son, Basen, right?”
Cale nodded. He started playing with his fingers while listening to Violan talk. Her voice was gentle and calming, everything that the Count´s had not been. Ron and Beacrox always talked to him with that kind of warm voice and Alberu did too. It was…nice to hear it from Violan though.
“Alright then, if something´s wrong or if you want to talk about anything, you can always come to me. It must seem to you like I´m a replacement for your mother, but it´s nothing of the sort. I promise, no one could ever replace your mother, and I will make sure no one thinks I do, but you still can come to me if you´re troubled by something, or if you need anything.”
Cale finally looked up from his fingers and made eye contact with Violan. The woman who would become Countess Henituse in less than three hours had an extremely warm expression and a look of affection in her eyes. Cale frowned. It was a very nice expression, but it was also a sign of affection. He nodded, then got off of the bed. He mustered Violan one last time and attempted to exit the room, yet held in his tracks before he managed to push the vast and heavy door open.
He didn’t look back as he said one last thing.
“Okay.”
It was the best sort of reassurance he could give to Violan right now without showing her how much he actually cared.
As soon as the door closed, a big smile appeared on Violan´s face as she smiled brightly. There were tears in her eyes – only tears of happiness, obviously.
~
The wedding ceremony went by fast. Cale tried to stay in the back and not be too obvious and having Ron standing next to him the whole time was extremely helpful in that. No one paid him any mind as all eyes were on the beautiful bride and the average looking groom. Sure, he had had good visuals once, but that had been a very long time ago.
After the bride and groom exchanged the wedding vows and kissed, the real party begun. Honestly, at this point Cale didn’t go just because of the tasty cake. Beacrox being Beacrox gave him a small piece of the cake early in the morning (when he visited the kitchen, still in his pajamas, right after he was dragged to Violan) just so he could taste it – and naturally the extremely talented head chef covered his tracks very professionally.
And let´s just say, the cake would be worth any wait in the world.
Long story short, after receiving the cake, Cale vanished with it (two pieces) to his room, together with his old butler. There, he finally did what he had wanted to do the day before.
-I see; my dear dongsaeng isn’t dead. I was ready to send the royal doctors to check on you.
Cale smiled an incredibly big smile. He, for a change, wasn’t annoyed with the future crown prince. Perhaps it was because the boy, even though his words seemed harsh and were extremely sarcastic, still seemed worried. Cale put another piece of the extremely delicious cake in his mouth and chewed it before he answered. Alberu waited patiently the whole time, only shaking his head.
Ron smiled. The two boys truly were best friends after such a short while of knowing each other.
“You see, I was busy.”
Alberu shook his head even more, a slight smile on his lips. It was a bitter smile, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was going to say.
-You mean you were busy rolling around in bed, sleeping and eating?
Cale nodded his head very seriously, a content expression on his face.
“I see his highness has understood.”
Alberu almost jumped up from his seat, yet composed himself as he knew better than to discuss with a child five years younger than him.
-If you´re looking for a job in the future, don´t come to me for help. I don´t need anyone as lazy as you.
Cale frowned while putting another piece of cake in his mouth and chewing it.
“What job hyung? I don’t want a job. Didn’t I tell you already?”
Alberu frowned. He did not understand what Cale was currently talking about. Did he already mention his dream job to him? Wait; was it a professional food (cake) inspector? Or a pillow inspector?
-Don´t tell me it´s an inspector job…
Cale immediately shook his head, as if to tell Alberu how absurd and far off his stupid guess had been. Partly, he future crown prince felt relieved. Inspector jobs were the worst. And he couldn’t imagine Cale working in that field at all.
“Hyung, I want to be a rich slacker. I don´t want to work at all~ I just want to do nothing but eat and sleep all day.”
Alberu raised his eyebrows, his disbelief was obvious.
-A slacker life? Being rich? Sleep and eat all day? Isn´t that the very thing you´re doing right now?
Cale nodded his head, a very serious expression was on his face for once, and it was the most serious Alberu had ever seen the little redhead. It was to that extend, that he could only take him serious as if he was talking about becoming the prime minister.
“Exactly.”
Alberu shook his head in disbelief. At the one hand, it sounded absurd, as if Cale was indirectly making fun of him; on the other hand, Cale was serious. And Alberu, being the very good best friend and hyung, couldn’t help but believe him.
-Well, you sure won´t have anything in your way.
Cale would have loved to roll his eyes, yet he couldn’t do so. Instead, he just shrugged. Ignorance was bliss. He knew what was to come. In nine years, this whole continent would experience chaos. There would be a civil war, a bombing incident in the plaza, a mermaid and whale tribe beast people war and most importantly, there would be the ticking time bomb that could go off any minute called Choi Han.
Believe me if I say that Cale would have loved to share all of his knowledge with Alberu at this very moment, yet he somehow couldn’t. It was strange; he had never had the urge to share information – with anyone. It was as if…
Cale would rather not think about it.
“Yes. I sure hope so.”
Alberu broke out in laughter. He couldn’t help it, nor hold it in any longer than he already did.
-Well, if you´re a rich slacker; then come visit me more often.
A smile appeared on Cale´s face. Yes, that was just what he had planned to do tomorrow. Alberu, immediately recognizing that kind of smile; stopped laughing. His eyes widened in disbelief as he shook his head.
-You did not…
“I think hyung misses me very dearly, doesn’t he?”
Alberu was too shocked to answer, but naturally he did not oppose as it was the truth. He had been incredibly thrilled as his video communication device finally light up in a crimson color – signalizing that Cale was calling (after months, but who counted?). It was all because he had been very excited to see Cale again, as he missed him.
“Well, I plan to come visit you some time soon. You better prepare cookies, else I´ll look for an inn.”
Alberu scoffed in disbelief. Again, if any other person would have said that, he would sit behind bars by now. But not Cale.
-Be assured, my little dongsaeng.
Cale smiled brightly, and so did Alberu. The two of them understood each other´s smiled perfectly fine, they did not need to put its meaning to words.
Notes:
Hi.
Ik, ik, it´s been a really long while in which I havent updated, BUT I have an excuse: school. As you know, I´m in tenth grade and this week (i´ve been told by my friends on monday) we have a physics (tomorrow) and geograpy (firday) exam?! Excuse me, but wtf?! So, naturally I had to study (which I obviously didnt do properly...) and since I´ve kind of understood the basics, I´m hoping for a good grade.
In physics you just need the formulas either way, right? :´)And don´t get me started on geography, neither do I understand our current topic nor anything else... and next week we have three exams and the week after that we have another two (or was it three?)...
I´M DYING HERE!!!!
So for next week (since it´s just german and english) I won´t have to study as much, only for ethics... but after that... Let´s not talk about it.JUST KNOW, if I don´t update, it´s because I´m too stupid and have to study. I DID NOT forget or abandon this fic. I just have very little time on my hands, but I´m doing my best here.
Anyways, back to the chapter.
VIOLAN IS HERE!!! YAYYYY!!!
I actually planned her "entry" much later, well, at least where she and Cale meet, but I decided fuck it, it doesnt change the plot if I make them meet earlier either way. So, here she is! She is the best mama bear there is <3<3<3<3So... this is it I guess. I hope I didnt make y´all wait for too long hehe ;)
[Thank you very much for your patience, I hope the chapter didnt disappoint]
Chapter 12: 11. Reckless (1)
Summary:
Cale going out and meeting someone unexpected and Ron being strangely nice at the end :)
Notes:
No trigger warning whatsoever, though there´s the mention of blood (a wound), it´s mostly fluff again <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As planned, Ron woke Cale up in the early morning the day after the wedding. It was before even the servants got up to get to work. It was just the time Cale had told him to wake him up – it was needed to disappear quietly without anyone noticing.
Ron smiled at the sleepy child, watching him trying to get ready without falling asleep all of a sudden. But besides Cale being sleepy, there weren't any complications. The servant managed to get his young master-nim out without anyone noticing, and the two of them proceeded to get onto a crestless carriage in which Beacrox waited. Finally, he was allowed to accompany them (mostly because a lot of new employees being hired and thus giving him the freedom to disappear for a few days without anyone noticing).
Beacrox frowned as soon as his father got on the driver´s seat, not because that was be the start of their “undiscussed” vacation days but because it would be the start of the few days in which Cale would have to sleep uncomfortably in a carriage.
It was all because the child did not want to lengthen their travel time and wanted to stop in the famous Puzzle City for a whole day and a half. While usually, nobles traveled with lots of two to three day breaks, the same didn’t go for Cale. He planned to ride through for the whole five days that they would have to travel besides the one they would arrive in Puzzle City. He even went as far as to say that they would simply sleep in the carriage instead of getting themselves an inn – well, they would have to do so either way since they didn’t have much money to begin with, or none which they could spend freely. So to be frank, they were traveling like poor commoners if one disregarded their carriage.
Beacrox snorted, gaining Cale´s attention immediately. They were only half a days away from Puzzle City and it had started to snow again. It was kind of magical, though Cale felt sorry for Ron who had to sit outside in the cold.
“Is something wrong?”
Beacrox shook his head, but still, Cale could tell that he was immensely dissatisfied with something – probably with their current situation. Cale hadn’t always been a noble. Back in South Korea as he had been Kim Rok Soo, he didn’t travel at all, besides that one time with his uncle. And after the cataclysm with the monster apocalypse it was even worse. The conditions for humans have changed completely. While many still recalled their long lost memories of traveling comfortably, they weren't able to even dream about that anymore. Kim Rok Soo, who didn’t even know what comfortable traveling meant, didn’t mind traveling with the fear that a monster might pop up. And compared to that, the way he was traveling right now was truly a luxury.
Yet, he had also lived as a noble for the last six months and hence could also understand why Beacrox (who worried over him more than Ron did) was so dissatisfied with the current situation. Since Cale was still a very little child in his eyes, he might think that the redhead would get used to traveling under these circumstances without a crest on the carriage despite being of noble blood. He did not wish for Cale to grow up thinking this was normal.
“Don´t worry about it, young master-nim. Instead, is there a reason why you´d want to stop by Puzzle City only?”
Cale smiled and nodded his head. He recalled a line he had skimmed over in the novel, yet still recorded.
“Puzzle City is famous for its Rock Towers. I´d like to see them.”
Puzzle City Rock Towers. Ron, who wasn’t inside the carriage but still listened to their conservation, froze while Beacrox experienced a similar emotion overcoming him. The Rock Towers which Puzzle City was famous for…
They represented the people´s hopes and wishes. Since Puzzle City´s people did not believe in a God, they´ve got to believe in something, right? Someone, a very long time ago, then came up with this simple yet nice tradition and built a rock tower as a representative of his dreams and hopes. And people followed his lead – so far that it was the one thing Puzzle City was famous for.
And now Cale wanted to visit that place, and even more importantly because of Rock Towers? It either meant that Cale wanted to build one on his own, or it meant something else…a less happy and nice thing.
Naturally, what the father-son-duo was thinking was not the truth. The only reason Cale decided to stop in Puzzle City this time was because it was time he got his hands on another ancient power that had been mentioned in the novel. Originally, Taylor, who would get crippled by his brother in six years, had discovered this ancient power, yet obtaining it didn’t help with his legs. Since Cale would be taking that ancient power, he can just help Taylor avoid being crippled by Venion. That way, Taylor wouldn’t look for this power and wouldn’t be disappointed in first place.
Cale nodded to himself, naturally ignoring Beacrox somewhat sad puppy eyes, and turned his head back around to look outside the window. The snow truly looked very nice and the white landscape seemed magical. The big, dark green trees were all full of snow – everything was. There were white bunnies that Cale had almost missed and it even started to snow after a short while.
Back in South Korea, Cale as Kim Rok Soo had hated winter because of the snow. In South Korea it had been similar to the Roan Kingdom, the winters were long and cold and the summer was extremely short, yet extremely hot too (even though in the Roan Kingdom it would be a bit more chilly). But the heat didn’t really matter to either humans or monsters. What did matter though was the cold. People needed to keep themselves warm if they didn’t want to freeze to death and fighting against monsters with six layers of clothing wasn’t the most comfortable thing to do. And there were those types of monsters that were even stronger in the cold. If it had been snowing there, most people knew that they fucked up and wouldn’t get to live much longer.
Cale smiled. It wasn’t like this now. The snow wasn’t a sign of death and it wouldn’t ever be. It was just…something nice, something pretty – something enjoyable.
The smile on Cale´s face got smaller and smaller, and the child fell asleep. It wasn’t until Ron finally placed him in his bed in the inn he booked that Cale slowly started to wake up again – that was when Ron and Beacrox already left though.
As soon as Cale realized that he was alone, he smiled once again. Time to do what he came here for, then slack off the next day!
~
Sneaking out as a child was much easier than expected, but perhaps that was just because Cale decided to “escape” through the window.
The redhead looked down from the window. It was already dark outside, but the few street lights light up the street enough for him to see just how high up he was. It wasn’t the second floor for nothing, huh?
A sigh escaped Cale´s lips.
He had never been a fan of jumping out the window – especially since he was forced to do that very many times back in Korea. Was it a monster or human attack in an old building that he had investigated, jumping down was his only option if he wasn’t thrilled to fight it on his own. He still recalled the pain in his bones just too well – and that had been when he jumped from the second floor too.
“Nothing I can do here I suppose…”
Well, truth to be told, there was a lot he could have done at that moment, other than jump out the window. For example, he could have turned his head to the left side and noticed the gutter on which he could have climbed down. Or he could have just walked out the door and tried to go unnoticed by Ron and Beacrox – which wasn’t that impossible. He also could have just told Beacrox or Ron that he wanted to go outside and then secretly go find the ancient power.
But no, Cale did not think about any of those possibilities and just jumped down. Usually, he didn’t have such tunnel vision at all, but given the fact that he didn’t knew else, he just did what he was used to from his past life – which was jump out the window without giving it much thought. Yes of course, he wasn’t in danger right now, but his mind was still used to his past life, no matter how many times he told to himself (or rather lied to himself) that he was over it.
The fall was quick, the landing quicker – and a lot harder. While Cale´s mind was used to him landing like that (and compared to his time as Kim Rok Soo, this landing was extremely good), his body was not. Almost immediately, his incredibly thick leather pants ripped and his knee began bleeding. Cale´s hands were scratched as well, stinging quite a bit for the young boy who resented pain more than a married woman her mother in law.
And then there was this little (or not so little) pain in his ankle…
Cale rolled his eyes in annoyance. Something like this could only happen to him. He should have used a different jumping technique…even if he was already a bit rusty. Nevertheless, he got up from the snowy – and now bloody – street and patted down the little snow that was on his clothes. He had something to do, and until he did that, he would not retreat, even if he was bleeding. What was this little pain he would bear in comparison to a life filled without agony and sickness?
A smile appeared on the child´s face as he nodded to himself and started walking towards Puzzle City´s borders. That´s right, the regeneration ancient power that he was about to collect for himself, it would make his life much more painless and free of sickness.
And just like that, Cale made the biggest (or not the biggest) mistake of his life.
And as soon as he reached the border, he noticed that.
“Fucking shit!”
Cale couldn’t help but cuss loudly, ignoring all of his composure. There, in front of him, in the area that was not Puzzle City anymore, were no lights or anything else but darkness. Furthermore, the snow wasn’t shoveled away and given the fact that it had snowed all winter without break, the snow layer was correspondingly thick.
And Cale´s destination – the place where the regeneration ancient power – was, it was in the midst of this snowy landscape. Hell, it was like searching a needle in a haystack because of the snow now! How on earth was Cale supposed to get it if it was like that? And because it was night, it was dark, and because the snow layer was thick, it was hard to walk there too! Hell, but what other chance would he get to come by the regeneration ancient power again? And what if he would get sick? Cale hated being sick more than anything!
It didn’t matter to him in the end. He decided to go through with what he had planned and just search for the needle in the haystack. After all, even a blind chicken would pick a corn at some point.
But Cale was no blind chicken – he knew that he had always had extremely bad luck. Yet, he still decided to proceed with his plan. The reason for his decision was rather simple: He was still standing.
Thus, the extremely difficult voyage of the small child through the snow began. Cale noticed it as soon as he took the first step into the snow; the fact that his clothes were by far too thin and practically useless. It felt as if he didn’t wear anything at all. His leather pants with the rip got wet and his winter boots did too. His expensive fur jacket wasn’t the best thing he wore either and his gloves provided no heat whatsoever for his hands. His longs scarf´s ends got wet and his cap was probably the only thing that fulfilled its use – but it didn’t touch the snow, so…
Either way, there was no going back. And just like that, Cale took the second step. The snow was about hip-high for him and each step took him a lot of strength. It was so difficult, that he felt hot after a short while – at the same time he was freezing. Cale was sweating and the only reason why he kept going was because he needed the regeneration power very much. He didn’t think it would turn out like this, and if he returned now, he was guaranteed to get a cold.
“Haaa- Haaa-“
Cale took his hundredth step (or was it a bit less?) and stopped for once, bending over to breathe properly and relax his exhausted body. Never ever would he have thought that something like this would exhaust him to this extend, though he should have counted with it, given that his body was extremely weak and he never exercised (and never would).
The more he walked, the more lost he seemed. He almost turned around, that was when he noticed that there was something that had a lot of similarities with a cave. The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ had taken lots of lines to mention that there was only one cave around Puzzle City. And that the regeneration power was in that very cave.
Cale frowned.
It was nice all, but he couldn’t be a 100% sure that that was truly a cave or something else. And even if it truly was the cave…it was filled with snow, completely. Furthermore, it was extremely dark outside, even with the moon and the stars. Inside the cave, it would be extremely dark, even darker than out here.
Contrary to many, Cale´s decision was quick. He had already put in all this effort just to get here, there was no way in hell he would just throw it away like that and walk away as if nothing ever happened!
Just like before, Cale didn’t even lose a second to think about what he was about to do and just walked toward that cave. These few steps he now took felt a lot less exhausting than before, probably because he was getting excited. The slight frown was still on his face, but it was a bit less annoyed than before.
Entering the cave was easier than expected too – which he had to thank his small size for. If Cale would have been even just a few inches taller, he would have come across a few complications, but he was just the right size to get through the small hole. As soon as he entered the cave, he was met with a freezing breeze.
Ah, this had been described in ´The Birth of a Hero´ as well.
Cale smiled as he recalled the following line.
[I changed this up, so please just roll with it T^T]
But Cale did know – which was the reason he came here tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow. Of course, he didn’t actually want to come here in winter (who on earth would want that?!) but he just rolled with what opportunities he got. He did not know if he would get the chance to go anywhere after this.
Cale took a step forward.
Cale did not have such trouble – also one of the advantages he had as a very small child. Sure, his size annoyed the redhead, especially since his dear friend, the future crown prince, would never miss the chance to make fun of him. But right now, it was actually useful.
The wind did not push him back as much as he had expected; something that managed to put a smile on Cale´s face. It was that type of smile he always used when he got his hands on money or something expensive – for example the three gold coins a few months back when he got the Indestructible Shield ancient power.
Soon enough, Cale forgot the extreme cold and was just thinking about the regeneration power that would soon be in his hands. It excited him, it excited him very much. And a few minutes later, Cale managed to see a dimly light but unfinished rock tower.
Thankfully, at least some light was illuminating this dark cave.
The strong gust of wind was by much stronger around this odd rock tower, so much stronger that Cale felt like he would get blown away if he lost his footing even once. Since he didn’t weight all too much, he saw no other choice than to get on all fours and crawl forward. Sure, it hurt extremely much with his bloody knee and scraped palms, but he pushed forward, knowing that the regeneration power would heal him nicely.
While doing so, he forgot the most significant line that the novel had mentioned.
But now was not the time he was able to think about something like that. Instead, only getting to this odd rock tower was important. He knew that he would be safe next to it, since there wasn’t any wind.
Cale carefully approached the rock tower, slow and steady, not to get pushed back under any circumstances. It wasn’t long, and he finally reached his destination. And just as he read, the wind suddenly stopped.
It was still there, but not next to the rock tower.
The smile on the redhead´s face grew bigger as soon as he noticed. That´s right – now only one thing was left that he had to do in order to get the ancient power.
Fully ignoring the cold air and his fully wet clothes (as well as his now runny nose), Cale started to build the rock tower as he put one stone on top of another of the unfinished rock tower.
And as soon as the last stone was placed on top of it, which didn’t take Cale any tries at all, the voice of the previous owner of the regeneration power appeared, just as it happened with the Indestructible Shield before. The novel mentioned that too.
-I never got to complete my rock tower.
Cale tried to neither sigh nor roll his eyes at the whiny man´s voice.
-Each time I was about to put on the last stone, I destroyed it again and started anew.
Yes, yes, that´s nothing new.
-It´s all because I couldn’t die! Or be with my friends!
-My regeneration is such a useless ability! I was so selfish because of it! While everyone went to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, I stood behind! I couldn’t even die, no matter how hard I tried to!
Yes, he already mentioned that before.
But, nevertheless, Cale nodded his head, and without much talking, the whiny voice ended its monologue.
-You will see just how cursed this ability is too. Even if it is when you find out that you will live much longer than your close ones. But, as you put my tower together and completed it, this useless power now belongs to you.
The wind stopped.
And as soon as the wind stopped, the rock tower collapsed, and with that, the regeneration ancient power, the Vitality of the Heart, did too. It vanished, vanished outside but reappeared inside Cale´s body. Proof of that was the heart shaped tattoo that the boy got on his chest, though he would notice that much later.
-This cursed and selfish power now belongs to you.
Selfish?
Was it really a selfish power though?
Ever since Cale could remember, humans had always put themselves before anyone else. And was it wrong to do so? Everyone prioritized themselves after all, even if one said he didn’t. If he did indeed say so, he would be nothing more but a hypocrite.
So, let people think that you are selfish, what´s the big deal?
In order to obtain his long-wished slacker life, Cale needed this power. He could not let sickness or injuries as well as pain and agony get in between him and his slacker life.
And in order to do that, he needed the Vitality of the Heart, which would keep his body healthy.
But there was one little miscalculation or rather mistake Cale did.
Cale´s bloody knee and scraped palms as well as his cold symptoms…
The Vitality of the Heart did not possess the ability to heal Cale´s body right now, or heal his approaching cold, only the injuries and sicknesses he would experience after obtaining this healing attribute ancient power.
And as soon as Cale looked down on his still slightly bleeding knee and scratched, bloody palms, he recalled this very important piece of information. Just like that, from one second on the other, his smile fell as fast as it appeared and the young boy cussed again.
He should have thought things through properly like he usually did and not just ´roll with the flow´! Hell, he had gotten too relaxed since there was still time before he would meet Choi Han and before the war. From now on, he had to be more cautious, more careful.
He could not make a mistake again, not ever again.
His mistakes would always be fatal, be it back in his life as Kim Rok Soo in South Korea where a single mistake could cost the life of thousands if not millions or here, where a single mistake would put him in a tough situation.
Cale nodded his head. That´s right, he should refrain from making mistakes again. Even if the evens of the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ were still far, that didn’t mean he got to relax. There was still his problematic tutor, his “father” and the first prince, though he wasn’t really a problem.
Cale simply hoped that this was all he had to deal with for now, especially since he didn’t take anything lightly.
After thinking about the novel´s contents once again thoroughly, Cale nodded his head. There wasn’t anything he possibly missed.
~
“Fuck.”
Cale cussed out loudly as he stopped in his tracks on his way back to the inn in which Ron and Beacrox were probably worried sick about him and extremely nervous about his sudden disappearance, since they would have noticed by now – which they naturally did.
The reason he stopped?
There were two clothed people standing before him staring right at him. Cale wasn’t able to see them because of the darkness outside and because they wore black capes. The two tall figures stopped walking too and proceeded to look at the young child. This awkward situation continued on until one of the two took a few steps forward and crouched down in front of the nine year old child, a gentle expression on his face that was covered by his hood until he decided to take it off.
Cale immediately noticed the man´s purple hair and greyish eyes. He was quite handsome, but also looked quite strict.
“Hey little one, where are your parents? What are you doing here, huh?”
Cale frowned. Who was that tall tower of a man calling little? And why would he care? He should just mind his own business.
The purple haired man chuckled at the child´s frown and turned his head to look at the second caped figure, his companion probably. The still standing man had his arms crossed while waiting for the other.
“Oi Glenn, whatcha sayin´ to such a small kid, eh? He looks like he´s from the slums, he probably got lost in here or somethin´.”
Cale could not help his annoyed expression and desire to cuss again. Slums? He was the child of one of the richest noble families on the western continent and they dared to assume he was from the slums?
But then again – Cale looked down on his ripped leather pants and wild appearance – he couldn’t exactly say that it was very unlikely. The way he looked right now, which was terrible, there wouldn’t be any way in hell people were going to assume he was a noble.
“Tsk, even so, he´s still a small child and we can´t just leave him! You know it´s going to snow again soon, don´t you? And just look at him, he´s already freezing to death!”
Cale would have rolled his eyes if he didn’t need the help of those two strangers – which he did. Thus, he decided to do the best of his current situation and get these two people to bring him home, preferably carry him back to the inn where Ron and Beacrox were.
“Who are you”?
Glenn, the purple haired man, smiled and introduced himself and his companion once again.
“I? I´m Glenn and that grumpy man is my boss, Bud.”
Boss? So they were not companions? But they behaved so oddly around each other?
And Bud didn’t seem to like the word boss all too much either as he whimpered in response.
“I´m not his boss! Don´t say such bullshit! I´m your best and only friend!”
Glenn rolled his eyes at that and picked the small child up without asking for permission. Cale didn’t exactly mind, as he finally got to relax. And this Glenn guy wasn’t such an uncomfortable carrier, so…
“Firstly, you´re not my best friend; only because I´m your best friend, doesn’t mean you´re the same for me, furthermore don´t assume we´re friends just because I´m the only one who willingly accompanies such an alcoholic as yourself. Secondly, I have other friends too, like Dereck or Salton.”
Bud whined again but followed Glenn without replying. Instead, he asked Cale a question, dropping the discussion with his friend or college or whatever they were for each other.
“Little kid, do you have a name?”
Cale nodded his head and quietly told them his first name, since there was no need for them to know his sur name.
“Okay, and you´re from Puzzle City, aren´t ya?”
And once again, the redhead nodded his head in approval. Bud smiled, as that had been their destination and they wouldn’t have to stop by any village just because of a child. Glenn rolled his eyes, already knowing why Bud was smiling that way. Puzzle City wasn’t their real destination and only a stop point in which they would take a break from their long voyage for a couple of days, after all they didn’t have a carriage. Their real destination was Huiss City, the capital of the Roan Kingdom.
“So Cale, what were you doing out here at this hour all by yourself?”
Cale shrugged, not really knowing what to answer. It wasn’t like he could just reveal that he was here to collect an ancient power.
“So, you just wandered off?”
And the redhead couldn’t have said it better. Almost furiously, he nodded his head.
“The snow was cool. I wanted to build a big snowman. But I got lost.”
“Ah.”
Both Bud and Glenn nodded their heads. For such a small child, that was reason enough to wander so far off in the wild.
“Do you have parents? Or someplace we could drop you off?”
Cale thought for a while, then decided that these two people weren´t bad people and that it was safe enough to reveal that he was a noble child. It would also match his story better and explain his injuries.
“I´m traveling with my butler and his son, they´re still at the inn, probably.”
Bud and Glenn widened their eyes as realization struck them. Despite these shabby looks, the child´s clothes didn’t look cheap. And given the little fact that he had a butler, he was no commoner and thus a noble. And as such, there was no way his servants would let him go.
“So…you sneaked out? Is that why you´re injured?”
Cale nodded his head. There was a somewhat proud expression on his face. Naturally, it was because he was glad that he managed to scam these two people, not because he was proud that he managed to sneak out, which Bud and Glenn were thinking.
“Ah, so you…don’t tell me you jumped out the window?!”
Cale nodded his head, making Bud laugh while Glenn stared at him in shock, looking at his injured and dirty knee and palms.
“Haaa.”
He couldn’t resist the urge to sigh at that, though neither Bud nor the small child seemed to care about that. Instead, Bud encouraged Cale to do so again and while Cale cringed and frowned on the inside, he maintained a calm and proud expression on the outside.
“So, where are you traveling to, ah?”
Cale shrugged and pointed forward. He was a child, so he could do that.
“To visit a friend!”
Glenn smiled and nodded his head.
“That´s nice, and where does your friend live?”
Once again, Cale didn’t mind telling them. If they were fishy people, Ron could just deal with them, after all.
“He lives in Huiss City, the capital.”
Bud burst out in laughter.
“What a coincidence! That´s the place we´re traveling too as well! You know what? Let´s all travel together, hahaha!”
Glenn rolled his eyes and Cale did the same for once, something both Glenn and Bud missed. But Cale wasn’t worried that much about them traveling with them too, especially since Ron would make sure that they wouldn’t come.
Well, the little redhead was wrong about that. Especially since the old butler smiled brightly as he picked Cale up himself and nodded his head.
“What a great idea. The least we can do to thank you for finding our precious young master-nim is to take you along to Huiss City.”
Notes:
Hi.
It´s been a while, BUT I had promised to update another fic first, so I had to work on that one and I couldnt update yesterday because I had a school festival and was needed at our stand (we sold jelly, Ik, it´s stupid, but my teacher wanted to) [and I went out for boba with my best friend, but I´m excused, right?]So, anyways, update on my geography exam: It was unexpectedly easy, so easy that I think I failed completely, but on the other hand, I studied quite a lot so I really don´t know. It´s this feeling where I simply can´t tell whether it´s okay to have it or not. As for physics, it´s the same. I memorized all the formulas and did a few tasks, but it was unexpectedly easy. So I don´t know if I did everything wrong or just aced it like a pro. Especially since all of my classmates say it was extremely difficult (but the teacher said that it was easy so I really dont know)...
Anyways, one exam was canceled since the teacher said we arent ready for next week, so it´s only math (tuesday) and ethics (friday). And the week after that is only german and english, AND THEN I´M FINALLY FREE OF ALL OF THOSE STUPID ASS EXAMS AND HAVE A LOT OF FREE TIME TO WROTE AND READ AND WATCH K-DRAMA!!!!!! YAYYYYYY!!!!!
*cough* sorry that I was so excited. It´s just, finally getting through this exam period is really...nice. Especially since it´s only the next week that I need to worry about (I´m not the best with f(x) functions or whatever they´re called in english) I just hope I dont fail....
Anyways, about this chap! Bud and Glenn are finally here! (sry not sry, I just love these two extremely much).
I first planned on making him meet the arm members and having a little fight in which Ron would come to his rescue, but then I decided ´fuck it, Cale-baby already gets injured and will get a cold, so why also make him meet the arm members this early?´ so I changed my outline and made him meet Bud and Glenn instead of Arm (and naturally he will meet Arm when he was supposed to meet Bud and Glenn).I hope it´s fine. I also made a few changes to the novel here, so, just roll with it I guess?
Then, I´ll update as soon as I get to, til then! (°^°)
Chapter 13: 12. Reckless (2)
Summary:
Bud meets grandpa Molan Patriarch and Alberu and Cale chitty chat about the future with cookies and lemon candy ლ(o◡oლ)
Notes:
No triggering stuff in here, another fluffy chapter once again (hope you like those, cuz I sure have fun writing them compared to my angsty ones, tho I also have fun writing those ;))
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ron smiled a very odd smile, that kind of smile that gave Cale the shivers and reminded him that Ron was no ordinary old man who decided to serve him because he had nothing better to do. He was an assassin a heart, one that was forced to leave his home behind and escape with his son, not even getting the chance to bury his wife. While the old man was extremely soft to the redhead, only because he had a very big soft spot for him, that didn’t mean he behaved the same way around other people like these two strangers.
Even though Ron was technically smiling, his eyes said otherwise. Beacrox noticed the shifting atmosphere the fastest and quickly took Cale out of Ron´s still gentle grip. Cale didn’t mind at all, he didn’t want to get caught in this crossfire coming from these venomous glared Bud and Ron sent each other.
“Father, I will take Cale to bed. Please don´t worry, I´ll stay the night with him and make sure he gets a bath before going to bed.”
Ron nodded; then finally turned his head away from Bud, instead looking at his puppy like young master-nim. He ruffled the child´s chair, his real gentle expression finally returning. Don´t get it wrong, there was still his typical benign smile on his lips, yet his eyes were warm and not cold and distant.
“Don´t wander off like that again, young master-nim. We were worried sick.”
Cale nodded his head, then he and Beacrox left the empty lobby of the inn. The very moment Ron heard his son close the door to the child´s room; he took out his dagger and held it against the purple haired man´s – Glenn´s – throat. At the same time, Bud took out a blue sword and held it against the old man´s left arm.
Two drops of blood wandered down Glenn´s throat while Ron´s uniform was simply cut cleanly.
“Who are you, who send you and what do you want?”
Glenn raised his arms, trying to loosen up the assassin´s firm grip around his neck – without success obviously. Instead, Ron only put more pressure on the tall man, causing him to almost whine in pain. Bud scoffed at that.
“Shouldn’t I ask you these questions? What is the Molan Patriarch doing in a servant´s uniform, accompanying such a clumsy child, ah?”
Ron scoffed at that, unable to hide the displeasured expression on his face.
“How do you know who I am? Who are you?”
Bud grinned, then put away his blue sword, which turned out to be his aura sword. Ron finally noticed that the man in front of him was no simple man whatsoever, but a real swordsmaster as he could use aura sword. Swordsmaster were a rarity in all continents, as there were very few people to actually be able to achieve such strength and power.
“How about you let my friend go first before you ask any questions?”
Ron smiled his usual benign smile, pushing all of his irritation and displeasure back.
“And why should I do that? For all I know, the both of you could just run away like rats.”
Bud smiled.
“And you think we´ll escape?”
Ron´s benign smile got wider. Not only knew Bud who he actually was, he was also aware of his capabilities. Ron then simply shrugged, still not letting go of Glenn, though he did loosen the grip around the man´s neck a little bit.
“Who knows? This punk is a mage, judging by his looks.”
Bud shrugged.
“Well, guess there´s no fooling the Molan Patriarch. As for your question, we are simple mercenaries.”
Ron frowned. Simple mercenaries? They honestly thought that he would believe such obvious lies? No simple mercenary would be a swordsmaster. Furthermore, they knew who he was, so they could only be from the Eastern Continent. There were zero records of him on the Western Continent, he had made sure of it, and the only ones that had existed were gone. The only people who could have possibly kept records were the bastards who came and destroyed his home, but these two punks didn’t seem to be affiliated with those.
“Just how stupid do you think I am, you punk?”
The twenty five year old man shrugged, then pulled out a bottle of liquor seemingly out of his sleeve. Ron scoffed at that, but he did not say anything as Bud took a couple of gulps before putting it back.
“Well, I indeed am a mercenary, though we´re on our way to become something else.”
“Ah.”
Ron immediately understood and finally let go of Glenn. Without even as much as a sound, the purple haired man, who was indeed a mage, walked over to Bud and punched him against the arm.
“You´re such a hopeless alcoholic, really!”
Bud did not respond and Ron did not say anything either, making the mage sigh Currently, he was only a middle grade mage, but he was on the verge of breaking through and achieving the highest grade mage level, thus he and his abilities could not be taken lightly.
“Molan Patriarch, now that I´ve told you who we are and what we´re here for, say, why are you a butler and serving a little kid?”
Ron scoffed and put his dagger away, finally (Glenn sighed in relief).
“Who are you to ask me questions, you punk? You´re still wet behind your ears!”
As curious as Bud was, he did not dare ask again, judging by the glare Ron sent his way. Instead, he cleared his throat and reached out his hand, for the old man to shake.
“Well, then let me learn from you, Patriarch. Since we´ll be traveling together to the capital from now on.”
The big grin on Bud´s face was extremely strange for Ron and the old butler simply turned around, not even thinking about shaking that man´s hand. And just like that, Ron left while Bud and Glenn stayed behind in the lobby.
Not soon after, the owner of the inn approached the two of them and made them pay for their stay in here, not caring whether they wanted to leave or not. He was a very…charming man in Ron´s eyes.
At the same time, Beacrox finally wrapped two blankets around the small child. Cale looked fine – besides the runny nose he now had. Thankfully, he had neither a fever nor any other cold symptoms. Still, a runny nose could not be taken lightly by Beacrox.
“Tsk, young master-nim, why would you jump out such a high window in such a cold weather? If you wanted to go see the snow and build a snowman, you could have just told my father or me.”
Cale nodded. There was no point in arguing, since Beacrox was technically right. Still, he knew that in the future, he would have to sneak out at least one more time by himself, though there was still quite some time until then.
“Haaa, now you´re injured and will probably get sick. Just what are you going to tell your friend?”
Cale shuddered. No matter how he looked at it, Alberu would make sure to kill him. A slight smile Cale had no idea of appeared on the child´s face, making the head chef sigh. Alberu Crossman, at first, Cale had tried to get rid of him, or he at least thought that he would come to forget him. Cale did not realize that in this short amount of time, he had come to somehow accept Alberu as his friend – as his one and only real friend. The redhead didn’t even know when exactly it happened; he just knew that it kind of did. And now he just knew that Alberu would worry about him.
While he still thought that Alberu would shove him aside in a few years (very little did he know), he decided to just ignore that and not think about it for now.
“Try to sleep for now, young master-nim. We won´t stay in Puzzle City tomorrow then and depart in the morning since we have to arrive at the capital as fast as possible now.”
Cale just nodded. There was nothing to visit here either way. Sure, he did say he wanted to see the Rock Towers, but he didn’t actually want to. Truth to be told, Cale found this tradition to be ridiculous. Building Rock Towers and making them collapse when their wishes came true because that tower of rocks supposedly did something? That´s just ridiculous.
Beacrox was taken by surprise, but then again, they could visit Puzzle City again in spring or summer, when it was less cold outside.
“Good night, young master-nim. Sleep tight.”
Cale closed his eyes and Beacrox put out the lights, not expecting a response, yet it did come.
“Good night Beacrox.”
The smile on the usually deadpanning cook was surprisingly big and happy for someone who didn’t smile at all.
~
“A-Achoo!”
Cale sniffled and was handed a handkerchief by Ron, who was proudly standing behind him, naturally for his runny nose. Alberu had an extremely weird expression on his face. He did not know whether he should be happy or not to see Cale, but either way he knew he was incredibly displeased with the child getting sick.
“You sure are a weakling.”
Cale rolled his eyes and intentionally handed his handkerchief to Alberu, who was a bit too slow to not accept it. Almost immediately, it was handed back to Ron.
“Who´s the weakling? I sure ain´t.”
Alberu shook his head in disbelief as he followed behind Cale who was treating his palace as his own already. Well, his aunt did warn him about that this was like best friends behaved around each other.
“Yeah, or course you aren´t. It´s not like you caught yourself a cold too, right?”
Cale just rolled his eyes and Alberu quickly caught up to the younger kid with his long legs.
“Cale, who are these two newbies that are with you? I haven’t seen them before.”
Cale shrugged.
“I met them in the forest and since they wanted to go to the capital too, Ron invited them to come along.”
Alberu stopped in his tracks, causing Cale to turn around with raised brows. The redhead did not understand why the first prince was acting this way, not at all.
“You invited them to just come along? What if they´re serial killers or something? And what were you doing in a forest? Don´t tell me, did they injure your hands?”
Cale rolled his eyes and, noticing that Alberu didn’t have anything important to say, the redhead continued walking casually. The future crown prince really couldn’t with this little troublemaker. Like, what was he doing? And now Alberu´s interest was piqued too.
“Hey Cale, wait up!”
And just like that, Alberu hurried after Cale to continue to conservation on where he could have gotten his hands scratched. Cale shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal as he told Alberu.
“I snuck out, and to get unnoticed, I jumped out the window.”
The now fourteen year old´s reaction was something one had to see with their own eyes. Needless to say that Cale got lightly punched in the arm.
“What was that for?!”
Alberu did not understand how Cale could be so smart and yet so oblivious!
“What sane person jumps out the window? Don´t tell me it was at night too?”
“Sure, I won´t then.”
Alberu stopped in his tracks once again, unable to understand what Cale said just now properly. As soon as it clicked though, he quickly caught up to the nine year old child and a second punch followed.
“You´re something else!”
The redhead just shrugged while rubbing his slightly hurting arm. It didn’t really hurt, but still.
“I suppose you aren´t happy to see me then? Should I just stay at home next time?”
Alberu rolled his eyes at that and opened the door to his room for Cale to enter. Almost immediately, the child sat down comfortably on the couch and took the cookie jar on the coffee table. Well, the first prince knew that that would have happened either way, so it wasn’t unexpected at all. Hell, he even prepared that very cookie jar for Cale.
“So, how are you? Did anything happen in the Henituse territory?”
Cale just shrugged as he nibbled on one cookie after another. Alberu sat down on the armchair opposite to Cale. For some reason, he had missed the sight of Cale in his room. Sure, Cale had only stayed with his for a bit more than a week, but it still felt extremely empty as soon as he went back to the Henituse territory. Now that he was here again, the walls didn’t seem as grey and colorless and the room seemed brighter too.
A slight smile appeared on Alberu´s face. Whatever this feeling was, he was glad he had it. It made him feel warm and comfortable whenever he was with Cale, it felt a lot like home. Probably it was because he considered the redhead to be his best friend and because the two of them were so similar.
“Well, the Count got married a few days ago.”
…And that nice, homey feeling disappeared.
Alberu sat up in his chair, his whole body was far from relaxing. For once in a very long while he was unable to control his facial features and thus could not hide his extreme shock – or his anger for that.
“He did what? Wait, wait, wait, did you know?”
Cale shrugged and shook his head.
“Well, I was told on the morning of the wedding, if that counts. But I kind of expected it, if it´s that what you want to know. It was the day I called you.”
Alberu heaved a loud sigh and leaned back, relaxing once again.
“Haaa, you sure- haaa…”
Cale ignored the future crown prince as he nibbled on his forth cookie. He watched Alberu ruffle his hair and try to stay composed, yet, in the end, the fourteen year old jumped out of his armchair again and walked up and down. He obviously wasn’t relaxed at all.
“And you just tell me now?!”
Cale nodded his head.
“Well, it´s not really important either way, it just means that the Count won´t have any obligation to pay me any attention now.”
Not only Alberu, but also Ron who was just about to come in, stopped in his tracks. While Alberu usually would have reacted very strongly, he was so shocked that he couldn’t even do that. Instead, he sat down and shook his head.
“Why would you say something like that? Your father certainly won´t abandon you.”
Cale had a very odd smile on his face, one that did not belong on his face, under any circumstances. It was a mixture of a bitter and a sad yet accepting smile.
“Well, it´s the truth. But it´s not really something bad, you know? If the Count won´t pay me any attention like he already does, that means I can do what I want. Furthermore, it means that I won´t become the successor, which is good for me.”
Alberu who knew everything about Cale´s plans of a slacker life shook his head. Surely not being the next head of the rich and influential Henituse Family would be good for Cale, but something still didn’t sit right with him. But, that bitter smile on Cale´s face was gone, and instead, there was a genuinely happy one there.
“But…aren´t you…disappointed? Mad? Sad?”
Cale frowned. He did not understand why Alberu was asking such a stupid question and his face said it all. Ron, who didn’t see Cale´s expression though, thought that the small child was hesitating and thinking things through.
In the end, Cale just shook his head in disbelief and before Ron could hear the redhead´s answer, he stopped spying on the conservation and returned with the lemon candy he had Beacrox prepare for the young master-nim.
“Why should I? It´s not like I see the Count as my father anymore, and I think that his wife is nice.”
Alberu punched himself in the face. Cale was the smartest yet dumbest person he had ever seen. Like, what on earth did he mean by he liked the new Countess? Did he not miss his mother? Or…No, that couldn’t be it.
He must have just accepted her death, finally.
“Do you want a cookie?”
Alberu scoffed at that, yet took the cookie Cale was giving him. The redhead truly was something else. He seemed the same as usual, with that stoic, somewhat unapproachable expression on his face, yet at the same time…there was this gentle look in his eyes whenever their eyes met and he didn’t seem as distant as when he was looking at other people. He was by no means stupid, perhaps just a bit slow when it was about himself (which was indeed what was going on).
“Hey Cale.”
Cale looked up from his cookie, instead locking eyes with Alberu. Perhaps it was just him, but he was certain his ocean blue eyes just got a bit darker, even if it was just for a split second, he had seen – and recorded – it. The child raised his eyebrows, for Alberu to continue.
“If something happens at the Henituse estate, you know that you´re always welcomed here, right?”
Cale smiled at that. Naturally he remembered Alberu telling him he was always welcomed here on numerous occasions; and there was no way in hell Cale wouldn’t use this to his advantage, but he still was a bit confused.
“Why should something happen?”
Deruth was a neglecting but not an abusive parent. In comparison to his uncle Kim Seung Jong Deruth was like an extremely good parent. Furthermore, Violan was like the only mother figure Cale could have imagined. The only problematic person was his instructor Simon van Augustus, yet he would manage to deal with that bastard too. And if he really didn’t, he knew who he would trouble if that happened. He smiled at Alberu and shrugged. The latter just shook his head in disbelief.
“Haaa, only you can act this way, really!”
Cale shrugged and took another cookie before sneezing. Alberu quietly handed him a handkerchief. The two of them continued to sit in silence until Ron entered the room. He had walked down the hallway to Beacrox to tell him to prepare a very big dinner for tonight. In his hands, was a bowl that looked very suspicious as it seemed similar to candy, yet it was a very light yellow as well.
Ron smiled as he put the bowl down next to the cookies and put one of the sweets in his young master-nim´s hand.
“Young master-nim, these are lemon candy. They will help you feel better with your cold.”
Cale frowned and Alberu laughed, especially after watching the redhead try the extremely sweet yet also a bit sour candy. Cale did not know whether he liked it as it was sweet and tasty or if he disliked it as it still had the taste of lemons. But it sure was quite tasty – even though it was also sour at the same time…
“I´m glad you seem to like it. This old man will go take care of the young master-nim´s guests, then.”
With a bow, Ron left the room. He needed to speak to that swordsmaster immediately.
Cale didn’t think much about his butler and instead looked around the room. He didn’t notice before, mostly because his attention was on the couch and cookie jar, but now that he actually looked around, he noticed how Alberu´s room didn’t seem as rundown as it did before. The redhead raised a brow.
“Haha, did you finally notice?”
Cale nodded and took out another cookie, ignoring the lemon sweets his butler brought (who needed something sour if one had sweet cookies?).
“Did you rob a bank or something?”
Alberu laughed, but there was a very displeased smile on his face.
“My dear dongsaeng, why would your hyung rob a bank for money?”
The redhead simply shrugged and waited for the first prince´s explanation, which, just as expected, didn’t take long to follow.
“Haaa, I´m just getting more influential. A couple nobles like Taylor Stan are showing interest in supporting me, but there´s not really a single family head that´s openly showing support just yet. Still, I seem to have swayed a lot of successors in the last six months.”
Cale nodded his head in understanding and nibbled on the next cookie.
“Your Coming of Age ceremony will be held in two years, right?”
Alberu nodded, already knowing that the nine year old child had some sort of plan in mind.
“How about you do nothing until then, like nothing at all.”
Alberu stopped leaning back confidently as he bent forward, disbelief was written all over his face.
“What do you mean? Are you honestly suggesting I stop gaining influence?”
Cale did not oppose Alberu, as the first prince hit the nail on the head.
“That´s right, I´m telling you to lay low and stop swaying nobles to come under you. Instead, you should put your all into studying even more than you already have. And then, in two years, at your ceremony, you will make the perfect appearance. Make the nobles believe you were held back by the king and that you got a personal tutor. Chose a servant that you trust to dress as a noble and act as your instructor in case a curious noble visit. And instead of restoring the inside of your palace, restore the gardens first.”
The future crown prince´s eyes widened in realization, but Cale did not stop just there.
“The nobles that really are on your side already can wait a couple of years and survive two years without meeting you, don´t you think. Right now, everyone still thinks you´ve regained the king´s favor, but we both know that´s not the case. The nobles don´t, so we have no way of knowing whether they´re truly at your side or just pretending. So just sit back and wait. By the time you turn eighteen, I guarantee you´ll be His Highness the Crown Prince.”
The smile on Cale´s face was confident and relaxed. It did not look like the smile of a nine year old child, but Alberu already knew that Cale was no ordinary child. He had gotten used to the redhead behaving so maturely.
“Heh, tell me, your private tutor doesn’t teach you a thing, right?”
Cale shrugged. Technically, anything van Augustus taught him was already deep engraved in Cale´s soul because of his uncle. The two of them weren't that different from each other, though van Augustus didn’t beat him even once, yet that is.
“Of course he doesn’t; you´re the one giving him lessons.”
Alberu broke out in laughter and Cale just watched him while finally trying another lemon candy. Sure, it wasn’t bad at all, you just have to get used to this sour taste a bit.
“Hahaha, you sure are something else!”
If Alberu only knew just how different Cale truly was…a slight smile appeared on the redhead´s face. Perhaps, someday, he could entrust this very boy with his secret. But that day surely wouldn’t be today, or tomorrow – or any time soon for that matter. Alberu Crossman. In the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ he was probably the character Cale despised the most as he was extremely annoying – which was also because he was pretty similar to Cale. Yet, that book filled with so many words was extremely bad at doing the characters justice. In other words, it fucked up describing Alberu the way he actually was. He was a lot more than a power hungry bastard who wanted to become king and be there for the citizen.
“Haaa, you really should visit more often, I haven’t laughed like that in a long while!”
The nine year old just sighed and put another of this lemon candy in his mouth. He ignored Alberu´s begging expression and instead looked around the clean room. The walls seemed to have gotten restored and now had a welcoming, maroon color instead of that shitty thing that they were before. The maroon was not just majestic but also had a very homey touch that Cale liked very much. Alberu´s old desk and chair had gotten thrown out and only the heavenly bed remained the same.
That´s right, if Alberu had changed the bed, Cale would have thrown countless tantrums as he wouldn’t have ever gotten over it. But thankfully, the future crown prince didn’t make such mistakes. The two boys continued to sit in a comfortable silence, both of them were extremely familiar and thus at ease in each other´s presence. It was like that until the small redhead decided to ask something and break the silence.
“Hyung, can I ask you a question?”
Alberu looked up from the book he just picked up to read. He mustered Cale. The boy didn’t seem any different than usual, he only seemed a bit curious.
“What is it?”
Cale shrugged, as if to show that it really wasn’t a big deal.
“Well, speaking hypothetically, just hypothetically, if I have trouble with someone of higher status and a more…stable position, can you help too?”
Alberu immediately started to frown and put his book away. He realized that this was no hypothetical question and this was serious. But who could this person be that was of higher status and was troublesome for Cale? Well, did it even matter? Cale was Alberu´s one and only best friend. No matter whom it was, Alberu would make sure to bury him six, to sixty feet underground, even if he would have to ask the king for help.
“Who is it and what did he do?”
Alberu´s voice had gotten serious and his whole position had become just like he was described in the novel – cold and cunning. Cale thought that Alberu must like this opportunity to see to what extend his power reached.
“It´s no one; it was just a hypothetical question. Don’t get it mixed up with reality. I was just curious and wanted to know whether I could mess with some nobles.”
What Cale said was the truth. He indeed did have trouble with his noble instructor, but it was too early to tell anyone about that. What he needed right now is to know whether he could mess with Marquis Stan´s family and if Alberu would be able (and willing) to take care of it. Almost immediately, the fourteen year old first prince relaxed again and let out a sigh of relief. That was a very good thing. He´d rather have Cale would cause trouble than that Cale would be in trouble. (Oh my, and he never, not even once regretted that sort of thinking in the future, not even after Cale blew up almost a whole continent.)
“You wanna make some trouble? Really?”
Cale nodded his head. Now he was the one who was extremely serious.
“Mhm, in maybe three years I need to cause a mess.”
“Three years? Why then?”
Cale smiled. Three years from now, that would be when he would have to invade Viscount Tolz´s territory that was actually under Marquis Stan´s control and influence. And when he was there, he ought to mess with a few people in there – yes, yes, indeed, he had no other choice than that.
The reason for that?
It was very simple.
“Marquis Stan plans to steal something that´s mine in three years, and I have to take it back.”
Alberu frowned, completely confused. Couldn’t Cale just hide it properly then, or bring it to him? Cale naturally knew what his only friend was thinking and sighed.
“The thing is it doesn’t really belong to me; or anyone else for that matter, and I don´t have it too. But it will appear in three years. And then, I will have to create a shit show for Marquis Stan.”
As soon as Cale mentioned Marquis Stan, Alberu´s confused expression cleared up. He smiled his radiant and princy smile, the one that looked extremely similar to Cale´s scammer smile.
“Why didn’t you tell me that it was Marquis Stan you wanted to mess with from the beginning? Just be careful and tell me about each and every single step you take. I suppose you tell me what that thing is when you got it?”
Cale nodded and looked at Alberu as if it was the only natural thing to do. He indeed planned to tell Alberu about that thing he would loot in three years, though he wouldn’t hand it over under any circumstances – not that Alberu would ask him to.
“And Cale, don´t worry, I´ll clean up everything neatly. In three years, you said so yourself, I´ll almost be the crown prince.”
Cale smiled and nodded his head, so did Alberu.
Three years from now. That was when Cale would take his third significant step in this world. But for now…
“A-Achoo!”
Alberu handed Cale another handkerchief for his runny nose and Cale blew his nose.
For now, the nine year old child was sick.
Notes:
Hehe.
Suprise update! Everyone´s happy, right?
Well, I AM NOT HAPPY.
The reason? This *sob* is *sob* the *sob* last *sob* chapter *sob* where *sob* ma baby *sob* Cale *sob* is *sob* nine years old!!!!!! Everyone´s allowed to cry, I wanna too right now! Like, on the one hand, it took so long, but then again, I feel like I started this fic just yesterday and now he´s gonna be older again. Sure, I have a lot of stuff planned for him in this arc, like A LOT, but I still can´t believe how ma baby grows up so fast.I guess this is how parents feel... (tho my father is waiting until I get eighteen so he can kick me out, but worry not, I´ll loot his fancy Mercedes and steal our big TV with the Netflix account, muahahaha! And I will also take my mom´s fancy plates, I swear they´re the best plates I´ve ever seen)
*cough, cough* You´ve heard nothing ~(˘▾˘~) ~(˘▾˘)~ (~˘▾˘)~
(I found this website that lets me copy these emotions, so this is kinda nice, isnt it?)Okay, now that we´re through with my motherly sentiments, here comes the real question:
It´s Christmas soon, and even if I dont really act like it, I´m a big X-mas girl that gets excited over every so little Christmas day (I love the cookies, i love the decorations, I love the songs, I love just everything about this holiday!) so I was thinking to gift you something. I´m talking about something more than just more updates (I planned to update a few chaps on Christmas, but then again, I never know if I´ll actually manage to do so or if I´m just not in the mood, so no promises, like I planned to update on tuesday, after I wrote my math exam)So, would you like to have a special extra chapter (about 1-3k perhaps even 4-5k words) that´s like a cutout of the future (when Cale and Alberu are a couple)?
If so, just tell me in a comment real quick so I know if I should do it or not.
It won´t be all too much spoilers, just enough to get you excited about what´s to come and you´ll get lots of fluff and love. Since it´s Christmas, I ought to write some romance, you know? The fluffy kind.Yes. That would be it. If more than one person say yes, I will write it, if less...well, then you´ve gotta wait how many words and chapters (?) until it comes up.
Then, thanks for the nice and supporting comments, they always put this big ass smile on my face (I was once with my family and my mother thought I was texting my crush, but as if, reading and replying to such nice comments is by far better - especially since my crush doesnt even know I exist ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (ʃ_⌣̀ )/||)
Til next time I guess (I´ll tell you then if I´ll write this extra chapter or not ;))
Chapter 14: 13. The Future (1)
Summary:
Cale taking another big step to his destined future and Violan being a girl boss at the end (we all love her <3)
Notes:
Trigger warning here: Domestic abuse/Child abuse and slight mention of past trauma.
It´s only in the beginning and marked with a [T] (start and end), so theoretically you can read when you see the second [T]. It´s just about Cale being with his asshole instructor and him being shitty, so yeah, you can read it for the angst or just skip it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Bam.
Cale rolled his eyes, then finally looked up at the man standing in front of him. He had, once again, thrown the fat history book he had had with him for the last couple years at the table in anger. His ugly expression turned even uglier when he was angry, but that sight was nothing new to Cale. Actually, he knew that sight very well even.
“You brat, what did you just say to me?!”
Cale couldn’t help but let out a sigh. He uncrossed his crossed legs and finally met that man´s eyes.
Instructor-nim should he call him; what a joke.
“´The Sun God´s first Saint was someone from the Eastern Continent who escaped to the Roan Kingdom, but he was declined entry by the royal family´s fear of his power. It´s similar to how you are declined entry anywhere but at the Henituse Estate, though it´s not because others fear your-´”
[T]
Before Cale could finish repeating his answer, he was slapped. His cheek brunt like hell, but he still felt the satisfaction of seeing that so called instructor tremble in anger. Ignoring the rather strong hit, Cale turned his head back and didn’t even touch his cheek. It was because to him, it wasn’t a problem. He had the Vitality of the Heart that would make sure he wasn’t in pain for more than two seconds. While it still whined, telling him to not make the same mistake two times in a row, he didn’t listen.
“You little- I swear, if it wasn’t for that witch, I´d have killed you by now!”
Cale smiled smugly.
“Really, you would have?”
Slap.
Another slap followed. This one hurt more and Cale could hear his ear ring for a few seconds until the Vitality of the Heart made sure he wasn’t in pain for long. Still, even after getting slapped twice, Cale didn’t feel like backing down today at all. Perhaps it was because he finally had the chance to get rid of this eyesore of an instructor – naturally only if the Count agreed to it.
“Don´t be so smug with me! I can do to you whatever I want in the next thirty-two minutes and no one can come here to help you!”
Cale´s smirk did not get smaller; it was the complete opposite even. He scoffed in disbelief. There was one thing the child had learned in the last three years: Simon van Augustus wasn’t even half as bad as his uncle Kim Seung Jong had been. Hell, forget half, he wasn’t even 10% as bad as his uncle had been. He had never once made him bleed and he had never once overstepped his boundaries so much that Cale would have to beg for his life.
The only thing he really did was slap him, throw books at him or yell at him. Well, the worst out of all the things he had done was probably to “accidentally” push him out the window of the third floor. It was when Cale had stood in front of the open window when van Augustus decided to throw a book at him. The throw had been so strong that it pushed Cale out the window – not that the man would actually mind.
That was when Cale had been eleven, which was a couple months ago.
Ever since then, van Augustus had somehow become less daring with his so called punishments and instead, he resumed to yelling or slapping.
But, as always, everything had an end to it. And so did this horrible instructor who didn’t teach Cale anything. The only thing the twelve year old child had learned was probably that he shouldn’t stay too close to an open window when someone like van Augustus was in the room.
“Then try something. What do I care?”
Only after saying it, did Cale notice his mistake. Ah, he shouldn’t provoke people like van Augustus who were a bit similar to his uncle. He could defy them to some extend but he shouldn’t push it too far – though he just did push too far indeed.
“You don´t care? Good, very good then!”
Cale couldn’t help but shift his weight as the position he had been sitting in was no use in a fight or flight situation, which the redhead was sure would come about now.
And, his senses did not disappoint. Soon enough, the first glass of water – or was it vodka? – was thrown at the wall behind him. Naturally, van Augustus had intended to throw it at him, but he wasn’t the best in terms of aiming at a specific target. Cale´s body moved on its own as he jumped up from his seat. His heart was racing unusually fast – and not just his heart, but also mind.
Too many bad memories were connected to such a fancy glass of whatever it was flying around, hitting the wall behind him. Back when he was Kim Rok Soo, that had been the only warning he got before he would get beaten to a pulp – be it just for fun or because he did some sort of mistake like bring the false bottle of beer or confused it with soju.
Whenever his uncle Kim Seung Jong threw whatever glass or beer bottle he held in his hand, Kim Rok Soo used to get down on his knees when he was younger. When he got older, he just remained standing there, completely frozen in shock. Sometimes, Kim Rok Soo thought that getting older sucked, because he realized that he was the only one who was treated this way. Back when he was a small child, he had thought that his uncle loved him and only beat him up because he loved him – because Kim Seung Jong said that his parents would have done the same.
Naturally, Kim Rok Soo always regretted that kind of thinking immediately. Who knows, if he had stayed any longer, he might not have made it out alive. But still, he couldn’t help it. There were these incredibly few days, when his uncle was sober, that the man actually avoided him. Kim Rok Soo hadn’t ever found out so he didn’t know for sure, but he had heard his uncle cry once. Little did the child back then know, that had been because Kim Seung Jong had lost an immense amount of money because of his gambling addiction and not because he regretted what he did to such a small and frail child.
But Cale did not have any of these thoughts. He knew that man who posed as his instructor well, and he also knew that he was ruthless, even if he wasn’t as brutal and vicious as Kim Seung Jong had been. He remained standing like he had when he was older with his uncle, waiting for the hit.
And it did come – too soon and yet it took forever for it to hit the twelve year old child. Van Augustus had aimed at Cale´s head, yet he hit Cale´s stomach. He didn’t use a glass but an empty glass bottle this time. It had very thin glass and thus broke upon impact. Cale felt the sharp pain in his abdomen immediately, but he knew that he wouldn’t be in danger either way. If he moved now and provoked van Augustus even a little more, he might really end up in real pain that wasn’t as simple to heal as something like this.
“Tsk, you´re such a stupid brat. Did you finally understand?!“
[T]
Cale did not answer as he looked down at on his shirt. Ah, on his snow white shirt was a now a not all too small bloody red stain, something he did not like. It was bothersome. If Ron was to see this blood stain on his shirt he would start to ask questions…
And if Cale was to continue toying with this man like that, it wouldn’t just stay with one bloody stain, thus he decided to just quit it.
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“Yes…Sir.”
Van Augustus seemed satisfied enough with Cale´s answer as he nodded with that smug smile on his lips. It annoyed Cale to the bone, yet the teenager couldn’t say anything against that man who posed as his instructor.
“Now clean and tidy yourself up, then you´re dismissed.”
Cale nodded once again, not letting his annoyance show. He had better things to do than to become the target of some object throw again. Furthermore, he couldn’t stand van Augustus; so much that he couldn’t accept the man spending even a single more minute with him. And just like that, the ugly man exited after making sure no one would notice what he had been doing in here to such a small and frail child.
As soon as the noble exited the room, Cale scoffed and openly frowned.
“Tsk, such a fucking bastard.”
Cale lifted his new clean shirt that he had just changed and checked on his stomach. As expected, the Vitality of the Heart was the best and had done an outstanding job in healing his wound. Naturally, it had scolded Cale at first for being so reckless, yet it didn’t matter anymore.
He should get rid of that instructor rather soon, no?
He had already put up with that psychopath for three and a half years. It´s time he showed him that he was no puppet that could be pushed around at will and that he wasn’t all too powerless either. Cale nodded to himself. That´s right, he should do that soon. But first, there was this little thing he had been planning on doing ever since coming to this world.
The smile on the child´s lips was especially big this time.
~
Bam!
And just like that, Cale landed swiftly on his feet in the Henituse garden. He looked around for servants that might be taking care of the garden in the evening, yet he didn’t find any. Heaving a sigh of relief, the redhead smirked and got ready to go into town. Jumping out the window in the first floor sure was worlds apart from jumping out the window of the second floor. For once, it wasn’t even half as dangerous and hurtful, hence Cale did it. Perhaps it was also because he had quite a lot of experience now. The redhead quickly looked around, making sure he wasn’t followed by anyone, before he nodded to himself and left the Henituse Estate via the back door, aka as the backyard.
Ron frowned as he watched how Cale quickly patted his black clothes before he left. He had been watching the child ever since he was little, thus he knew that something was up when Cale didn’t want to eat dinner and asked to be alone. His gut feeling was right – as always. Still, where to could such a small child wander off to at this hour? The old man who was still just as good of an assassin as he had been when he was twenty years younger, soundlessly followed Cale.
The two of them soon left the Henituse Estate completely and entered the night market. While it was just seven pm, it had already opened. Cale´s steps quickened as he entered a very old looking store. Ron didn’t care whether the redhead would notice him if he followed, and thus he did. Yet, as soon as he entered, there was no redhead there anymore.
A few hours prior:
Cale sighed as he sat down on his couch. In his hands he held the video communication device gifted to him by Alberu. The blonde had explained how it worked very thoroughly, thus Cale knew he could also contact another person with it who wasn’t the future crown prince. And right now, Cale kind of needed this other person he was thinking of contacting.
With a loud sigh, Cale took a deep breath and started the call he really didn’t want to make, especially since the one he was about to call was an especially crazy bastard beyond comprehension – he was the true definition of an alcoholic.
-Oi! What-
Almost immediately, the blue haired man stopped talking. Instead, he openly stared at the small child that called him. There was no need to ask, he recognized him right away. Beside him, there stood his all-time best (and only) friend, Glenn, the highest grade mage who just reached that level.
-Oi Glenn, look it´s the kiddo. Wazzup?
Cale almost regretted his life choices, yet this was a bit more important, thus he decided to just accept it.
“Nothing, really, I just need your help.”
Bud smiled, and so did Glenn. It was because they were actually very delighted that the child they had met three and a half years ago finally decided to give them a call. Naturally, the contact between them didn’t break off as the mercenary who wanted to become the Mercenaries King and his long-time friend Glenn always visited Cale on his birthday, but it wasn’t the same as it always seemed that he didn’t actually like their visit (and his only friend who was already with him sure didn’t like them too).
-You need our help?
Cale nodded after letting out a defeated sigh. For some reason, he felt like he was about to get involved in a whole lot of trouble.
-What do you need?
The redhead smiled. At least Bud didn’t beat around the bush like someone else might have done. He then proceeded to give a quick explanation of what he needed. He had gotten a pretty good image of Bud and Glenn´s personality, good enough to tell that they would do most of the things he would ask of them.
-You need us to teleport to you in the early evening?
Cale nodded to answer Glenn´s question.
“Yes. I have something I need to do, and to do that, it´s probably better to take some help with me.”
Neither Bud nor Glenn questioned Cale. It was probably because they too had a good idea of his personality. He wouldn’t do anything stupid and dumb.
-Alright, where should we meet you?
Cale happily answered the question Bud asked, then the call ended.
And that was pretty much how he ended up sneaking out – once again, even after promising not to do so anymore – and wandered off to the old looking store, as it was the meeting point of him and the mercenaries duo. And as soon as he entered, Glenn teleported him, Bud and himself away, making it impossible for any possible persuaders to follow them.
While Ron remained standing there for a few seconds if not minutes, Cale sighed in relief that everything played out just the way he planned to. He looked at the purple haired highest grade mage, a smirk on his lips. Glenn Poeff sure was something else.
The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ had described many different characters that appeared in the novel, one of which was the runaway princess Rosalyn – a highest grade mage. Nelan Barrow praised her in many words and called her an outstanding talent only appearing once in a century.
That had been one of the sentences describing her talents. Yet, looking at Glenn, he had been much faster. Naturally, Cale did not know that Bud was able to smell his approaching presence which he couldn’t exactly specify the scent of and warned his friend about the man following the child, thus giving Glenn some time to prepare before activating the spell.
“So kiddo, what do you need?”
Cale looked up at the tall mercenary. Bud looked strong but still dumb. His golden glasses that he got a year ago didn’t make him look any smarter, yet his calculating green eyes were intriguing. Cale smirked.
“We´re gonna loot a place in the Tolz´ territory that belongs to Marquis Stan.”
“Whose territory and whose place?”
Cale didn’t mind Bud´s confused question, especially since he knew that the swordsmaster knew exactly who these people were. He turned to Glenn instead.
“You can do that, right? You don´t have to go in you-“
Before Cale could finish what he wanted to say, Glenn raised his hand.
“What do you mean we don´t have to go in? Are you aware that we´re the adults here while you´re still a child?”
Cale rolled his eyes. That´s right, in this world, he was still nothing but a twelve year old kid and because Bud and Glenn weren't Alberu, they wouldn’t treat him like an equal adult even if he was still a kid. Ah, Cale missed the first prince, now that he was thinking about it.
“Oi kiddo, tell me whatcha need and your big brother Bud is gonna bring it to you.”
The redhead let out a defeated sigh, then started to explain the situation more thoroughly. It didn’t matter that it consumed a few minutes, it also didn’t matter that it got darker – both was for the better.
“You can´t bring it to me since you won´t find it. I´m the only one, who knows its location, so if you´re that worried about me going in alone, one of you can tag along. The other has to stay outside and take care of the guards. If none come, just make sure no one sees us.”
Bud nodded his head. He didn’t need Cale to go into too much detail – contrary to Glenn.
“And what is that thing you´re looking for? It doesn’t belong to you, so how do you know about it?”
Cale smirked. He knew that Glenn would have asked that sort of question either way, so it didn’t matter all too much.
“It´s not mine, that´s right, but it isn’t Marquis Stan´s either. And I´d rather have it than let him have it.”
Cale smiled very brightly after saying that, so brightly that both Bud and Glenn didn’t dare ask any questions. They weren't foolish enough to believe that this twelve year old kid didn’t have some sort of goal in mind, but it wasn’t their place to pry.
“Alright, if it makes you happy I guess.”
“Yes, it´d make me happy.”
Bud laughed loudly at that, then shook his head in disbelief. There´s no way in hell he could have known that this little child he met in the midst of a forest in the dark all alone would turn out to be some sort of baby genius/mastermind.
“Alright, I´ll wait outside then. Take Glenn with you, so if something goes wrong, the two of you can teleport away easily.”
Cale wasn’t stupid enough to play the hero and just accepted it. Sacrificing himself was never his thing, he´d rather just save his own skin and let the others deal with the troublesome things. And while he was trash because of that sort of thinking, being trash was still better than being a good but dead person.
Like he always said, even rolling around in a pile of dog shit was better than being dead. It was because being alive was the best.
The three of them soon walked down the hill Glenn had teleported to, following Cale´s explicit order. It was a hill that was closest to the underground tunnel that was their target. Just as expected, there were very few guards that were quickly taken care of by Bud´s blue aura. While the man seemed pretty much like an idiot, he was a useful idiot indeed.
“Alright, go in. If anything goes wrong…”
“…Teleport away, we know.”
Bud rolled his eyes at Glenn´s sassy response, but did not say anything. One quick nod, then he stood in front of the entrance to the underground cave. Glenn and Cale quickly entered, making sure not to walk into anyone.
The tunnel was dark, but thanks to Glenn´s fire magic, it was lit up.
“Hey Cale,”
Cale stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the highest grade mage. He was curious about what Glenn would say. Yet, the man did not say anything and just shook his head, dismissing whatever he had wanted to say just now.
The passage ended soon as it was blocked by a door. One look at Glenn, and the mage opened it with powerful and fancy magic. The looting went quickly as no one was there.
First you go in.
You take the one thing you want to take, which was a big, black egg in this case that was the size of Cale´s head.
Then you go out.
Everything went smoothly. There were no guards on the way out either and as they finally reunited with Bud, they left the underground cave.
It all was over so fast and it was so much more smoothly than Cale ever imagined. And after the three of them quickly went back to the place they had come from, which was the high hill, Bud finally openly stated what had been on his mind ever since he saw that strange egg in Cale´s hands. Nevertheless, he still handed the child a spacial bag, as it was something he had asked for.
“And that thing makes you happy?”
Cale nodded his head; he was strangely serious for once.
“Very happy even.”
Bud didn’t understand back then, which was why he simply shook his head in confusion, but in the future, he would be extremely happy that he had been there that night. Naturally Glenn felt the same way.
“Alright, thanks for your help. Then, we can go back I guess.”
Glenn nodded and prepared the teleportation spell. Cale did not notice how he took longer than twenty seconds to cast and activate it.
~
Indestructible Shield? – Check.
Vitality of the Heart? – Check.
Helping the first prince to a powerful position? – Check.
And getting the black dragon to save him from ever getting abused? – Check.
Cale smiled at the little list he had written in Korean while being watched carefully by Ron. The small child did not know why the old servant was staring at him so intensely when he had never done that before. Ever since he woke up this morning, Ron behaved rather…oddly around him. As if something was weighing down his mind but he didn’t dare confront his young master-nim with it. Obviously it was only the child´s adventure from last night, not that he would know.
Cale got up from his seat and walked, with the paper he had just written on, to the fireplace. Since it was summer, it wasn’t lit up, yet there was still wood in it. The redhead turned around to look at the old butler who didn’t need to hear words to understand what was needed.
“I´ll lit it up immediately.”
Cale nodded and waited for Ron to do so, and soon enough, there was a high fire in it. Without giving it much thought, Cale tossed his paper sheet into that fire, then let it burn. The summers weren't exactly cold, but they weren't hot enough to put out a just lit up fire either.
Ron watched his puppy like young master-nim´s every so little movement. He tried to understand why Cale would sneak out like that and why he disappeared so suddenly. His only guess so far was that Cale had met up with that first prince punk, but then again it didn’t make any senses since that punk always visited the Henituse Estate whenever he wanted to see the child – which was extremely and annoyingly often. But what else could it be?
With whom could a twelve year old noble child meet up in the early night, stay for a couple hours, and then come back?
“Hey Ron,”
The old servant immediately stopped thinking about it and turned his head to Cale. The small child was looking up at him, an odd gaze on his face.
“What can this old man do for you, young master-nim?”
Cale frowned even more, then decided to brush it off for once.
“I was asking for your opinion.”
Ron raised his brows, unable to hide his surprise at that unexpected and sudden question. One thing for sure, Cale never asked for anyone´s opinion – not even the first prince´s! Did that mean that the child was nervous? Ron immediately observed Cale a bit sharper. He didn’t seem to behave any different from usual…yet, on closer look, Cale was constantly playing with his own hands and fingers!
“If it is something this old man can help with, he will gladly do it.”
Ron smiled ever so benignly and waited for Cale to ask his question or tell his problem again. And so the redheaded twelve year old did.
“I wondered whether the Count would be willing to fire my tutor.”
Ron froze in his tracks. Ever since that man started working as Cale´s instructor, Ron had had a bad feeling about him. Yet, each and every single time he had asked Cale about him, the young noble had brushed it off, telling Ron that everything was fine. Yet, if everything was to be fine, Cale wouldn’t want for that tutor to be fired. Did that trash smelling bastard do something?
Wait… Did the Count hire him so that he did something do Cale?!
Cale naturally didn’t miss Ron´s feelings as he was an open book to him by now. Four years were a lot time to learn each and every single kind of expression the old man could do.
“Don´t worry about it too much, his lessons are just boring and annoying and I don´t really like him as a person. I also don’t have any interest in studies.”
Ron nodded his head, but he obviously didn’t believe the child. Just like Cale had had these four years to study Ron, Ron had these four years to study Cale. And the redheaded child had the habit to look away each time he lied to his close ones – something he didn’t do to anyone else that Ron had found out soon enough.
“Is that so?”
Cale nodded, he still didn’t dare meet the old man´s eyes. Ron found this to be suspicious. He remembered a very, very ugly incident he would rather forget. The “Cale falling out the window” incident a few months ago. Wasn’t it suspicious how his instructor didn’t immediately call for help and just watched?
Ron would have to do some research as an assassin again – or he would tell his son to torture that bastard who didn’t deserve to be spending so much time with his precious young master-nim anyways.
“Well, the Count will certainly agree, if that´s what the young master-nim wishes.”
Cale rolled his eyes in disbelief and finally looked Ron in the eyes. Ron himself didn’t exactly believe his words either – that was the extent of how ridiculous and untrue they were. The old butler cleared his throat and immediately corrected himself.
“I suppose I meant the Countess. The young master-nim can tell the Countess and let her talk to the Count. After that he will certainly agree.”
At that, Cale nodded his head. That sounded more like it. There was no way Count Deruth Henituse, the biological father of his body, that did nothing but neglect him after his biological mother´s death and continued to do so even after getting married again. Even now, that he expected his second, or theoretically third child, he didn’t even look at Cale when the two of them accidentally crossed paths.
Violan Henituse, on the contrary, was the complete opposite.
She was very affectionate, especially now that she was pregnant, expecting her second biological and third emotional child. If Cale was to talk to her, chances of him getting rid of Mr. Asshole (smelling like trash can) would be very big, almost guaranteed.
“Alright, thanks. I´ll go to the Countess then, and ask her.”
Ron nodded with his usual benign smile. Naturally, he accompanied Cale on his way to the Countess´ room. Yet, both of them found out that she was in her husband´s office, thus they decided to go there instead.
Just as the boy was about to knock, he heard loud yelling coming from the inside.
“How dare you tell me something else?! How dare you try to deceive me?! Deruth Henituse, you are the worst!”
Cale looked up at Ron, unsure of whether they should stay here or quickly run away before they would be the ones getting yelled at by the pregnant Countess. She sure sounded enraged this time around.
Little did both of them know; Violan just found out that Deruth didn’t try to get close to Cale again, unlike what he promised. Inside the Count´s office, the Countess was yelling at her irresponsible and neglectful husband. She didn’t recognize him as the soft and gentle man she had married a few years ago – she didn’t even see an ounce of the man whose child she had inside her belly.
“You are such a good father for Basen, why isn’t it the same with your own son?!”
By now, Violan was more desperate than angry. Deruth sighed and massaged his temples. He didn’t want Violan to find out about his relationship with that cursed child, but he supposed he had no other choice but to tell her HIS truth.
“You were deceived, dear.”
Violan stopped in her tracks for a moment, before throwing the next best object – which was a pillow in this case – at her husband.
“What are you talking about? Deruth Henituse, what on earth is coming out of your mouth?!”
The Count finally stood up from his chair, almost a desperate expression on his face.
“That child – he is not what he pretends to be. My love, my dear, sweetheart, you trust me, no? You love me, right? So trust me on this one too. I saw his true colors. He was happy when my first wife, my dear Jour, died. He didn’t cry. He is a demon´s child. He was the reason for-“
Before Deruth could actually finish spewing such bullshit, Violan approached him quickly and a hard slap followed. And after that first slap, a second one followed. Her shock and anger were gone, only fright was visible on her face.
“Deruth Henituse. That face does not belong to the man I married. What you just said is utter bullshit. I´ll give you some time to rethink what you just said, until you did, don´t come to me again. And you can sleep on the couch tonight, I don’t care.”
Violan was about to exit the door, yet the Count held her back. Instead of desperate, he seemed furious.
“Don’t you see? He already bewitched you! He´s such a terrible demon´s spa-“
Slap.
The third slap that followed the first two was harder and by far more helpful as Deruth finally let go.
“I don´t want to see you.”
As Violan exited the Count´s office, there was no one standing in front of the door and the hallway was empty.
It was because Ron had quickly closed Cale´s ears and taken him to the kitchen as soon as he understood what the married couple was arguing about. Luckily, Cale didn’t hear anything – well, he did, but naturally, he wasn’t concerned about it. He was just happy as Violan truly seemed to be just like she was described in the novel.
Though, now he couldn’t exactly ask her for a favor, meaning he would have to face the Count on his own – he couldn’t let a pregnant woman experience too much stress, after all.
Notes:
Hi.
I rushed this chapter soooooo much. Idk if you can see it, but on the one hand, I just needed to get this 12-year old arc over with (it will most probably consist of one to two or max. three more chapters) because then Cale´s 13 and 14 and that´s when the real shit´s going down. Like this is the preparation for that, so PLEASE don´t blame me for keeping it so short and uncoordinated. I also have an excuse (not really, just take what I listed above as my excuse hehe)Anyways, you got Violan´s boss slap and her educating Deruth in common sense, so that´s something, isnt it? If this chapter is really bad and you can´t stand it at all, I can also rewrite it, if that´s what you really want, but then you´ll have to wait till the weekend and then the 14. chap will get delayed.
Okay. Now that´s that done, I´ll tell you about my life again! Yay, we were all looking forward to it, no?
ლ(o◡oლ)
Soooo... I wrote math on tuesday. And something really embarrassing happened. Like, I was in the midst of calculating, doing my last task (drawing some functions) when I accidentally did something that caused my task sheet to LITERALLY fly away. Like it didnt just fly away, it ran away, and ended up UNDER THE CHAIR OF THE BOY SITTING IN FRONT OF ME!!!!!!
Anyways, nothing was lost just yet (even though I thought I would die), as the guy kicked my task sheet (be it accidentally or intentionally) back so I could pull it closer to me with my DIRTY SHOE but it doesnt matter if I WOULD HAVE HAD IT.
So, our teacher already looked at me and I was afraid she would fail me so I pulled it closer and closer and it ended up being right under the leg of my desk. So, no prob, right? I can just pick it up, right?NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cannot.
I pulled it, it wouldnt move.
So I pulled it harder, like any normal human being would do (in a hurry since I didnt want to fail).
And then....IT FUCKING RIPPED!
MY FUCKING TASK SHEET RIPPED IN THE MIDST OF THE EXAM!
AND MY TEACHER LOVED TIDINESS ETC. BUT IT RIPPED.
PLEASE COME KILL ME....(And yes, I still have a part of the task sheet, as sort of a souvenier or whatever.)
Anyways, let´s just hope she won´t add minus points because of that, cuz if she does, I´ll make my father go talk to her or smth, I really can´t afford to fail, especially since I´m already bad enough at this functions stuff.
Okay, BUT I have good news from my personal life too: I got back my chemistry and physics exam and I got a 2+ and 1-2 (One would be probably 83-86 points and the other probably around 90 points or a B+ and A-B or a 4+ and 5-4).
LIKE PLEASE I SLAYYYYYED
＼(~o~)／Okay, that´s it. That´s all from me.
Stay tuned.
Also: THE X-MAS SPECIAL CHAPTER IS A THING! I ALREADY HAVE SO MANY IDEAS FOR IT, SO STAY TUNED:)
Chapter 15: 14. The Future (2)
Summary:
Cale visiting Alberu because it´s fun~
Chapter Text
Count Deruth Henituse looked outside the window. It was still dark outside but the sun would rise rather soon. The man didn’t know how he got himself into this big ass mess. Since when did his loyal and wonderful wife side with that bastard child that killed his first wife?
Looking back at it now, that kid had been rather quiet these years; always staying in his room and such. He also avoided coming to dinner and didn’t cause any trouble for the Count. Deruth sighed and shook his head. He couldn’t show that child any sympathy, not at all. He was the reason Jour departed that fateful day. He was the reason she got into an accident and he was the reason that the Count´s life became miserable again.
But even after having those thoughts, contrary to the past, Deruth somehow had a bad feeling – no, it wasn’t just a bad feeling. It felt odd, similar to remorse or was it guilt, perhaps? Deruth could not tell, but it intrigued him. He recalled a moment in his life, many years back.
It was thirteen years ago now, that Jour approached him and told him with a very bright expression how she was pregnant. He had never seen her that happy before, so naturally, he was overjoyed too.
Then, Cale was born.
He had resembled his mother very much in the past; did he do the same now? Deruth frowned. He did not know. He hadn’t seen that boy in years. Unable to withstand the curiosity, the man got up from his chair. He knew it was an extremely bad idea, but after getting yelled at by his current wife and punched trice, how could he not get curious about his biological son?
Thus, he went on the third floor. He still remembered what room Cale was in and without giving it much thought, he entered. The room was dark and felt cold. There were no toys nor any personal objects placed anywhere, not even as decoration. The furniture was the standard for every single Henituse Estate room, there was a navy colored sofa set that contained one big couch and two high quality arm chairs. The mahogany tree wood furniture, which was a simple coffee table, a simple standard closet, a small nightstand and a big bed, was basic as well. While the walls had a nice and luxurious color with golden details, there was nothing truly special about them and the carpet that would be considered extremely high value was nothing but a rug in Deruth´s eyes.
The man, who had shut down his feelings for his son a very long time ago, frowned. He did not like what he was seeing. Even if he considered Cale a bastard child, how could his late wife´s son live such a simple life in such a luxurious house?
Deruth shook his head, a bit confused and irritated by his thoughts. Nevertheless, he decided to not care about it. He was only here to quickly look at his son´s face so that he wouldn’t confuse him with someone else´s child in future events. Yes, that´s right. He still needed to keep face in front of other nobles. There wasn’t any other reason for his late night visit.
He then decided to go approach the child´s bed. The moon that shone through the wide windows didn’t light up the room that much, but it was enough for Deruth to notice something very significant: The bed was empty. There was no one in it.
Ah.
Was this even Cale´s room? While it had been the redhead´s room four years ago, the Count wasn’t so sure about now. It would explain the missing decoration and personal toys. Yet, his guess was wrong as this was indeed Cale´s room. Deruth sighed and decided to come back another time. There was lots of time after all, no?
At the same time, Cale yawned as he put down the documents given to him by the seventeen year old smiling at him ever so smugly. Ron, who was standing behind him, holding the black egg in his hands, was glaring at the first prince punk; his expression was as murderous as always.
Glenn and Bud felt extremely uncomfortable in this room. The only reason they had for being here is because Alberu asked them to teleport Cale here immediately, and they had owed him for a certain thing…They should have just paid him back the one billion galloons they borrowed from him in cash. Not even that much money was worth being in this room right now with the Molan Patriarch having this dangerous and murderous aura.
Cale yawned once again, then leaned back in Alberu´s comfortable couch filled with cookie crumbs. He didn’t know what he had expected a few years ago when suggesting his genius master plan to his one and only friend, but he sure didn’t think it would end up being this successful and effective.
How long did it take? Three years?
“Congratulations, your Highness. It seems you have officially become the crown prince.”
Alberu smiled. The seventeen year old teen hadn’t expected it to happen this fast either.
“Thanks.”
Bud´s eyes widened and Glenn´s almost spit out his water in shock. They were aware that this person was the first prince and as such had a chance of becoming the crown prince, yet they would have never expected it to actually happen; or at least not this soon.
Yet, they seemed to be the only ones who were shook to their core. Cale was composed and Alberu seemed calm. Even Ron didn’t have a single change in his expression; it was almost funny.
“So your Highness, what do you plan on doing? The public would go crazy over this if they were to know of it. ´The unloved child of the king becomes the crown prince before turning seventeen´, I can see so many news articles coming…so annoying.”
Alberu smirked and leaned back in his seat too, naturally after handing Cale another cookie.
“I don´t like annoying though?”
Almost immediately, realization hit Cale and a similar smirk appeared on his face. In the novel, Alberu Crossman only became the crown prince after turning twenty one and immediately publicly announced it, so naturally news reporters picked it up and hated on him for still being so young, practically unaccomplished and whatnot. Him becoming the crown prince at seventeen would be even crazier. But there was an extremely…good solution to this little problem.
“Dongsaeng, you aren´t curious?”
Cale shrugged and waited for Alberu to continue, and the first prince sure did.
“Give me six months.”
The redhead raised his eyebrow. Both Glenn and Bud frowned at that. Six months may sound like a very long time, but both of them knew how short it actually was.
“What for?”
But Cale did not think the same way as them. Six months was truly a short amount of time – for someone who couldn’t use it right. But both Cale Henituse and Alberu Crossman knew that the two of them were aware of the true value of those six months, especially since both of them operated cleanly.
“First of all, I need to do as you said. The couple nobles that stayed loyal to me, I need to reward them with something, no?”
Cale nodded while taking the next cookie and slowly eating it.
Ron sighed and looked at the heavy object that was formed like a big, scaled, black egg that Cale asked him to take care of for the time being they were staying at the crown prince´s place. The old butler was getting tired of the child´s habit to eat sugar all day, and now he even started to do so before sunrise.
“Well, and then I need to do something big, wouldn’t you agree? Something that the public would recognize and like; something that would make them want me as the crown prince.”
Cale swallowed the cookie, then opened his mouth to speak.
“What do you have in mind?”
Alberu smiled, then pointed at Bud and Glenn. Ah, it seemed their only use wasn’t the teleportation magic after all.
“Ah.”
And naturally, Cale immediately understood. He shook his head, putting back the cookie he had just taken.
“Seriously?”
Alberu nodded in all seriousness. Both Bud and Glenn felt odd after seeing that kind of expression on the teen´s face. He seemed to be quite scary all of a sudden.
“There´s no way, can´t you do something normal?”
The first prince chuckled at that and the look he gave his best friend was truly something else. No one but the redhead understood its true meaning, which caused the boy to sigh in defeat.
“Fine, I suppose you´ll want my help then.”
At that, Alberu stopped smiling so oddly and leaned forward again.
“Your help? What for?”
Cale smirked.
“Do you think the two of them will listen to you?”
Bud´s offended yell was ignored just like Glenn´s flabbergasted expression. Still, the two mercenaries knew that Cale wasn’t wrong. While they may not listen to the now crown prince, they did listen to that small kid (just look at his cute face, ok? They were excused!).
“Okay, fine, I can admit that. But you still can´t help. Firstly, you´re twelve, secondly, you´re an extremely weak kid and thirdly you´re needed at the Henituse Estate.”
While Cale didn’t seem to be all too bothered by Alberu´s concerned words – mostly because he could tell that Alberu wasn’t making fun of him this time and just genuinely concerned – Ron was. The murderous glare he had been giving Alberu got even worse than before and if the old man hadn’t been holding onto that strange egg, he would have pulled his dagger.
“Yeah, yeah, that´s just excuses. Hyung, look at me. If I was truly needed at the Henituse Estate, do you think I would be able to come here without being in a hurry? And you said I´m weak? I didn’t get sick in years.”
Alberu rolled his eyes. He was aware of Cale´s specialty about not getting sick at all, and he also knew its origin. But the kid was still weak; just take a look at his body built. Still, Alberu could not deny that he was wavering, mostly because of the stubborn look in the kid´s eyes.
“Haaa, you´re driving me nuts. Fine, come, tag along, whatever – just don’t look at me like that.”
Cale nodded contently and took the cookie he had put down before leaning back again. Almost immediately the man, who wanted to become the Mercenaries King, took the opportunity to speak.
“Hey, hey, hey, stop right there. What´s all this about?”
Alberu looked up at the tall man in his late twenties. He was bound to be curious, and he was also bound to find out their plans, at some point. But instead of saying that they needed his help, they would do it a bit differently.
“You want to be the Mercenaries King, no?”
Bud frowned but did not answer, curious what the teen was getting at. He simply crossed his arms in front of his chest, mostly to seem more intimidating. Still, it had no use on Alberu. Hell, that teen was friends with Cale, what on earth did Bud even expect? If the one was crazy, the other certainly was too.
“Well, we´ll make you the Mercenaries King in the next six months.”
While Bud uncrossed his arms and seemed to almost immediately agree – hell knows how long it will take for him and Glenn to get him to that position – Glenn frowned. He was smart enough to see the unsaid condition.
“What do you want in return?”
“Ah.”
Bud looked to Glenn, thankful his friend was much more thoughtful than him. Well, he usually wasn’t that quick to decide either, he simply didn’t think much about the condition.
“Well, it´s something very unimportant to you, since you´re mostly active on the Eastern Continent.”
“Aha, what would that be?”
Alberu lightly shrugged his shoulders, then looked at Cale instead of answering. Naturally, the two of them would agree if Cale was the one explaining and asking. The twelve year old sighed, immediately understanding Alberu´s request through his eyes. Well, he could do him this little favor, especially since that would mean he could make many big money related requests in the future.
“You´ll have to publicly support him – for example, you´ll have to be present on his eighteenth birthday when he´ll announce that he´s the crown prince. And you´ll naturally have to reveal your identities then.”
Almost immediately, Bud and Glenn shook their heads furiously, it was obvious how they didn’t want to do it. If Alberu had been the one to say it, their reactions would have been much worse. Ron was smiling ever so benignly again. The only thing he was thinking about was how that first prince punk would get a lot busier from now on if things played out the way the two friends wanted them to. (Little did he know, he should have done everything he could have to separate the two of them at that moment.)
“Reveal our identities…wouldn’t that be a bit…difficult?”
At that moment, Cale smirked. This time, Alberu did not know what was going on.
“Don´t worry about that. We can change your appearances with magic.”
Glenn frowned. Even the magic of a highest grade mage could be detected, and even though the Roan Kingdom´s mages weren't the best of mages, there still were a couple of people with a good eye and extremely good senses. But Cale wasn’t someone who didn’t know about that. So why was he still saying that?
Alberu frowned too. It was strange. Cale knew the limits of a mage´s power. Did he know of a different method to conceal one´s identity? Wait…did he know more? Did he know…no, Cale didn’t know.
The crown prince cleared his throat for Cale to explain, to which Cale simply shrugged.
“You´ll find out soon enough what I mean. It´s not a mage´s magic, if that´s what you´re so concerned about. And it won´t be detectable.”
Both Bud and Glenn simply nodded. They trusted Cale enough to believe him, even if his words sounded incredibly absurd and untrue. Still, he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t have a backup plan. Alberu and Ron were curious too, but they knew better than to show it.
“Alright, let´s say that´ll go the way you want it to, what if the people don’t believe us?”
Cale smirked at that and simply shrugged.
“Act as if you don´t care, ignore it and pretend you´re more important than whoever dared to say something like that. You don´t really have to introduce yourselves anyways, hyung will just tell your identities to whoever asks. That´ll make it more believable and mysterious too.”
At that, both Bud and Glenn nodded. It wasn’t difficult, now that they fully understood what Cale wanted from them. They just had to attend a banquet of some sorts, and they would be disguised anyways. It didn’t matter how they would get disguised, as long as Cale said it would happen it will happen.
“Alright, and in exchange you´ll help me become the Mercenaries King.”
Alberu nodded his head and looked back at the blue haired man.
“Naturally so, that´s the deal, isn’t it?”
Bud huffed, but nodded nonetheless. He had an odd feeling about the first prince´s and Cale´s relationship but decided not to say anything. Instead, he looked at the Molan Patriarch. He was smiling benignly, as always, yet, something seemed to be different from usual. He shrugged it off.
So did Glenn.
“Alright, now that that’s discussed, is there anything else hyung?”
Alberu smiled at Cale who still seemed to be extremely sleepy.
“There is, but we can do that in the morning.”
Ron huffed at that. This wasn’t that important too! Hell, Alberu could have contacted them in the late morning and told them all of this then! He was so tactless and- haaa, Ron had no words for that punk.
“Fine, don´t wake me up then, I´m going to bed. And hyung, don´t you dare take the blanket away.”
Alberu raised his hands defensively as if to say that he would never do something like that, and while Cale highly doubted it, he decided not to care in the end and go to sleep – after eating that one last cookie. In the end, ignoring his best friend and all the adults in the crown prince´s chambers, he went to bed, in the extremely luxurious and comfortable furniture piece, the one he actually cherished more than his future plans.
The boy immediately fell asleep; a sight all four (almost-) adults would have to see a lot more in the future.
“Sooo, I suppose we have to stay to teleport him back tomorrow?”
Alberu shook his head.
“He won´t go back that soon.”
At that, Glenn looked at Ron, obviously doubting the teen´s words, yet the old man nodded. He wasn’t smiling as benignly anymore. It was because he was still recalling the Count´s thoughtless and immature words with which he was describing his precious and perfect son. That bastard was such an incompetent father, thus there was no way he would want his precious puppy like young master-nim to return there soon. And he knew for a fact that Cale would rather stay here than in his room, even if that punk´s heavenly bed was the only reason for that.
“…Right, so…how long do you think…”
Alberu got up from the armchair he had been sitting on. His nice and content expression that he always had when he was with Cale, even if it was only subconsciously, turned cold and distant. Bud and Glenn were used to that, still, the difference was quite something.
“I´ll contact you when he has to go back. It´ll probably take a week or so, so you can go back to what you were doing.”
The two mercenaries wasted no time and teleported away in less than a minute. It made Alberu sigh in annoyance. Nevertheless, he still had one last bothersome thing he had to take care of, which was probably even more tiresome.
“Tsk, you little punk, look at you trying to get close to the young master-nim again.”
Alberu rolled his eyes and sat down on his desk. He still had a few documents to take care of. It was quite the irony how that old man always pretended to be nice and benign in front of Cale and how he practically changed his whole personality as soon as the young boy didn’t look.
´Yes, I hate you too, Ron.´
Alberu would have loved to say that, but then again, he would have to spend a lot of time with Ron if he was to continue his friendship with Cale in the future…so he better doesn’t ruin it completely. A half standing bridge was still a bridge while a collapsed bridge was nothing but an eyesore.
~
Ron being out because of business was the best thing for Alberu, since he got to spend lots of time with Cale without that old man´s supervision. Still, he didn’t think that this little time he got with Cale alone would be spend with watching that black egg like object the child looted from Marquis Stan. Now that he thought about it, Cale did a very good job in looting, there were zero complains, zero explosions, for some reason he thought it would be…bigger. After all, didn’t the child promise a mess Alberu would have to take care of? For now, there was no such thing at all.
“Hey Ca-“
“Psst!”
And with that, the crown prince was silenced once again. Honestly, there was nobody in this world who could silence him like Cale did. This behavior might seem extremely rude for an outsider, but for the two friends it was practically second nature. Furthermore, Cale silencing Alberu was on the nicer side of all the things the two of them made each other (which meant Cale made Alberu) do.
“Okay, okay but li-“
“Tsk, what is it, that´s so important?”
Alberu rolled his eyes, not understanding the twelve year old kid´s obsession with that object. It was just an egg shaped thing that looked pretty cool, but nothing more. It´s not like anything would happen, like it would break, as if it was a real egg.
“I´m just asking, you don´t have any plans on going back soon, do you?”
Cale ignored the question, just like he had ignored it any other time Alberu had asked him. The crown prince sighed, finally having enough. Naturally, he didn’t mind Cale being here with him, it was the opposite even. The child being there with him made him extremely happy and filled his empty and cold room with that special warmth. And while he was forced to sleep on the couch (that was full of cookie crumbs), he didn’t mind. But, he needed to know why Cale was staying for almost a whole month now.
“Alright, tell me or-“
Before Alberu could finish saying what he wanted to say, Cale quickly said that one phrase Alberu had told him countless times in the past.
“You promised not to kick me out.”
Naturally, that hadn’t been what Alberu was going to say, hence the teen just continued.
“-or I´ll investigate the Henituse servants. Everyone; the maids, the head butler, the new Countess, her son, and your instructor. Then I will display some authority through an official royal document, firing everyone and demoting your father to a Viscount or Baron.”
At that, Cale furrowed his brows. It was clear that he did not understand why Alberu would do such a thing. But, since Alberu knew Cale for a very long time now, he just sighed. The child would never learn, would he?
“It´s because I think that you´re getting bullied or feel uncomfortable at the Henituse Estate.”
The teen almost laughed upon seeing Cale´s extremely confused expression. It was almost as if he was talking a completely different language.
“What?”
Alberu rolled his eyes. But then, suddenly, he got very serious. It was because, even if it was for a split second, he saw the confusion in Cale´s eyes turn to realization, then once again to confusion.
“Wait, you´re really getting bullied?”
Alberu didn’t think that that was truly the case. It was because Cale wasn’t someone who would let others bully him; no, not at all. He was someone who would kick his bullies´ asses or plan their downfall that would happen in the next month. Hell, there was no way he was getting bullied! Wait, if he was, it must be someone with lots of power! Who the hell dared to do so? Was it the new Countess? Her fucking son? Was it that bastard of an instructor?
Or was it the Count himself, ah?
Just who on earth dared to make the most important person in the crown prince´s life hide himself like that?
“What are you talking about?”
Cale was either playing dumb, or he really didn’t know – or he didn’t want Alberu to know. It was, most probably, the last option. While Alberu would usually let go of it rather easily, he didn’t. This was not something he could let go of.
“Cale Henituse. Who is it?”
Cale tsk´ed and turned his head around, focusing his attention back on the black egg. The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ had described the approximate birth date of the little black dragon that would have gone berserk if Cale didn’t rescue him. It would be around this time this year, so he-
“Cale!”
Once again, Cale turned his head around to Alberu, seeing no other choice but to have this annoying conversation right now.
“What? I already told you that I´m not being bullied, dammit. What made you think of that in the first place?”
Cale was unusually energetic, unusually fierce and unusually aggressive.
That was all Alberu needed to see.
“Because you are. You´re behaving very odd. If you´re really not being bullied or pressured or whatever, then tell me why you´re here right now.”
Cale rolled his eyes. While he did have trouble at home, he didn’t know how Alberu found out this easily. He just needed to make some sort of-
“It´s because of this egg. It´s no simple egg I can watch in the Henituse Estate where anyone could be watching me.”
While Alberu was still very suspicious, he did not press anymore and instead raised his eyebrows.
“This egg?”
Cale nodded his head, returning to his very calm and usual self.
“Yes, because of this egg. If you believe me or not, it´s a dragon egg:”
At that, Alberu first froze in his movement, then burst out in laughter.
It wasn’t like he didn’t want to believe Cale, he really did want to, but he´d be crazy if he did. Thus, he decided to leave the room for a bit, ignoring the extremely serious looking Cale.
“Yeah, of course, and I´m a dragon in disguise too, hahaha! Wait here for a sec, I´ll go bring more cookies.”
And just like that, Alberu left the room. Cale simply stayed behind and continued to observe the black egg. He knew that Alberu wouldn’t believe him at first, but he would come around too after seeing the real life dragon after it was born.
And it wasn’t like the crown prince had to watch the egg with him. It would just be nice to not sit here alone…though Alberu would probably return to watch the egg with him after bringing the cookies, even if he did laugh at him before. That´s just the kind of guy Alberu was.
But, by then it would have been a bit late.
Cale noticed that too. All of a sudden, there was a loud sound of something, similar to an egg shell, braking. The redhead´s eyes immediately widened in shock and disbelief. Couldn’t Alberu have left just a little bit later, ah?
Cale didn’t know how to do anything at all!
But, it was too late. The way to the kitchen and back took at least seven if not ten minutes. And Alberu still had to look for the cookies…
Crack.
It was too late. The egg shell broke and there was a sudden burst of wind inside the room. It was a powerful wind too, one that almost made Cale fall backwards. The twelve year old child couldn’t help but stare at the egg, or rather the egg shells that once had been the egg. There, in the middle of the egg shells, there was a small, black reptile like creature.
Without doubt, it was a dragon.
He still had his eyes closed, but he was clearly the black dragon that would have been tortured his whole life and then ended it while going berserk. This little baby dragon had never ever experienced the misery of torture.
But then, soon enough, the small creature opened one eye, then the other soon after. His eyes were of a deep blue color. They were extremely special and beautiful. And Cale, almost immediately felt himself bond with that creature.
The small dragon seemed to feel the same way. While he had seemed uncoordinated at first, he now seemed to have a clear goal – which was naturally reaching Cale.
And thus, he took his first step. Then his second. Then his third.
He fell after the forth step, but Cale was quick enough to reach out his arms and to catch him before he could touch the ground. The small dragon was extremely soft and small. He had the size of two of Cale´s palms, and while that wasn’t that small, he still was extremely petite.
While looking at that small dragon in his hands, and while it looked back, Cale realized that he had made a mistake. He shouldn’t have taken the egg in; he should have just left it in the forest or something. Because now, he doubted he could let go of that little creature in his hands.
It was similar to the dragon. He looked at Cale curiously and both he and Cale could tell at that moment that they would stay with each other for a long while.
“Ah, so it really was a dragon, huh?”
Notes:
Hi.
As promised, the 14th chapter! I´m, for some reason, very happy with this chapter. Perhaps it´s all because of Raon´s brith. Yes, that must be it. Well then, the cute baby of the series has finally made an entrance. And it took him only 75k words, that´s nothing, right, hahaha?
So then, let´s talk about our precious Alberu. Like he was so worried, such a cutie ↖(^▽^)↗So...I didn´t go to school today (mostly cuz I had some sort of health issue yesterday, like the real deal w/ paramedics and all that crap) and I feel extremely guilty, especially since I´m practically fine today. Like I could have gone to school, but I didnt because my mom wanted me to stay home and now I have to rewrite the exam (ﾉ °益°)ﾉ 彡 ┻━┻ !!!!!!!!!
LIKE WHAT ON EARTH AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? Next week is the last week before the winter break and I already have two exams (german and english) and I don´t want to study for ethics too!!!!Anyways, that´s just me and my emotions. I still got the chapter done, and I still studied.
I´m not skipping school, am I?Urgh!!!!
Why does this have to be so awkward? And why is my life so chaotic? I´ve never had something like that before yesterday waaaaaaah~Now more to the special chapter: I have a couple questions. How much of a spoiler would all of you like? Like would you want to know what happens in the world? With their health? Their relationship status? What would you not want to know, under any circumstances? What would be too much of a teaser?
I need an answer, cuz else I´m just gonna write the scene I have in mind haha.Til next time, stay healthy! I´m being honest here, any kind of pain is the worst!
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
Chapter 16: 15. Runs in the blood (1)
Summary:
How to traumatize the people around you 101 by Cale Henituse ┐(￣ー￣)┌
Chapter Text
“Kya~”
Cale patted the dragon, a smile he was unaware of having was on his face. Alberu closely watched his one and only friend holding the dragon as if he was worth more than a cookie – which he naturally was.
“Kyaaa~”
The dragon seemed to want more pats from Cale, which he gladly gave him. For some reason, Alberu felt a bit strange, almost as if he was jealous of the attention Cale gave to that mini dragon.
“Kyaaaaaa~”
Cale cleared his throat and looked at Alberu who just sat on his armchair with his arms crossed, almost as if he was judging Cale – or rather the newborn baby dragon.
“Um…so…”
Alberu rolled his eyes at that.
“Yeah, I can take care of it, her, him – whatever-“
“It´s a boy.”
Alberu didn’t dare say anything against that and just nodded.
“Yeah, then I can take of him for-“
“Nyo!”
And there it was; the dragon´s special intellect they had ever since they were born and their extremely fast ability to learn. It was his first real, okay, half-real, word that he had said and it was a word of protest. Alberu simply looked at Cale. While the younger boy seemed surprised but happy, Alberu felt extremely scammed.
“So I´m not gonna take him in, then. I suppose he wants to stay with you, my dear dongsaeng.”
Cale frowned at that. This dragon was smart, so shouldn’t he be supposed to feel that Cale was a bad person? After all, Cale was incredibly selfish and practically trash. So how come this baby dragon wanted to stay with him? Ah, it must have been because Cale had been the first person this baby had seen. Tsk, the redhead had known, the very moment Alberu left the room to get cookies, that it was a bad idea. If the little black dragon had seen Alberu first, there wouldn’t be any trouble! But still, Cale couldn’t give up on that small creature like that at all.
“He should stay here though. It would be for-“
“Nyo! Want…Hman!”
Cale frowned at that once again. The dragon seemed to be able to speak already, at least partly. He had come a long way since being born less than an hour ago. He sure must be even more intelligent and smart than the average dragon. For some reason, Cale felt extremely proud about that.
“See? No choice here.”
The redhead looked at the amused crown prince. Alberu´s jealously had been replaced with something more akin to amusement. That small baby dragon sure seemed like a good addition to Cale if it could make him smile like that.
“Don´t kids usually want pets?”
The glare Cale gave Alberu was something the teen would never be able to forget in his whole life. It was like a glare a mother would give her husband when he told a stupid dad joke. Now that Alberu was thinking about it… The teen broke out in laughter.
Cale ignored him completely and instead looked at the small and perfect creature in his palms. That little dragon, he was perfect. He was so small and precious. While he did have scales and horns, everything about him was soft and cute and smooth. Dragons truly were great and mighty creatures that stood above any other creature in existence.
“I´m not a kid and he´s not a pet, your Highness.”
Alberu stopped laughing after being called by his official title. Cale only did that whenever he was annoyed or displeased with the first prince´s behavior, but that was nothing unusual anymore. Alberu mostly managed to ignore it – this time around.
“Fine, fine, but are you going to call him ´he´ forever or are you gonna give him a name?”
Cale looked at Alberu as if he had asked the most ridiculous question he could have.
“Why should I give him a name? Don´t dragons usually chose one themselves.”
Alberu chuckled at that and shook his head, handing Cale one of the many cookies he had brought. Gladly, the child took it, yet instead of eating it himself like usual, he began feeding the small dragon. Well, the little one had to eat something, no?
“Well, under normal circumstances a human wouldn’t be able to hold a baby dragon. Don´t they usually grow up either all on their own or with some sort of parent?”
Cale shrugged. He didn’t know too much about dragons as the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ didn’t cover much in that direction. Guess he had to figure it out with time.
“Well, he still can give himself a name, can´t he?”
At that, the dragon shook his head quickly and full of energy. It was almost as if he tried to tell them that he couldn’t; which he sure did.
“Hman pick nme!”
At that, the redhead sighed in defeat. There was nothing he could do – the dragon was still a (very small) child, one that deserved special care. If Cale had already picked him up, he should take care of him and provide him with every basic need, which included a name.
“Alright, I shall give you a name. As soon as I come up with a good one…”
At that, Alberu started to list all names possible, all of which sounded like the worst shit possible – something Cale would never name his baby dragon. To him, a name should be special, very special. At that thought, he recalled something that happened a very, very long time ago when he had still been Kim Rok Soo and lived in South Korea, though that had been before the cataclysm and the monster apocalypse. It was at a time he had just broken free from his uncle´s grasps and temporary lived in an orphanage. He had visited a normal high school called Raon High School [Joyful High School] and had led a relatively normal high school life, well, besides the little detail that he had not a single close friend.
Back then, there had been a senior at his school, he wasn’t certain but his name should be something similar to Choi Jung Gun, as this time was before he got his Record Ability, he couldn’t exactly remember, but yeah, there had been this boy. He was always working in the library and in some sort of a club there, even though he was a third year and should focus on graduating.
Kim Rok Soo didn’t cross paths with that boy many times, but when he did, that boy always seemed to be lecturing him in something he didn’t even do, or he was telling him old stories, almost like a parental figure – or even like an older brother. Kim Rok Soo had never liked that about that guy. He was too friendly, too nice, too strange. He made Kim Rok Soo feel uncomfortable rather often and while Kim Rok Soo had never once been disrespectful and always listened to what he was saying, he didn’t actually think much about it.
Someday, that very guy walked up to Kim Rok Soo after school. It was a rainy day and Kim Rok Soo had forgotten his umbrella. It was a day Cale could remember very well, even though he wasn’t supposed to remember it that clearly. Since Kim Rok Soo didn’t want to get wet, he had waited. Choi Jung Gun had then walked up to him, his clothes were lose and he didn’t seem to have an umbrella too.
The two of them stood there for a long time, mostly in silence, yet, after about ten minutes, Choi Jung Gun started to talk about his family. Cale didn’t remember many details, just that his family was talented in the way of the sword and that they were a very old martial arts family with a long ass history. He then started to talk about his family name. While ´Choi´ was probably one of the most common Korean names, he still thought that his one was special, which was probably because of his heavy accent pronunciation. Kim Rok Soo had only listened back then and didn’t say much, but Choi Jung Gun ended up saying something Kim Rok Soo would remember clearly for the rest of his life, even without his Record Ability having to record it.
´My name gives me strength and joy. Without it, I doubt I´d have come this far. It tells me that there was at least one person that cared enough for me to give me a name. There was someone who was willing to take care of me; that was willing to give me some sort of power to survive each day to come.´
Cale didn’t understand it back then. Kim Rok Soo had just stood there and listened, not even nodding or pretending to understand it – though Kim Rok Soo had never been a pretender in first place, so this much was fine. Choi Jung Gun had then turned around. When he had been talking about his name, he seemed extremely serious, but when he turned around to look at his junior, he just laughed it off, as if he didn’t say something very meaningful just now.
He indeed did, which Kim Rok Soo realized soon after.
´Oh look, the rain has stopped. We can go now, hahaha.´
Now that Cale thought about it, that was the last time Choi Jung Gun had approached him – no, it was the last time he had even seen him. Perhaps something had happened to him because he had spent too much time with him…
Either way, what Choi Jung Gun said was true and important. Kim Rok Soo had never thought much about his name.
That was the name his parents gave to him. It meant to always grow green even in the winter and bloom exceptionally. It had a lot of other positive meaning, one of which was supposed to mean good luck and fortune. Not many children in Korea were named Rok Soo. His parents must have come up with that name after thinking for a very long time.
But it didn’t matter much now, did it? The moment he began to become more active in this world he decided to not be Kim Rok Soo anymore and instead live on as Cale Henituse. His parents had died a long time ago anyways and it wouldn’t matter much. The person he had been when his name was still Kim Rok Soo was trash too. The Kim Rok Soo Cale had been didn’t do his name any justice anyways, so he could just put it away. He didn’t deserve it anyways.
But this small and precious being that was sitting on his lap, begging him to gently pet him, he deserved to have a very nice name; one that would give him the strength to live each and every single day in his life; one that allowed him to be cheerful and happy; a name that was picked just for him. It had to be something was special, something that didn’t exist in this world and just existed for this small and precious being.
“Good, it´s very easy to pick a name so you can just come up with whatever.”
Cale shook his head at that, which made the little black dragon repeat the same. After, both the twelve year old child and the newborn dragon baby were staring judgingly at Alberu as if he had just committed the worst crime in history (naturally it was Cale staring at his best friend like that before and the little baby dragon seeing that glare and mimicking it, which worked surprisingly good).
“A name isn’t something so simple. You have to pick it very carefully.”
Alberu raised his hands as if to defend himself from the judging glares the little black dragon and his best friend were giving him. It sure felt like Cale just got a supporter for his each and every little opinion, no matter if he was right or wrong…
The crown prince shuddered at that thought and decided not to think about it. Instead, he thought about their plans for which they only had five months remaining. Argh, the time sure was flying by fast.
“Alright, then pick a name for the dragon carefully.”
Cale nodded at that, seeing how Alberu finally seemed to have realized the true meaning behind a name, at least to some extent. Either way, the small baby dragon seemed to be content too as he closed his eyes and let Cale continue to pat him.
“So hyung, I suppose it´s time to discuss our plans to make Bud the Mercenaries King.”
Alberu sighed, but smiled nevertheless. It was indeed time for that.
“So, what´s on your mind? I´m sure you already have an idea?”
The smile that appeared on Cale´s lips was scary to say the least and Alberu knew immediately that this time, he certainly would have lots and lots to clean up.
~
“Human!”
Cale looked up at the black blob flying next to him. He had gotten quite big in the last three months, probably because of all the cookies and steaks Cale had been feeding him with. And naturally there was still Ron, who gave the baby dragon lots of milk.
“What is it?”
The black dragon smiled and his midnight blue eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.
“You promise you´ll give me a name after this, right?”
Alberu silently chuckled at that and left it to Cale to answer that question with a nod. The small baby dragon, fueled with excitement and new energy, smiled even brighter.
“Alright human, then let´s go blow this place up!”
Cale smiled as he nodded. For some reason, both Bud and Glenn, who were staying in the mercenaries’ guilt as per what Cale ordered, shivered. They had a bad feeling of some sorts.
Alberu and Ron, on the other hand, got ready to run. Cale looked up at the dragon, then stretched out his arms for the small child to get a hug that he had wanted so desperately.
“You two remember the plan? And hyung, remember to stay behind Ron, he can protect you. And Ron, don´t overdo it and don´t get injured. If something happens or a situation seems dangerous, just come back, alright?”
Both Ron and Alberu sighed at this. This was the 100th time that Cale told them to remember the plan that was practically safer than just safe. Both the old man and the crown prince had been stunned at first when the almost thirteen year old boy had proposed that kind of plan a few days ago.
The boy´s words were quite special too:
“It´s very simple, so listen here: Bud and Glenn, you have to stay in the Mercenaries´ Guilt building for the next three days. On the third day, there will be an extremely bad attack of unknown enemies that you know nothing about, understood? These enemies will have incredible magic firepower and some sort of assassins on their side. The two of you will have to immediately go to the Mercenaries King and make sure that he follows you outside. Since he´s a corrupted coward either way, just kill him off someplace no one sees it and then put the blame on the enemy attack. Since you´re strong, the mercenaries will believe you. Then say that the former Mercenaries King asked Bud to become the next Mercenaries King in case something happened. And since Bud´s not weak, it will sound very plausible. And viola, there you got yourself the Mercenaries King position. Don´t worry about the corpse as another magician I know will take care of it. Ron and hyung will take care of the attack and my special magician will also imitate shadows that will act as decoys. Don´t worry since he´ll also take care of the magical attacks. You just have to kill the Mercenaries King. Don´t worry about us, we´ll go in, blow the place up, then go out. Simple, no?”
Ron still didn’t know how Cale found out he had talents as an assassin, but the old man decided to brush it off since the redhead was an incredibly talented child with extremely good senses, senses that may be on par with his. Perhaps it was just instinct too… Either way, it didn’t really matter as long as the child´s affection for him didn’t waver – what didn’t seem to be the case at all.
He also wondered how Cale got his hands on such a small dragon, but that too was brushed off. Probably Ron could ignore it so easily because the old man trusted Cale like no other and truly loved the child as if he was his own grandson.
Alberu, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised by anything Cale did. He knew Cale rather well, and not even the child developing such a master mind genius plan could make him waver. He was thankful that in Cale´s plan, the child was constantly with the powerful yet young dragon and in the backlines. It was a very good thing so that he didn’t have a chance to get injured, even if he had some sort of fancy regeneration ability or whatever.
He truly hoped that everything would go as Cale predicted, yet there was still this small doubt that something would go wrong. He couldn’t bring himself to shrug it off – not at all. And it freaked him out, it made him anxious and worried.
“Alright, but young master-nim, please remain here as you said. And dragon-nim, please watch out for the young master-nim.”
The black dragon nodded full of energy.
“Don´t worry gramps! The human is very safe with me!”
Ron smiled gently at the dragon, then looked at his puppy like young master-nim once again. He did not like that Cale wore the same kind of clothes they did (which were typical black assassin´s clothes). It made him nervous, and something deep inside of him told him that something was off. He truly wanted to entrust his precious young master-nim to the little dragon, but he didn’t know how to do so and trust a three month old kid. Sure, the dragon´s level of intellect was really high, but he was still nothing but a child in the old man´s eyes.
“Alright, I´ll entrust the young master-nim to you for now.”
Ron sighed in defeat after seeing the fired up expression of the little black dragon. He truly was something else. The former assassin readied himself to do some sprinting and running as well as partly “half-assassination”. This mission didn’t require him to kill people – no, it didn’t allow him to kill people. He just had to intimidate them, make them aware that an assassin was there and ready to hunt them down.
Ron could do all of this on his own and he did not understand why that punk insisted on tagging along. He was weak anyways and didn’t have any battle experience. It was so much that it was extremely annoying.
While the old butler stretched his old but not rusty muscles, Alberu walked over to Cale. That bad gut feeling he had ever since Cale explained the plan since coming here only got worse and he had to make sure everything would go according to plan.
“Cale,”
The young boy looked up. The crown prince sure was tall, even for a seventeen year old.
“Yes? Is something the matter?”
Alberu shook his head. It was almost ridiculous, the way the twelve year old kid looked in this black uniform. It was as if he was ready to go in at any moment. It troubled the first prince very much.
“You have to promise me something Cale.”
The twelve year old child who would turn thirteen very soon frowned at that.
“What is it?”
Alberu shrugged and pointed at the small child.
“Don´t butt in, no matter what, alright?”
Cale frowned.
´I wouldn’t even butt in if all of you were in trouble. Ron is strong and even if he doesn’t like you too much, he´ll rescue you. Why should I butt into a situation where I will get hurt no matter what I do? I don´t like pain at all, I hate it. I´ll just sit back and wait as well as give a couple instructions. Nothing will happen out here, so why on earth should I butt in?!´
Naturally, Cale didn’t speak his thoughts. He simply looked at Alberu as if he was stating the obvious and that this question was completely unnecessary. And while Alberu wanted to believe the redhead, he really did want to believe him; he simply couldn’t bring himself to do so for some reason. Cale was genuine, the crown prince could tell. He had known Cale for a very long time, enough to tell that the child honestly believed his own words. But still…
Alberu trusted his gut.
“Alright, let´s start now. Remember, you´ll have to run as soon as the dragon hits the Mercenaries´ Guilt´s building.”
Ron and Alberu nodded and got ready to run. While both of them seemed calm – they weren't worried about such a simple mission at all – they were nervous about Cale. Sure, he was with the small dragon, and the dragon was still an all great and mighty existence, but something just felt off…
“Alright, you may begin.”
The black dragon´s smile widened once again at his human´s calm words. He cast a fire attribute wide area attack spell and then fired it at the Mercenaries´ Guilt´s building, just as he was instructed by Cale. One was unable to see the fast spell coming and it was too late as the mercenaries did as the spell already hit the celling.
At that very moment, both the old servant and the first prince started to run towards the now burning building. Inside the Mercenaries´ Guilt, both Glenn and Bud did as they had been instructed and soon the first cried and shouts could be heard. Cale smirked.
“Human! You´re smiling like that again! Are you going to scam someone?”
Ah yes, the black dragon knew Cale very well. Perhaps he shouldn’t have taken such a small child to the market with him…no, such a small child needed to learn all means to survive. Thus, he just brushed the black dragon´s words off as if they were nothing special and instead turned around to walk a few steps back.
“Hey, do you remember what I told you?”
The black dragon had a confused expression on his face at first, but quickly seemed to realize what his human meant. Almost immediately, he nodded his head cheerfully, he was clearly excited.
“Human! Are we going to loot someone? Looting is fun! You told me that looting the bad guys is good because we will have much money and having money is the best!”
Cale nodded his head, clearly proud that he managed to imprint his philosophy on a child this young. That´s right, children should learn the concept of money from a very young age.
“That´s right. Since the old Mercenaries King is a bad guy, looting him will be fine.”
The black dragon nodded his head quickly, completely convinced of Cale´s words. He ignored Ron´s and Alberu´s words since they were completely unimportant compared to whatever his human was saying. Still there was a single important aspect…
“Human, you´re not gonna get hurt, are you?”
Cale looked at the black dragon as if he had two heads, which immediately calmed the small creature down. He sighed in relied and nodded, full of energy and cleared of all suspicions once again.
“Let´s go loot the bad guys!”
Cale nodded his head and the small black dragon immediately cast an invisibility spell on both himself and his precious human. At the same time, Alberu´s feeling got much worse. It was as if he knew that something was about to happen, yet, looking back at to where Cale was supposed to be standing, there was a small silhouette about Cale´s size and a black blob constantly flying around. And the magic attacks didn’t end, they got even more.
Was his gut wrong?
Naturally, that was not the case. The black dragon´s magic power was simply out of this world and he was extremely strong, strong enough to keep this rather simple magic going while disappearing with his human into the Mercenaries´ Guilt´s building to go loot the money of the bad guys. While the small dragon didn’t truly understand the value of money in this world, he did understand that it made his human happy, which meant that it was invaluable.
Thus, they truly had to loot this Mercenaries´ Guilt real good, especially since this money came from bad businesses anyways.
Swiftly and efficiently the black dragon used flight magic on both himself and his human to get into the guilt building even faster. It was still burning, but what was a little bit of fire to the small dragon who was responsible for that very fire?
It was nothing.
Quicker and quicker the small baby dragon and small child brushed past the many hallways of the rather vast guild building that belonged to the Mercenaries´ Guilt on the Eastern Continent. It truly was quite amazing.
-Human, I think I found something suspicious! It´s a room that´s locked with strong magic!
Cale´s eyes lit up like they could only light up when the boy was thinking about money. Something as simple as a gold coin truly could be the way into this boy´s heart.
“Let´s go there!”
The black dragon nodded excitedly and cast flight magic on his human once again to be even faster. The sound of explosions, battle cries and shouts came from outside, but both Cale and the small creature ignored it swiftly as if nothing was happening to begin with.
What was there to worry about, after all? The ones screaming weren't their people anyways.
-It´s here human! I´ll open it right away!
Cale nodded and while he seemed to be calm and composed as always on the outside, he was extremely excited as well, just like a little kid on Christmas morning when he would get to unwrap his presents. But money was by far better than some presents – money could practically grant wishes. Whoever said something against money clearly didn’t own enough money. Money could buy food, money could buy a roof above one´s head any money could buy clothes. What more did a person need to be happy?
Perhaps a good book, but that could be bought with money as well.
-Human, I did it! It´s open!
Cale smirked. He could see how the normal seeming wall revealed a secret door to a hidden room. Almost immediately, it opened, as if to welcome Cale and the black dragon. And the two children didn’t let it wait too long for them.
It didn’t matter that it closed immediately after letting them in and it didn’t matter that it was extremely dark inside the room as the black dragon was here. He could cast fire magic to make light and he could also teleport them back to their location when they were done – which they weren't just yet.
“Woah! Human! Look, there´s so much sparkly gold!”
Cale nodded his head, but to be honest, he was stunned too. The room that was half the size of the crown prince´s bedchambers, which wasn’t small at all, was filled from the floor to the celling will all kinds of treasures, gold coins and diamonds as well as magic stones and high quality jewelry and whatnot.
“Black dragon, you can take all of it with us, right?”
The black dragon gave Cale a bright smile as he nodded, extremely happy with his ability to make Cale smile that happily too. It didn’t even take ten seconds, then the entire room was completely empty – it was as if nothing had been here to begin with.
“Human, the mission is almost over, so can you tell me my name already?”
Cale smiled at that. Just as he was about to get ready to respond to the small child with the name he had come up, one that he had spent lots of time coming up with, something incredibly ironical and absurd happened, something that was so stupid, that it was almost ridiculous even.
It was something not even the small dragon with his superhuman senses had seen coming forward.
The floor on which Cale had been standing, or the celling of the floor that was right under Cale, it gave in, making Cale fall down.
It all happened so fast that the black dragon didn’t have any time reacting. And puff, his human was gone. Looking down the hole in a hurry, he noticed that all four floors had broken.
While the small black dragon shouted in a panic, Cale simply frowned in pain. Ah yes, he was in extreme pain. Something like that could truly only happen to him.
In the future, someone would call him ´unlucky bastard´ more than just two times after hearing this funny little story from the little black dragon.
Notes:
Hello~
Yes, I didnt know I would drop two chapters in that short amount as well (for me it´s already sunday), but I think that´s a good thing, no? Haaa, so I really did something good in updating quick, at least I hope so. I noticed in one of the comments that I´ve miscalculated Raon´s age and NOOOOOOOOOOOO I DID SUCH A BIG MISTAKE BUT I´M TOO LAZY TO FIX IT SO HE´LL BE TWO YEARS OLDER NOW END OF DISCUSSION.
/( .□.)\ ︵╰(゜益゜)╯︵ /(.□. /)
So... just roll with it this time, pretty please?Anyways, it´s 1:09 am right now and I´m full of energy. That´s the third or was it forth day this week? I dunno why, but I have difficulties falling asleep either way, and since I have lots of motivation right now either way, I guess I just decided to write. Since it´s late and I´m a dumbass either way, I apologize for any spelling mistaked (I read through one of my old works a few hours and hell, I wanted to disappear).
What else is there to talk about...hmm...AH! I have a really nice chocolate snack and I have my favorite Icea Tea with me (it´s not better than hot chocolate, but I roll with what I get). So I´m gonna have a really nice midnight or 1 am snack, then I´ll probably try to write another chapter, tho I´m not sure if I´ll make it today. Perhaps I´ll just go and watch some YouTube videos, who knows?
Most importantly, and this certainly isnt a spoiler (well it technically is but who cares, all of you are thinking about it after that last sentence) ERUHABEN-NIM IS COMING SOON OMG OMG OMG I´M SO EXCITED HE´S MY SECOND FAVORITE AFTER RAON!!!!!!!!!
Hehe, til next time!
(* ˘⌣˘)◞[_]♥[_]ヽ(•‿• )
Chapter 17: 16. Runs in the blood (2)
Summary:
Fluffy times with the fam and Ron turning into your typical grandpa <3
Notes:
Mentions the fandom typical "Cale-fainting" but there´s nothing else in here that could be triggering, besides the f*cking GoD´s appearance, so read with care and don´t throw your phone or reading device against the wall/floor °\(^▿^)/°
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
All of a sudden, Alberu stopped sprinting forward like a madman, and so did Ron. They were extremely close to the Mercenaries´ Guild building right now and since both of them were either superhuman or something…special, their senses were extremely sharp. Thus they could hear what others could not – which in this case would be the desperate voice of a certain baby dragon.
One look at the sky and both of them realized that a dragon, even if he was a baby dragon, was still an incredibly powerful existence. It was quite amazing how he was inside troubling himself over something while continuing the magic attacks.
Wait…
If he was inside…
“Fuck!”
It was Alberu who realized it first. He dropped his longsword and immediately ran towards the Mercenaries´ Guild´s building. He didn’t have much time to think properly about this situation that definitely shouldn’t have happened! Like, how often did the redheaded twelve year old kid go over the plan? How often did the crown prince and the former assassin tell him to stay behind and do nothing? Fuck, Alberu should just trust his gut the next time Cale decided to cause some trouble – for himself!
Ron was quick to follow the first prince. He too had understood the situation by now and they had no time to lose. If Cale was indeed inside- The old assassin didn’t want to think about it, not at all. He rather would prefer to think that the baby dragon had wandered off on his own, leaving his precious puppy like young master-nim behind, but at least he was out of danger back there…
Every single mercenary, who tried to approach the two of them was either knocked out or glared at by Ron and thus fainted. It would have been much faster and easier if the former assassin could just kill all the people that got in his way, yet his young master-nim didn’t want him to do so.
The two of them got inside of the guild building quickly. There weren't many people inside – just as Cale predicted all of them had run away or gone outside to fight their enemies. Either way, it made it easier for the crown prince and Molan Patriarch to get through the long hallways.
It took them half a minute, then they smelled blood. The two of them exchanged glances with each other, worried that the smell´s origin might come from a certain twelve year old child.
Ron´s steps quickened and so did Alberu´s. As much as the two of them hated each other, they worked together in order to find Cale quicker. The sound of the black dragon´s voice got louder and they were certain they were going in the right direction. That is, until they stopped.
In front of them, there was a large hole in the floor. While, for a moment, Ron was thinking about how to get on the other side of it, Alberu looked down. He sincerely hoped not to see anything, and he probably looked down just because he was curious about what might have caused this hole in the floor and the holes in the ceilings. No need to say that he regretted looking down almost immediately after.
“Cookie prince! The weak human isn’t answering! He just fell down all of a sudden!”
The small baby dragon was anxiously crying out loud to the crown prince who couldn’t exactly tell what he was looking at. While Alberu remained frozen on spot, Ron acted quickly while remaining calm. The old man swiftly jumped down elegantly, careful not to land on the pile of rubble on which the redheaded child was lying on.
The small baby dragon immediately flew around in circles, trying to calm down. Ron didn’t pay him any attention. No, that´s not quite right; Ron wasn’t paying attention to anything or anyone other than the passed out child lying in the midst of the pile of ceiling. It was a shocking sight for the old man to be honest. He recalled the little “falling out the window” incident almost a year and a half back. Back then, while Cale didn’t have any obvious injuries (which didn’t match his small and frail body at all), he had passed out for almost a whole week.
Ron´s greatest fear was that something like that would happen again. He did not want Cale to ever pass out – under any circumstances.
(Little did he know, that was something he´d have to get used to at some point – not that he ever did.)
Shortly after Ron froze on spot, Alberu jumped down too. As he had overcome his shock upstairs, he had a clear mind and thus was able to take care of this situation properly.
“Alright, something went a bit astray I suppose. Fucking bastard, didn’t you promise to stay back?”
Alberu looked at the passed out kid. He (obviously) wasn’t injured, only passed out. The crown prince sighed, then looked up at the nervous and anxious dragon. He smiled his best reassuring smile – not that it was of any use though.
“Listen well little kid, do you know how to teleport?”
The small dragon shook his head. Ah, that´s right, they didn’t teach him any teleportation magic at all! Alberu should have done so from the very beginning! Argh, this was so annoying! While thinking about any other possible solutions – like finding Glenn – the crown prince looked down at the twelve year old kid. The old servant seemed to have gotten a grip of himself as he finally picked the kid up.
Alberu´s gaze then headed from Cale to the old servant. Contrary to their usual hateful gazes, both of them were extremely serious now. While he didn’t want to admit it, Alberu did trust Ron – not that it was the same the other way around just yet.
´Finding Glenn will be quite difficult…´
Alberu knew what he had to do. It was rather simple, even.
“Hey Ron, you can keep a secret to yourself, no?”
While Ron scoffed, he didn’t say anything against that which was as much as a yes. The crown prince took a deep breath. To use magic he´d have to get rid of his disguise…would he really be fine after that? It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Cale and Ron, but then again…
“Hey, hey, hey! What´s going on in here?!”
“Ah.”
Perhaps finding Glenn wasn’t so difficult after all. Still, Alberu frowned. There was this nagging feeling inside his gut, one he had never felt before. Wait…was this anxiousness and nervousness or even guilt?!
Alberu decided to shake it off and take care of it later. Instead, he looked at the current Mercenaries King Bud Illis and his close friend Glenn Poeff. Both of them were dragging the curse of a fat man behind, one that looked incredibly similar to a lazy aristocrat.
Naturally, the small baby dragon had already disguised himself as Cale ordered him not to be seen by any people other than Alberu and Ron; thus the two old friends were able to be very casual, even if they were shocked because Cale was here.
“Good thing you came.”
And with that, the situation on their end was resolved without Alberu being put in a difficult situation. Still, he felt quite iffy for some reason.
~
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Incredibly tall golden high heels brushed over the marble floor as the woman, or rather god, wearing them elegantly walked past all the gods and god´s helping hands´ standing there. Today, she wore a long white dress which made her resemble an innocent bride. Her long, ginger hair was curvy and while her whole expression seemed gentle, her eyes were extremely sharp, almost as if she was waiting for an incident to happen.
But an incident already did happen!
As soon as she thought about that, her steps quickened and got a bit more…aggressive? Instead of stopping and watching her, others now quickly hurried past her. It was never good to be near one of the three main gods while they seemed to be angry.
After a few more steps, the God of Life finally arrived at her destination. The two vast doors that didn’t match the style of the room they lead to were thrown open by her fragile looking yet extremely strong hands. They automatically closed after she entered the office of the god she hated the most.
He wasn’t here yet, but she was certain he would come soon enough, thus she sat down on the stiff office chair opposite of his chair. The God of Life didn’t belong into this set up at all; she seemed very out of place, especially with her extravagant clothes that matched the pre Victorian era.
And, as always, her guess was spot on as soon after she sat down on the uncomfortable chair, the doors were opened once more. A tall man with white hair and tan skin entered the room. He seemed as tired as always, yet the God of Life could tell that he was truly tired today, contrary to usual. She smirked. At least he suffered a little bit, even if it was nothing compared to her child´s suffering.
The God of Death rolled his eyes and fell down on his office chair.
“Tsk, stop looking at me like that.”
Annoyed, he turned his head away, as if not to face the God of Life´s smug expression and yet bitter smile.
“Why should I do that, ah? Tell me, did you stop with your cowardly plans after I asked you to?”
The God of Death sighed in defeat. So it was that again, so annoying. Well, but what could he do? It´s been the only topic the God of Life had been talking about for years, ever since he and the God of Space and Time exchanged Kim Rok Soo´s and Cale´s souls with each other.
“Weren't you the one saying learn from other´s mistakes? Either way, shouldn’t you be happy right now? I rescued that kid of yours.”
The stare the God of Life gave the God of Death was hilarious and truly something worth recording, too bad that the God of Death was too busy being glared at like that.
“You mean from the curse you are responsible for? And I should be thankful for that? Don´t make me laugh, you´re not a comedian.”
The God of Death raised his hands as if to defend himself – not that it really helped him.
“He´ll be happy at some point. Didn’t you see that he now has a dragon with him? He´s also with that kid the Sun God likes and-“
“Just shut up, please? Do you honestly think that that what you´re saying is the truth? You made my precious child a variable first, then pushed him into another world he´s unfamiliar with!”
At that, the God of Death raised his brows and put down his hands. He had done many things and he was proud to admit all (well, most) of them, but he did not turn Kim Rok Soo into a variable. Yet, the God of Life did not let him speak.
“It doesn’t matter now anyways. I came here to tell you something else.”
The God of Death, while he did not want to drop the topic, turned his head around and listened to the God of Life´s words carefully.
“Your original world, I can´t see the date of its end any longer.”
At that, the God of Death jumped up. The God of Life did too, but she wasn’t fast enough to follow him out the room. She sighed as she exited the room at her own pace. Perhaps she shouldn’t have told him, but it would have been even worse if her child lost everything for nothing. Some sort of progress was still progress and while she still couldn’t tell whether not seeing a date of the world´s end was a good thing, it was a change.
The God of Death knew that better than anyone else.
~
Tick tack. Tick tack. Tick tack.
Alberu tapped on his desk as if to match the clock´s sound. He was sitting not all too far away from the now thirteen year old boy who had slept though his birthday – which had been yesterday. He had also slept through his step sister´s birthday which was two weeks ago, and not only that but a lot of other things too.
He had slept through the day Alberu got the key to the royal family´s treasure chambers and he had slept through the day Alberu had planned to give him some allowance – it was because he had been in that comatose state for a whole month already. While Alberu had been worried at first on whether Cale would wake up in time to make it to his eighteenth birthday banquet – the event that he would publicly announce that he had officially become the crown prince – he was now worried. Health wise Cale truly did seem to be fine (naturally the first prince had called for more than just a few doctors to check up on the redhead), but something must be wrong if he wouldn’t wake up at all!
Alberu wasn’t the only one who was extremely worried about the small redhead. Especially Ron was. So worried, that he, just like the baby dragon, refused to leave the child´s side. Perhaps that old man blamed himself for this, since he was the adult there and should have been more careful.
The two of them also knew the reason why Cale had gone in by now. The baby dragon spilled the beans on the third day, afraid that he was at fault. As Alberu had heard that little story, he had laughed in disbelief. It wasn’t really because he didn’t expect Cale to be money-obsessed – that kind of thing really suited Cale – it was more because he was shocked. Cale came from a rich ass family, but didn’t get any allowance, so why didn’t he come to him? Why enter an extremely dangerous building just to loot some money?
“…ninety-nine, hundred!”
The small baby dragon, who was sitting on the redhead´s chest, took a shaky breath as he shook his head.
“Tsk, I´ll give you one last chance and count down from a hundred one last time! If you still don´t wake up, I´ll burn down the whole world and then kill myself!”
While the words of the small baby dragon had sounded vicious at first, both Alberu and Ron had gotten used to them by now. Perhaps they were okay with listening to them because they had similar thoughts, even if theirs weren't as vicious.
The door to the crown prince´s bed chambers opening stopped the people inside from going insane. Beacrox, who was the one entering, frowned. He had come here immediately after getting a call from his father telling him about his favorite child´s condition a week after Cale didn’t wake up. The head chef did not expect that that precious child would be in a comatose state for so long.
It took a toll on everyone.
“Lunch is ready. You have to eat.”
No one said anything; or did anything for that case. It was because they didn’t want to eat. Cale couldn’t eat, so why should they?
“Black dragon-nim, at least you should eat since-“
“No! The weak human doesn’t eat so I shouldn’t too!”
It was the same conversation as every meal time. Once again, Beacrox managed to convince the small creature to eat his lunch, and he managed to make the crown prince and his father do the same – even if he needed a bit more force when speaking with the two of them. Even though Beacrox was here, he wasn’t the one who cooked the lunch. He wasn’t here to cook for anyone but the young master-nim; at least that was his attitude.
After lunch, Beacrox brought the plates back to the kitchen, then came back. The mood inside the room got even more depressing with each second passing in which the baby dragon counted from one to a hundred and from a hundred to one.
It got dark outside and soon, dinner followed. After, it was dark outside and the baby dragon couldn’t help but fall asleep. Only the three adults were awake now. The mood was still depressing, filled with something akin to despair.
Yes, they were desperate for Cale to wake up.
After another few hours, Beacrox fell asleep too. It was probably because he didn’t get any shuteye for the past seven days; it was amazing that he held on this long in first place. Only Ron and the first prince were left awake now. Both of them watched Cale in silence. They didn’t really watch the child; it was more like they watched his chest. Did he breathe properly?
In the end, the final question was if Cale was still alive.
Time passed very slowly in times like these. Alberu could feel the sleepiness of the past few days weighing down on his eyelids again, yet he was shaken awake after hearing a very tired voice. It wasn’t as if it was tired as in sleepiness, more as if it was tired as in life.
“Do you know why I don´t like you, punk?”
Alberu looked up from the armchair that he had pulled over to Cale´s (well, actually his) bed´s left side. Opposite to him, the old servant sat, still observing his precious young master-nim.
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I said yes, would you?”
Ron didn’t smile, nor did he react at this teasing sentence at all. Instead, he continued to say what he had wanted to say.
“It´s because you smell like trouble.”
[It´s Cale who smells like trouble omg! щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ]
Alberu adjusted himself in his seat. He smelled like trouble, really? Nevertheless, he didn’t dare say anything controversial, knowing that the old man still had a lot of things to say.
“From the moment I first saw you I noticed it. But I let you be. It is because of the young master-nim. He needs a good friend who genuinely cares for him, one that he trusts more than adults like me or my son.”
Ron finally looked up from the now thirteen year old child´s chest and looked Alberu in the eyes.
“You aren´t good for the young master-nim; I should have never let you join that tea party.”
Alberu tsk´ed. He had had enough of that old man´s talk. What did he know about whether Alberu was good or bad for Cale? The two of them were friends. And they chose to be friends. No one should be restricted at making friends, anyone could befriend whoever he´d like. And Cale befriended Alberu, well; it was the other way around actually. But it didn’t matter, because the two of them were best friends. And Alberu would never give up on his friendship with this little troublemaker.
“You let me in though. I guess there´s nothing you can do anymore, how sad.”
Ron chuckled at that, which surprised Alberu who was openly making fun of the old man. It was a real chuckle at that, and not a fake one too.
“See? Your foul mouth and dishonorable attitude are bad influences for the young master-nim.”
The crown prince rolled his eyes. While he allowed Cale to speak to him however he´d like, he never thought that Cale´s people would do so too. It was more like the child influenced the people around him than that Alberu influenced the child!
“Tsk, but I won´t be able to separate you any more, would I? I should have acted a long time ago.”
Alberu did not reply. He understood the hidden undertone of the assassin´s voice and thus realized that it was not his turn to speak. A long break followed, one that led Alberu to believe that their conversation was over already, yet the former assassin proved him wrong.
“You little punk, did you know that I am a highly skilled assassin?”
While Alberu would have been shocked under any normal circumstances, he actually wasn’t. He was only a bit surprised, yet it would explain the old man´s quick and remorseless movements back then when they helped Bud Illis become the Mercenaries King.
“I suppose not. The young master-nim wasn’t supposed to know either, but I guess he found out that I´m not your average butler, huh?”
Even though Alberu couldn’t see it due to the darkness right now, there was a sad smile on the old assassin´s lips. It was because he was sad. He had learnt a very long time ago how to shut down his emotions and not react to whatever he was feeling inside, but a person who was capable of love must be capable of sadness to, especially since love was the most difficult emotion to feel and show.
Ron was sad. No, he wasn’t really sad. He was afraid. His hands had been continuously shaking ever since he saw his precious puppy like young master-nim passed out like that. He recalled a time he had had the same emotions. It was when he had lost his wife. It was a very long time ago, but something like that could not be forgotten. Ron did not want to lose someone he loved as much as a grandchild. Ron was not ready to lose anyone. He was supposed to die first, not his young children. And while Cale still breathed, he didn’t wake up in a whole month.
“Do you want to know how I ended up here?”
Alberu simply nodded, but it was enough of an answer for the old man to continue.
“It was betrayal that led us to be here – the betrayal of one of our allied families. Taking my home wasn’t enough for them; they also wanted to take my wife. They wanted to take everything. They were greedy and lazy. They were stupid of some sort.”
Ron looked up at the dark ceiling. He couldn’t see anything, but it was good enough.
“But I was welcomed in the Henituse County. It was because my Lady the former Countess noticed my son and me and asked us to work with her. She took one look at me and immediately figured out who I was. I suppose she was truly a very outstanding woman.”
Alberu´s eyes widened. He recalled his aunt telling him how Jour would have been the strongest knight in history, wasn’t it for her weak constitution. Still, her senses were sharp.
“The young master-nim must have her senses in some way. Back then, we were still wary and didn’t trust my Lady easily, but she was a very kind woman, her heart was too big for anyone to have. The young master-nim has a big heart too, even if he doesn’t want to show it openly.”
Ron´s smile became bitter and he looked back down at the child´s chest, afraid that if he was to look away any longer, Cale would stop breathing. Alberu looked at Cale´s peaceful face. Now that he was sleeping he resembled a child much more than whenever he was awake. It must be because he could relax whenever he was asleep. That kind of innocent expression suited him much better than the frown he always had on his face.
“When my Lady got pregnant, she was overjoyed. And when the young master-nim was born, I was overjoyed.”
Alberu´s eyes widened a second time; he was wondering whether he had misheard the old man. Why would he be overjoyed by the brith of someone else´s child?
But in fact, he did not mishear. Ron chuckled and shook his head as if he was reminiscent of the old days.
“The young master-nim was still young, but he was perfect. Hadn´t he inherited his mother´s genes, he may have had it easier…”
Ron shook his head, then cleared his throat. He noticed how he had told a bit too much – it was because he hadn’t slept in a very long time and was extremely tired. Sleepiness loosened one´s mouth just as well as alcohol did.
“I suppose this old man is getting too old if he already gets swept up in such petty little memories.”
Ron then looked up from Cale´s chest and made eye contact with the crown prince once again. Alberu did not dare look away, not even for a split second.
“What this old man is trying to say is that he has the capabilities to kill you. If you truly wish to continue your friendship with my precious grandson, and if anything happens to him because of you punk, I will make you pay.”
Ron then looked away as if he didn’t just threaten one of the royal family´s members. And while Alberu would have been afraid or at least shaken under any other circumstances, he wasn’t. Perhaps it was because he had learned that this old servant wasn’t as bad as he let on. He truly cared about Cale, very much even it seemed.
And that was enough for the crown prince.
Before he knew it, his eyelids got heavier and he finally closed his eyes, drifting away into a very light sleep. Ron was the only one who was fully awake now. Gently, he stroke Cale´s middle long hair out of his face. They would have to cut it sometime soon as it was getting pretty long; well, that is if he wanted to cut his hair. Maybe he should just let it grow – no, he should definitely cut it for the time being. Cale being such a small and frail child, Ron should cut his hair for now.
The old man gently stroke Cale´s warm cheek. It was a good sign that it wasn’t cold or hot for that matter, meaning he had an average body temperature and not a fever.
Ron´s sad smile returned to his lips. He wanted the child to wake up soon, for him to open his eyes and look at him with his usual stoic gaze. He wanted to observe how the child smiled ever so gently whenever he was with the baby dragon and he wanted to see how Cale always frowned whenever something happened he didn’t want to happen. That frown was just extremely cute, almost as if the child was pouting!
And before the old man knew it, he closed his eyes too. In front of him, the small child was smiling brightly at him before pouting upon seeing the lemon candy he held in his hands. Ah, Ron knew that this was a dream and that he should wake up, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to do so.
While everyone fell asleep, a certain redhead opened his eyes. He was confused at first, but after looking around in the dark, he quickly realized where he was (well, it was mostly because of Alberu´s heavenly bed that he recognized immediately). Since it was dark, it must be the middle of the night. And since there was a certain pressure on his chest, the black dragon must be sleeping on his chest again.
Looking around once again, Cale noticed two silhouettes next to him but he could quickly tell who they were. He frowned at that. Why was Ron sleeping in such a strange position? Even if he was still a highly skilled assassin, who didn’t lose any of his past abilities with age, he did in fact get older. He was old; there was nothing anyone could do against that. And with him being old he should never sleep in such an uncomfortable position! What if he got trouble with his back in the future?!And then there was the crown prince, who was lying in an even odder position than the old servant. Wait, what was that position even? There was no way it was a normal position though, especially since Alberu´s back was not only bent but also half twisted…
Cale felt his back ache while only looking at Alberu´s odd sleeping position. He would never be able to sleep like that, or watch anyone sleep like that for that matter. Did the first prince want back problems the moment he turned twenty-five?
Perhaps that was the reason why Cale decided that it was fine to wake the crown prince up. The redhead would have never thought about the possibility of the first prince being extremely tired because he had been in a comatose state for the past four weeks – hell, Cale thought that he was passed out for three days at max. While falling down – what was it again, five or six? – stories had hurt a lot, like incredibly much, he had the all-powerful Vitality of the Heart. It was able to cure just about anything, no matter how bad the injury actually was.
Cale frowned even more as Alberu didn’t wake up after the first push. The redhead sighed. Did this prince overwork himself again or what was the matter with him, ah? Surely he must have worked on thousands of papers during the time the redhead had been passed out! He must have gotten the work of the last four months done during these three days since Cale had been staying with him and the crown prince somehow always prioritized the redhead.
Cale tsk´ed after Alberu didn’t even wake up after he used a stronger force. He grumbled as he didn’t want to wake up the small baby dragon, yet that happened. His quick movements while trying to wake the crown prince up woke the little baby dragon. The small creature opened his shining, midnight blue eyes and stared Cale in the eyes. He did not say anything and just stared, that is until he broke up in silent sobs.
A bit overwhelmed by the small baby dragon´s emotional outburst, Cale patted his head. Perhaps the baby dragon missed his human a lot more than others did, but children stayed children, no?
“Human! Y-you can´t leave m-me alone for t-this long!”
Cale nodded his head while patting the sobbing baby dragon.
“Yes, yes, I won´t.”
He was taking the small dragon´s words extremely serious, perhaps because he was still such a small child.
“H-Human! I was afraid y-you would never w-wake up!”
Cale simply nodded his head in understanding, trying to console the baby dragon and calm him down.
“You slept for f-four weeks! Don’t ever do t-that again o-or I will d-destroy the world!”
While Cale wanted to nod and pat the baby dragon just as he did before, the small creature´s sudden words threw him back into reality. His eyes widened and he looked around in a hurry before unable to contain his shocked yell.
“Four weeks?!”
Surprisingly enough, all three adults, who had been sleeping in the room before, immediately woke up upon hearing Cale´s voice.
Notes:
Hi.
I was quick today too, wasnt I? Honestly, I planned to update like three hours ago, but I was busy with something else, so I could only update it now. It´s still quick tho!Alright, I love Ron and Alberu "bonding times" but they will still hate each other until CH finally arrives! (That´ll be a hateful relationship for a lot of chapters to come, huh?)...Anyways, that´ll be my problem! What good stuff did I mention in this chapter too...uhm...ah! Alberu is a troublemaker?! OMG I really don´t know how I thought of that sentence, but I swear once my fingers wrote it down and I read it I immediately loved it!
So, the next year of Cale´s life begins. Since it wasnt all too clear in this chapter and only slightly mentioned: Lily was finally born (two weeks before Cale´s birthday, and while he had been in his comatose state).
(◦'ںˉ◦)Also, I think it´d be nice to inform y´all that I´m already gathering idead on the X-Mas special chapter. I have a question about that tho. Do you want Cale to be 18, 19 or 20? It´s important and once you read the special chapter and compare it to future chapters you will find out why. If you don´t care, I´ll just let him be 18 since that would be the least spoilers, but 19 and 20 are a bit more, let´s call it spicy for now, especially 20 hehe
(THA CHOICÉ IS YOURS) ( ื▿ ืʃƪ)
Okokok, now that this is over, I´m gonna tell you about my super nice day that I spent on our couch in the living room. ƪ(˘⌣˘)┐ ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ ┌(˘⌣˘)ʃ
You must know, I´m someone who usually doesnt come out of her room, but today my parents and little brother were gone for most of the day, so I jumped on the couch and listened to music while reading some manhuas or I watched the "Fresh off the Boat" series. I was sooo lazy and it was perfect.Like I´m a couch potato. There´s nothing I can say for or against it other than that I love being one. The couch is my best friend and I´m hers.
Good, then til next time! Stay healthy, especially since it´s cold outside!
(乂ღ˘⌣˘)ノ♥ヽ(ˆ⌣ˆ)ヾ
Chapter 18: 17. Dongsaeng, you- haaa (1)
Summary:
Deruth comes to a realization (AT LAST) and Raon and Cale fluffy times ;)
Oh, and I forgot to mention Alberu and Cale´s scary plans (* ˘⌣˘)◞[_]♥[_]ヽ(•‿• )
Notes:
No trigger warning whatsoever, another fluffy chapter <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Calmly, Beacrox handed Cale the sweet tea he had just prepared. As calm as the head chef may appear on the outside, he definitely wasn’t calm on the inside. His eyes shook as he watched the pale child behave like he hadn’t just slept through a whole month. He seemed healthy – if one didn’t look at his body weight (hell, the poor child didn’t eat in a whole month! What did you expect?!).
That he had no injuries was already known by the people waiting for him to wake up, but it was crazy how he really seemed to be fine. Beacrox exchanged glances with his tired father. Ron was so exhausted, he was sitting down on the armchair instead of standing behind his precious young master-nim like usual.
“So…to sum everything up, the Count welcomed his third child into this world, the Stan March has internal power struggles, Baroness Urbarr´s daughter, Amiru Urbarr, had her coming of age ceremony a few weeks back and Count Henituse officially declared that…I have been kidnapped?”
Cale scoffed at that last part. It was incredibly difficult to believe it. Yet, his people didn’t seem to care all too much about that as there was another incredibly important event he had missed.
“Human! You forgot to list your birthday!”
Cale just looked at the small dragon that was sitting on his lap with confusion written all over his face.
“But it´s nothing important though?”
Upon that, Alberu scoffed while the baby dragon was taken by surprise. He remembered the day he hatched from his egg. This powerless and weak human was the first he had seen and thus he had formed a very extraordinary bond with it. That very same human that was now saying his birthday wasn’t something important, had, back on his hatch day, brought all kinds of sweets he could think of and then went to the night market to celebrate. It wasn’t just a small celebration, no – it was way more than that. He had then stated, with his most serious expression, that the black dragon´s birthday was extremely special and must be celebrated every single year.
And yet, he was saying that his birthday was nothing important? Was he serious? Did he really not hurt his head?
“Weak human! How can you say that?!”
Cale´s look only got more confused which made Alberu laugh. He still remembered the redhead´s words on the birthday topic. And both Ron and Beacrox didn’t seem all too happy with Cale´s answer either. The former assassin was smiling benignly as he finally got up from the armchair. Instead of standing behind Cale like he usually did though, Ron crouched down in front of Cale, after the little black dragon made way for him naturally.
“Young master-nim, do you dislike your birthday?”
Cale shrugged. He truly seemed clueless – and every single person in this room knew this. The redhead tried to shrug it off and change the topic to something more relevant (to him at least). Ron had to move back to his armchair too, seeing as his young master-nim was a tad too stubborn to reply.
“So, Count Deruth noticed…that I´ve been away from the Henituse Estate?”
´He doesn’t call it home anymore.´
Alberu wasn’t the only one who noticed that. Did his place turn to Cale´s home with time? It wasn’t that Alberu was bothered by it – not at all. He even preferred it being that way. But that wasn’t what was important right now. Whether he liked it or not, it was true that Count Deruth´s actions were quite surprising. He was the one who practically hated Cale for just breathing.
“Human! Who is that? You don´t look happy!”
Cale frowned as he patted the small black dragon´s head – without his usual smile this time. It was strange to see as he usually always smiled around that small creature. Alberu cleared his throat, gaining the other´s attention immediately.
“Well, what should we do now?”
The small black dragon, still confused about who that Count person is, flew around in circles around the four people´s heads until landing on Beacrox´ shoulder this time. He attentively watched his weak human´s expression twist into a displeased frown.
“I guess I must go back…hm, but I don´t want to…”
Alberu frowned at that last part since it was mostly mumbled. What sounded like a child not wanting to go back to a household he didn’t feel welcomed in, was actually Cale thinking it would be bothersome and troublesome. Since Alberu would have his birthday soon too, why not stay those two months in the capital and then go back? Furthermore, there were also a lot of things he had to work on and it would be easier to do so if he was in the capital.
Furthermore, there was now a small child there.
Cale was not good with children under the age of one – at least he thought that way. With this small black dragon being an exception, he couldn’t really be around babies much. Since the black dragon was extremely smart, he wasn’t a problem, but those babies were stupid creatures who were difficult to deal with. What if the Count only wanted him back as some sort of a babysitter?
Being a parent of a newborn was no easy job after all.
“Young master-nim, if you don´t want to go back, no one will force you.”
Cale looked up at the benignly smiling old man. Over the years, he had gotten better and better at reading Ron´s expressions, yet he couldn’t tell what the old man was thinking right now at all. Thus he decided to just not care about it for now and ignore it. It would be bothersome if he was to investigate and question this matter any further.
“Well, I guess you´re right.”
“Human! You still didn’t answer! Who is that?”
Cale frowned even more as he shrugged it off. He didn’t exactly want to lie to a child and use some excuse, but it wasn’t really a lie if he told him the Count was his father, so he did just that. The black dragon seemed very surprised at that.
“The human has a human daddy?”
At the small creature´s description two frowns and two glares followed, enough for the baby dragon to understand that it wasn’t that simple. He flew away from Beacrox and instead went back to Cale´s lap where he got lots of pats.
“Well, the Count is my father. I suppose you can´t go against genes.”
The small black dragon tilted his head in confusion, not really understanding what his human was saying. But it didn’t matter either way.
“If it´s the human´s daddy, we must go back! I wanna meet him!”
At that, Cale had a very odd expression. It was as if he had eaten something sour. Alberu almost chuckled at that – if this situation wasn’t as important. Instead, he simply shook his head.
“Not quite. While the Count is Cale´s caretaker, you shouldn’t exactly see him as his…daddy. Personally, I think Ron fits the fatherly role better.”
“Ah!”
While the small black dragon flew to the honestly surprised old butler and circled him, Beacrox almost lost his deadpan expression and Cale; well he just stared at Alberu with that kind of look that made the crown prince wonder whether he really did the right thing. While it sounded extremely strange, it wasn’t exactly wrong. Ron was so much more of a fatherly figure than any other person Cale had ever met – both as Kim Rok Soo and now as Cale Henituse. Perhaps it was because of that that he didn’t say anything against it – which was what surprised Ron and Beacrox the most.
After a short moment, Ron got over the sudden shock and composed himself again. He seemed extremely happy for some reason Cale couldn’t comprehend, but well, as long as he was happy it was fine.
“So gramps is human´s daddy and the human´s father is a bad guy? Does that mean we have to loot all of his money too?”
Before Cale´s eyes could even lit up (which they almost did), Alberu stood up from his seat hectically and crouched down in front of the redheaded child. There was a somewhat urgent expression on his face, one that was extremely unusual for him to have. It made it seem as if what he was about to say was the most important thing he would ever say.
“Hey Cale,”
Cale stopped frowning for once and raised his eyebrow in confusion. That was until he spotted that very little thing in the crown prince´s hand. Almost immediately his eyes lit up and there was such a big smile on his face – neither Ron, Beacrox nor Alberu had seen him look like that before while the small black dragon naturally had, especially since he had been present in the secret room.
The small dragon smiled too. If his human was happy, he had no reason not to be.
“If it is money you want…Why not just tell me? Here.”
Alberu put the golden shining thing into Cale´s hand. The blazon shaped gold seemed to be shining brighter than most golden items, including the gold coins Cale and the small black dragon looted. There was a very small crest on it – the royal family Crossman´s family crest.
“It is a golden plaque – one that only the royal family can hand out. It´s worth billions of gallons and it can buy you anything you want to. So don´t go around looking for money.”
Cale didn’t nod, but Alberu took it as a yes. It was because Cale accepted the golden plaque. Looking back at it, it was a stupid decision. He should have known Cale better. But that´s a topic for another day. Right now, Alberu was just glad that Cale didn’t even say anything against the golden plaque.
“Good. Very good.”
Cale frowned but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he simply put the golden plaque with a bright smile away in his breast pocket. Now that he had even more money to begin with… Subconsciously, another big and extremely pleased smile appeared on Cale´s face. Alberu couldn’t help but shake his head.
Cookies and money – that were the two keys to Cale´s heart.
The four humans (more or less) and one dragon continued to chat with each other for some time longer, yet Cale couldn’t sit still for long.
After an extremely long discussion, Cale was allowed to take a stroll in the garden – naturally only under condition that someone was to accompany him and that someone was naturally the small black dragon. It was not only dark but also extremely cold outside, nevertheless, Cale continued walking. It was because he wanted to show something to the small dragon, who was silently flying beside him.
And after a while, Cale reached his destination. It was a vast flower field without a single flower.
The small black dragon furrowed his brows, trying to see something – anything – inside the vast garden that could almost be called a field that belonged to Cale´s dear friend the crown prince.
“Human! I don´t see anything here! Why did you want to show me this?”
Cale smiled and pointed to a few trees without any leaves. He then looked up at the small dragon once again who was now flying a tad closer to him.
“What do you see?”
The small black dragon frowned and flew a bit closer to the vast, flowerless garden. Yet, he didn’t see anything besides grass and trees which he also described to his human. Cale laughed at that and shook his head while patting the small child´s head.
“That´s also true, but what else?”
No matter how hard the small dragon looked, there was nothing else there. Hence, he looked up at his human who was looking at the field with a somewhat happy expression. The small creature did not think that Cale would play tricks on him, especially not if he had that kind of expression on his face.
“What do you see human?”
Cale smiled and looked at the small dragon once again. His black scales were reflecting the moonlight quite beautifully, yet, at the same time, his black color seemed to be getting even darker. His deep blue eyes though, they shined even brighter than the moon.
“I see flowers.”
The black dragon was confused at that and took another look at the flowerless garden. There was not a single flower there though?
Cale smiled as he patted the dragon´s head to calm him down.
“Don´t worry, there aren’t any flowers right now. But they will bloom, won´t they, Raon?”
The small black dragon stopped looking at the flowerless garden and instead turned his head to his human. He did not understand what word just came out of that redhead´s mouth and he did not know the meaning of it either. Was it perhaps some sort of flower? Or something else even? What did it mean? It sounded quite nice.
Cale smiled. Naturally, he knew about the small dragon´s confusion. There was a very simple way to resolve it though.
“Don´t you think so, Raon?”
Raon´s eyes widened as he finally understood that that one word wasn’t some flower but was a word that his human came up with for him. His eyes widened and his tail began to waggle left and right, just like the tail of a very happy puppy. Cale smiled as he thought about that comparison.
“What did you say?”
Cale´s smile got a bit more genuine as he turned his head back to look at the vast garden. He could feel how the small dragon´s paw clenched to his shoulder while shaking from excitement.
“Raon Miru, don´t you think that the flowers in this field will bloom soon?”
Raon´s paw only shook more and more until the small child finally decided to let go of his human´s shoulder. Instead, he flew right in front of the boy´s face so that the redhead couldn’t look away from him anymore.
“Human, can you say it again?”
Cale immediately did as he was told. He could understand why the small dragon was extremely excited; a name was the first meaningful gift he was given after all.
“Raon Miru.”
Raon hardly suppressed his smile and while he did his best, Cale could still see it. His fast wagging tail wasn’t of any help either as he tried to play cool.
“What does it mean, human?”
Cale shrugged. The meaning behind those two words was very simple from where he had come from.
“It means joyful dragon. It´s a word that exists for you and you only in this world.”
Cale smiled. Raon Miru – it was a pure Korean word. After a long time where Cale had been thinking of a name for the small dragon, he had simply come up with a word that had a very nice meaning as well as wasn’t in this world. It would hopefully make Raon grow up to be a happy and cheerful adult, even in times Cale wouldn’t be there with him anymore. It was something he came up with after a long while of contemplating.
As he didn’t hear an answer from Raon, Cale looked up to see the small dragon look at him with big eyes. His smile immediately vanished, replaced by a frown.
“…Don´t you like it? Should I come-“
“No!”
Almost immediately, Raon shook his head and flew closer to sit down on Cale´s shoulder.
“I…I like it. I like it very much.”
Cale nodded.
“A great and mighty dragon needs a name they like, after all.”
At that, Raon´s grip on his human´s shoulder got a bit stronger as he nodded in excitement. He had never heard Cale refer to dragons as such before, even if the redhead continuously told him just how amazing dragons truly were (to the point Alberu asked him whether he was a dragon fan as it came off that way pretty much).
“That´s right! I´m the great and mighty Raon Miru!”
Raon laughed cheerfully and finally let go of Cale´s shoulder to fly around the vast flowerless field. Now that he was looking at it, he understood what Cale had been talking about. He could see the flowers too, even if they weren't there yet. Raon looked back to see that his human was standing far away from him. He smiled, before whispering something, to make sure Cale wouldn’t ever hear him.
“Thank you, Cale.”
He then flew back, greeting his human like his usual self. Cale naturally didn’t hear the dragon´s gratitude, but he honestly didn’t need to. He already could tell from how happy Raon was as well as from his wagging tail. It put a smile on his face without him knowing.
~
A few days later, Count Deruth Henituse scoffed in disbelief. In his hands was a letter with the royal family´s family crest on it – the sender wasn’t Zed Crossman but his eldest son, Alberu Crossman.
The Count couldn’t help but be furious with its contents. Not only was the first prince saying that he had had Cale all along, he was also saying that his overreaction was unnecessary and bothersome for the nobles. Moreover, he had been informed about his son´s departure by Cale in advance it seems? And the worst of it all, it was saying that Cale wouldn’t come back until after the first prince´s eighteenth birthday banquet! Just how selfish was that first prince bastard with his son?!
Naturally, the Count wasn’t aware that the extremely disrespectful contents of the letter weren't written by the first prince, but rather by his son himself and then signed by Alberu. But it didn’t really matter since Alberu would only have put it less directly. The meaning would still be the same.
Nevertheless, Deruth didn’t know and thus thought the first prince was playing him. Since when were that bastard and his Cale friends to begin with? The Count doubted they had ever met to begin with! Wasn’t it more like the first prince kidnapped his son because Cale resembled Jour so much and hence looked cute and now that darn bastard was trying to hide his tracks?!
No matter what it was (Deruth had decided that his thoughts were the truth), Deruth had zero things he could do against the royal family´s power, no matter how displeased he- No. To hell with the royal family! The Count has decided. He wanted his firstborn son back. His wife was extremely worried about him and honestly, he had a bad feeling too.
He had realized ever since he went to visit his son that night that he had been a tad too neglectful with the boy. At first, it was just a bad feeling he couldn’t exactly categorize, but now that he had had Lily, his daughter, he could tell what that feeling was. He was worried. And he was sorry. He needed to make things right with Cale.
Waiting seven weeks for the first prince´s banquet to arrive seemed a bit too…long. Yes, he did have his wife and two other children to care for but Cale…it was his worry number one. What if the boy disliked him?
No, there was no way. Deruth was his biological father. A child that lost his mother already would forgive his father no matter what, right?
The Count hit his head against the desk in frustration. That´s wrong. Everything he had been thinking of was wrong. Cale didn’t need to forgive him and there was no guarantee he would. It´s been almost five years since Deruth had properly spoken to the child and in all honesty, even before Jour died he didn’t really try to build a connection with his son. He was just there to steal Jour´s affection away from him, but now that his wife was dead and he remarried…his eyes kind of opened to see reality.
So he had no right to expect his son to forgive him.
Deruth hit his head on the desk once more.
All the bad things he had said to Cale-
All the bad words he had used for him-
All the terrible plans he had had in mind for him.
And Deruth hit his head on the desk again. It wasn’t as effective as his wife´s slaps, but it got the job done in some way. Truly, how come it took his wife to slap him for him to realize how bad he had treated his oldest son? How come he had never realized it before? How come he lied so much about everything? How come he was such an incredibly bad father for Cale all those years?
Did he…end up losing his child just like Violan said?
Was it…too late?
Deruth shook his head, then hit it on the desk once again. The pain was nothing in comparison to all the suffering Cale must have gone through. It was all because he realized everything too late.
How often did Jour tell him that he should spend more time with his son? How often did she ask him to stop working so much and instead go and play with Cale? How often did she ask him to at least include Cale a bit more, to get to know him more?
He always just shrugged it off, not thinking he would need to do so since Jour was there either way. But she wasn’t here now, was she? She must be so incredibly disappointed in him now that he mistreated Cale for so long. Hell, he didn’t even remember how his son looks like. He only knew he looked incredibly similar to his late wife, but did he really? Did he grow out of it? Was he strong? What did he wish to be when he grew up? What were his goals?
Deruth did not know anything, not even a single detail about the boy Jour gifted him with. Violan was right. He was such a good father to Basen, yet he didn’t deserve to be called one as he wasn’t one to Cale.
And he would never be a good father. He hadn’t been there when Cale needed him most and he didn’t even let Cale come into his sight for almost five whole years. Just how bad of a father had he actually been?
As someone knocked on his door, Deruth finally broke free from his (pessimistic but true) thoughts. He looked up and quickly fixed his somewhat messy hair. Naturally he himself was responsible for it being so messy as he had slammed his head against the desk several times.
“Come in.”
Finally, he looked like his usual self, a calm Count who wanted the best for his people. It didn’t take long, then the head butler Hans entered Deruth´s office. He was a handsome fellow, who usually always had a smile on his lips, yet this time he seemed somewhat down. Either way, the Count didn’t pay much attention to his head butler´s mood and instead waited for Hans to say what he came here for.
As he didn’t say what the problem was though, Deruth decided to take matters into his own hands.
“What is it Hans?”
The head butler flinched and finally pulled something out of his vast chest pockets. It looked very much like another letter and extremely similar to the one Deruth had just opened. Upon receiving Deruth´s odd gaze, Hans flinched again. He was quite the scaredy-cat, to say the least. But it didn’t change anything about his work ethics – he worked better than most butlers and was almost on par with Ron Molan-
Thinking about that man, Deruth noticed how he didn’t come to his office in four months now. Did he just stand up and leave? Wait, four months, that was the amount of time Cale had been gone-
Did that mean that Ron Molan went with Cale?!
While that thought calmed the Count to some extent, it also angered him. While he understood that it was difficult for his son to come speak to him, how come his son trusted that man? He always had that benign smile on his lips with that vicious expression! Either way, he could think later about that, right now he needed to focus on Hans and what he wanted to say.
The head butler cleared his throat one last time before he bowed down and handed Deruth the letter with the Crossman family´s crest on it. Ah, so it was another royal letter. But this was a bit different than the other.
“My Lord, this letter has arrived just now. The sender told us to bring it you immediately. It seems like an incredibly important matter.”
Deruth´s worry immediately disappeared into air and he leaned back, putting the letter on his desk. He knew immediately who the sender was – and that he was someone he didn’t need to worry about at all.
Hans, who didn’t know anything, bowed down once again before leaving the office, thinking that the Count was troubled and not relaxed. Well, misunderstandings weren't uncommon in the Henituse family.
After Hans left, Deruth looked at the letter for a long while. It was then, that there appeared a second letter, seemingly out of nowhere. But Deruth knew better. He sighed in defeat as he leaned forward to pick it up and open it.
´Old friend, remember the favor you owe me? I´d like to cash it in now.´
The contents of the letter were expected and they made Deruth frown. Ah right, there still was this annoying bastard whom he owed a small favor. Displeased, Deruth burned the letter over his candle´s fire. He didn’t need to leave any evidence behind – or in case he indeed met his old friend he could simply try to lie his way out of things (which naturally result in him failing and his mysterious friend laughing).
Instead of thinking much about his situation (which wasn’t either bad or good, really), he simply opened the second – or first – letter he got. And he regretted it immediately.
´Invitation to the Crown Prince´s 18th Birthday Banquet.´
“Thank punk…?!”
And Deruth wasn’t the only one who was extremely surprised by that invitation that mentioned that the first prince wasn’t just the first prince but rather the crown prince now. Marquis Stan, for example, threw his whiskey glass against the wall, almost injuring one of his many servants while his eldest son seemed somewhat happy. Viscount Chetter remained neutral while Duke Orsena was furious. Especially the central nobles who were the second prince´s supporters were extremely displeased with this sudden outcome while the first prince´s somewhat hidden supporters like Duchess Gyerre (Cale still had no idea how he managed to turn her to his side) were extremely pleased.
~
Cale smirked at that moment while looking at the official crown prince getting dressed in a snow white suit with golden ornaments. Raon was sitting next to him and eating cookies. The young dragon didn’t even pay the future king of the country any mind, instead focusing on his human and the cookies Beacrox cooked.
The designer was walking around in circles, trying to make Alberu look the most handsome he possibly could. He added this and that, took it away again, then added it again before switching it with another one of the many accessories lying around.
He added the royal red cape, making Alberu appear not only majestic and like a true member of the royal family but also somewhat unapproachable – just what both the crown prince and the redhead were going for. Cale´s smile got wider, making Raon look up from the two (almost) empty cookie jars.
“Human, why are you smiling like that? Are we going to scam someone?”
Neither Cale nor Alberu replied as they looked at each other, nodding. That´s exactly the look the two of them had been going for. If Alberu would simply brush his hair back and style it so that people could see his forehead…yes, that´d make it perfect.
Cale gave his best friend a thumbs up before putting a grape into his mouth. He should have become a designer instead of getting employed by that fucking cooperation. He really had quite some talent for it. Too bad it would never be used, but oh well, a slacker life was by far more important than a job as a designer, not to forget how tiresome that would be.
The actual designer bowed down and left the room in a hurry.
“It´s perfect, isn’t it?”
Cale nodded his head.
“Your highness, I believe you´re ready.”
Alberu scoffed, but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he just turned around and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Truly, Cale had quite the good eye for all sorts of things and people. A princy smile appeared on the dear crown prince´s lips at that thought. It could fool anyone.
“Then, the scene is all set now, isn’t it.”
Once again, Cale nodded while Raon smirked too. His human had told him that something funny would happen tomorrow, and Cale had never lied, not even once.
Notes:
Hi!
Sorry I didnt update any time sooner, I just had so much on my plate these last few days. (The german exam is shit while the english exam went strangely well, so I´m having expectations there!). Anyways, now I´m free~ and while I have one last school day tomorrow, my teacher told us to bring a movie, food (snacks) and just relax since it´s Christmas (it was so hard to convince him but he knicked in at last muahahaha)
ヽ(⌐■_■)ノ♪♬Soooo, I hope the chapter was okay. I decided to have Deruth become good at last because everyone seemed very pleased with it, and since it won´t change the plotline all too much, I´m just rolling with it. It will cut out quite the few triggering scenes, but oh well, this story doesnt really match triggering scenes either way (even if I created it because of that) but oh well, i dont really care. I have too much fun writing to care about that haha ƪ(`▿´ƪ)
Also, I got back my history exam (got a B/80%/2/4) and I´m so happy since it´s so difficult to get a good grade in that subject with that kind of teacher (he´s just very strict but the class likes him and he likes us). Our math teach will drop by to give us the exam back and she said it was BAD. So... I´m getting ready to cry ;)
I´m already working on the Christmas special chap and I´m just gonna say it, it sound like a one-shot. Like hell, it does belong in the latter half of the story, but we dont care about that here. What is in there are AlbeCale sweet and fluffy times hehe.
(∩^ω^∩)Either way, I´m looking forward to Christmas very much! I don´t know if I´ll update before X-mas again (I highly doubt it sine I´ve got so many plans for the holiday so please don´t be too disappointed haha), but I can promise to update on Christmas (and not just the special chapter, I promise, I´ll give y´all a good gift).
Now, I´m gonna go read some good (low quality) manhwa (since I already read all the good stuff (ノ °益°)ノ 彡 (\ .o.)\
Well, then see y´all on Christmas at the latest! I hope the chapter was to your liking and that you have a good time waiting! Until then, stay healthy and don´t get sick. (One of my friends is sick and it really sucks to be sick, big shoutout to her so she gets healthy soon!)
(AND GET MANY PRESENTS/FOOD ON CHRISTMAS!!!)
AHHHHHHHHH AND I COMPLETELY FORGOT:
How on earth does this fic have over 1k kudos? I´ve never expected to attract such a lage audience in first place but it sure does put an extremely big smile on my face, so thank you so much for leaving kudos and/or commenting! It really makes my day!
Chapter 19: X-MAS SPECIAL CHAPTER
Summary:
Just a wholesome chapter I wrote for Christmas (it plays in the future when Cale´s 19 y/o) ;)
It´s about Christmas too ↖(^▽^)↗
Notes:
Feel free to skip this if you don´t want to spoiler yourself. It doesnt really have any big spoilers, besides relationship status and a few more (it also has a few hints I "hid").
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cale Henituse was sitting – once again – on the busy crown prince´s couch while eating one cookie after another. It was quite amusing how the young noble´s cookie addiction hadn’t changed over the years, not even after everything that had happened to him. Well, perhaps that was the reason why it hadn’t changed.
The redhead yawned and looked outside the window. It was snowing outside and probably it was freezing cold too. Luckily Alberu´s palace had been renovated a few years back so that all of its heaters worked perfectly fine. Though, even if that wouldn’t be the case, Cale still had the prince who could fire the fireplace with his magic – or Raon who could cast heating magic.
Thinking about it, Cale had a lot of allies that could be useful in this kind of situation. He had Rosalyn, who could do about anything with magic, and of course there was still Eruhaben, the ancient dragon, who didn’t want to admit that he deeply cared for his allies because of his pride as a dragon. Then there was Choi Han who could make a fire with his despair attribute aura (Cale still didn’t fully understand how that worked) and Lock who would quickly go look for some firewood and then fire the fireplace like a normal person would.
There were also a lot of other allies Cale had that he would rather not think about…ugh, now he was thinking about Toonka, Bud and Glenn. Well, Glenn wasn’t so bad, but his companion sure was, I mean, who gave a child alcohol as soon as he turned fifteen?! If Cale had played his trashy role like he had thought about at first, he would surely be Bud´s idol or something like that…Nope, not thinking about that! Or any of the other allies in that case!
Cale put another cookie in his mouth and looked at the large bed in which the three children he cared for slept. They definitely deserved this sleep after everything that happened in the past few months, and since they were children they needed sleep even more than anybody else. Children needed to grow up properly after all, and to do that, they needed sleep.
The redhead sighed as he noticed how his cookie jar was empty once again. Was it the third time by now? Or was it the fifth? Either way, he needed a refill, thus Cale exited the crown prince´s bed chambers and strolled down the vast hallways. They´ve come a very, incredibly, long way ever since he first visited here. Finally they truly looked like the walls inside the palace of a member of the royal family who had the highest of chances of becoming the king. The innocently white walls with the royal red color matched the black marble floor that was covered by an expensive red-green carpet. You could see from more than a mile away that this carpet costed more than a nobleman´s entire mansion.
It satisfied Cale very much.
After a couple minutes and a few hundred steps, Cale finally arrived at the kitchen. Immediately, he was greeted by the smell of turkey and lots of other tasty meals. Ah, that´s right; tomorrow was Christmas Eve.
Back when he was still Kim Rok Soo, he had never had the chance to celebrate Christmas. Neither when he still had been a child, nor when he had gotten older. Sure, the orphanage he had stayed at always handed out money that day and let the children eat a more expensive meal than usual, but it was nothing special. And to be honest, Kim Rok Soo had always disliked Christmas.
It wasn’t until he came here that Christmas was actually celebrated like he had always seen on TV; eating a big turkey, getting big and many presents, spending time with your close ones and all of that stuff. Still, to Cale Christmas was nothing really special. It was just another normal day with the only difference being the presents you got. It was the same as his birthday.
“Ah! Commander-nim! My greetings!”
Cale immediately frowned upon noticing that Beacrox wasn’t in the kitchen and thus no one could bring these people´s mouths to shut up. Tsk, did his personal chef have to take a break at exactly this time? Now Cale had to deal with all of these strange behaving people at once. Dammit, he told Alberu so many times that at least his servants shouldn’t call him any special titles and act casual around him!
“Do you have any more cookies?”
The simple cook´s eyes shone brightly as soon as Cale mentioned cookies and he jumped over to the counter on which another cookie jar was placed. Ah, so Beacrox must have had prepared before going on break.
“Beacrox-nim already told us that the Commander-nim might visit and he prepared this cookie jar for you!”
Cale nodded his head stoically as he took the cookie jar the overly friendly cook handed to him. He couldn’t help but feel extremely strange while taking it, especially after seeing the almost teary gaze in the man´s eyes. Cale shuddered and quickly turned around to exit the kitchen, ignoring the cries the workers sent his way. He would have to talk with Alberu about this before going back to the children.
Having decided on what he would do, Cale nodded his head and walked to the crown prince´s chambers. He ignored the maid´s teary gazes (really, they looked like the gazed of lunatics and really resembled Clopeh´s…ugh, what a scary thought) and only looked on the ground. He really didn’t want to get looked at with those kinds of expressions.
After a few minutes, Cale arrived in front of the meeting room. He was aware that Alberu was currently in there discussing a couple important topics with the nobles, topics that weren't actually important, and he was also aware that he was able to enter that room any time he wanted to. But he was also aware that if he was to enter that room, things would get really boring. But he would make Alberu happy…
Cale´s decision was quick and he opened the (extremely) heavy doors – well, at least he tried to open them, but he failed. Looking at his slightly shaking arms, Cale frowned. Ah, so it was that again. Tsk, this was so annoying. Deciding that opening the doors was a bit too much of a challenge, Cale decided to do the most reasonable thing he could, which was to say Choi Han´s name once.
And he was not disappointed as only seconds later, the vast doors were pulled open as if they weighted nothing and the extremely strong and (for the others) scary swordsmaster flashed his usual puppy like and extremely innocent smile at Cale. Choi Han´s gaze immediately wandered to the cookie jar in Cale´s hands and his smile got bigger. It was good to know that Cale was eating, even if it were cookies. His whole body looked like he didn’t eat at all, and truth to be told, the nineteen year old man had way too few chances to eat properly.
The meeting inside the meeting room stopped too with the arrival of Cale Henituse, or rather Commander Cale Henituse. While everyone was focused on the redheaded man, they didn’t get the chance to notice Alberu´s smile widen ever so slightly, or his expression getting a lot gentler. Cale, who had been looking at Alberu from the very beginning, did notice it though. A slightly amused smile appeared on his lips too.
Maybe this wasn’t that bad of a decision after all.
He didn’t greet anyone and just walked in to sit down on the empty seat right next to the crown prince. He didn’t want to stand as he was too lazy to do so today and furthermore, this meeting would be ending soon anyways. Choi Han quickly closed the door, then hurried to stand behind Cale. Even though he was publicly known to be Alberu Crossman´s swordsmanship instructor, it was also widely known that he was one of Cale´s closest friends and allies, thus no one questioned why he was standing behind the firstborn son of the Henituse County instead of the crown prince.
“Commander Cale Henituse, what a surprise to see you here. I thought you couldn’t make it?”
Cale just shrugged and ignored the words of one of the nobles whose name wasn’t worth remembering anyways. Alberu smiled his princy smile as he answered for Cale.
“Ah, but isn’t it such a nice surprise that the Commander-nim was able to make it, Viscount Tolz?”
Ah, so it was that guy who spoke so passive aggressive. Actually, he was lucky that Alberu was the one talking. If Cale didn’t feel as lazy as he did today, the Viscount would have been publicly shamed. It wasn’t because of the noble´s words, they sounded rather harmless even, but more because of his expression and strange under tone.
“Yes, yes, it is indeed a nice turn of events.”
It was Viscount Chetter who said so. Gilbert Chetter´s father truly seemed to be pleased with his son´s old friend´s appearance today. Cale didn’t react to anything and simply took out one of the cookies in his cookie jar. While it would have been extremely disrespectful if anyone else had done so, everyone (besides the few nobles who were against Cale Henituse being appointed as Commander) agreed that it was fine if it was the young noble. Furthermore, even if they did find Cale´s actions to be disrespectful, what could they do? The crown prince himself, who was sitting right next to the noble, smiled extremely brightly when looking at the nineteen year old eating the cookies. Furthermore, there was still Choi Han´s deadly glare…
“Very well, if no one has anything else to say, then let´s continue with our current topic. It´s a good thing you came, Cale, since this is about you anyways.”
Cale groaned, to which the nobles froze in their seats. Truly, only the Commander-nim could groan at the crown prince´s words and get away with it! If they would have had a chance to listen to their usual conversations, they would have fainted in shock. Though what do you expect? The two of them knew each other for a very long time and they were lovers as well.
Either way, the meeting ended rather quickly with Cale mostly eating cookies and nodding every now and then whenever Alberu looked at him, as if to tell him that he was listening – which he truly was.
After half an hour, the nobles quickly exited the vast meeting room, one quicker than the other. It was quite the funny sight for Alberu and Cale to see. After the last one exited, Alberu smiled brightly for real and leaned in to give Cale a kiss on the cheeks. The redhead still frowned, but his eyes immediately softened.
“Good morning, or rather afternoon. Did you sleep well?”
Cale nodded his head as he closed the almost empty cookie jar. Alberu smiled at that. He clearly recalled how this very cookie jar (that was supposed to last at least an hour) was almost emptied in half an hour, only leaving behind two cookies.
“If you eat so many cookies tomorrow as well, won´t you have a poor appetite for the feast?”
Cale furrowed his eyebrows, making Alberu sigh once more. Choi Han, who stood behind the couple, tried not to smile at that, yet he failed to do so, now smiling very brightly. It was something both Cale and Alberu couldn’t quite understand, thus they just ignored it.
“What I´m talking about is the Christmas Eve dinner. Don´t tell me you´ve forgotten?”
Cale rolled his eyes, reopened the cookie jar and took out another cookie. It was partly out of habit, partly because eating sweets made him calm down instead of getting annoyed.
“Even if it is Christmas Eve, it´s nothing special.”
While Alberu remained calm, since he knew everything about his boyfriend´s past and thus understood where he was coming from, Choi Han let out a surprised noise. He stared at the redhead in confusion; there was also a sad look in his eyes.
“Cale-nim, don´t you like Christmas?”
Cale frowned at that.
“What does it have to do with what I like and what I dislike? I simply think it wouldn’t be useful if we were to celebrate in a time of war.”
That´s right, it was a time of war. Ultimately, that had been the reason why Alberu didn’t take further action and didn’t propose to his boyfriend (yet) – since he knew how Cale would think about all of this. And while he agreed, since it was indeed a time of war, it was still good to celebrate Christmas, be it just a family dinner.
“But Cale-nim! It´s Christmas!”
Alberu smiled gently as he shook his head.
“Choi Han is right, don´t you want the children to have at least one happy evening? They´ve done a lot lately, so wouldn’t you agree that they deserve it?”
Cale frowned, but both his lover and guardian knight knew that they´ve had him. He would agree with the Christmas Eve dinner, even if it was just for the children. In the end, Cale simply nodded, silently agreeing with it as the two powerhouses had predicted.
“But it can´t take too long, and if young master Taylor calls-“
“That won´t be necessary since he´ll attend the dinner as well.”
Cale let out a deep sigh and closed the now completely empty cookie jar. Alberu would have to talk to Beacrox and tell him to make them even larger than now. It was a rough time, so Cale really didn’t want to waste time he didn’t even have. There was so much he had to do, like searching for the second earth attribute ancient power before the White Star could get his hands on it. And there was still the approaching war…
“Stop thinking about useless things, you already agreed and you can´t take it back now.”
Cale looked up at his now standing boyfriend. He didn’t even notice how the crown prince had gotten up – and Alberu knew it. It was quite funny how it was usually the other way around.
“That´s true, I suppose the children would love it.”
Alberu smirked. Yeah, the children would love it – if Cale was to be there, they would love anything. And while he knew it (since it was obvious), Cale did not, but it didn’t really matter. Cale´s obviousness was something that made him different from any other person.
~
Time flew by, and just like that, it was already Christmas Eve. Cale´s friends and family came from all over the continent, including the annoying ones like the Vampire Duke Fredo and the less bearable guardian knight of the north – Clopeh was smiling his crazy smile like usual, but this time it was even bigger and brighter, he was a lost cause.
Cale shuddered upon making eye contact with that lunatic´s green eyes and immediately regretted after hearing him say stupid things. Cale then proceeded to glare at Alberu, who was sitting right next to him.
“You promised me that it would be fun.”
Alberu chuckled, but it was obvious that he did not plan to invite Clopeh. It must have been someone else…
“Tsk, you´re truly an unlucky bastard.”
Cale looked up to see the ancient dragon sit down next to Hong, three seats away from him. He looked as beautiful and handsome as always with his golden hair and youthful appearance. But Cale, who had recorded the ancient dragon´s images from when he first met him, could tell that Eruhaben´s complexion had gotten paler. He also knew the reason why. He would have to meet up with Bud and go to that Wind Island the Mercenaries King had been pestering him about.
Tsk, actually, he could have done that right now instead of sitting here and waiting for the food to be served!
“Hahaha! My good friend! It´s so nice you invited me too! Muahahaha!”
Cale flinched immediately after hearing the voice, and soon after, the floor was shaking. The redhead only turned around to his boyfriend and gave him that disappointed look that said “Are you serious?” Alberu simply shook his head and pointed at the young Raon sitting next to Cale.
“Trying to shift the blame? I see how it is.”
And after, Alberu was ignored for a solid ten minutes in which not just Toonka, but also Litana and Rosalyn´s youngest brother Pen arrived. Ah, Cale remembered the undisciplined young man who required getting water poured over his head in order to listen. But nevertheless, all of these people were extremely bothersome. Didn’t Alberu say Christmas was just a fancy dinner you ate with your closest people? Why on earth were all of these strong humans here?
“My friend, all the good seats next to you are already taken! Muahahaha, I knew I should have come an hour earlier!”
´If you came an hour earlier, I would have arrived later and definitely sat down somewhere far away from you.´
Naturally, Cale did not speak his true thoughts and simply frowned. It was enough to let the people he was close to know that Toonka was talking bullshit. It went like that quite a lot, even after his conservation with Toonka ended. He had to talk with Bud, with Duke Fredo and with the crazy priestess and her best friend Taylor Stan. When he almost had to talk to Clopeh, Beacrox and his father came with the food to the rescue.
The food was tasty and a bit fancier than usual, but it wasn’t much different from usual other than that. Cale didn’t smile even once over the three hours of the dinner, which naturally didn’t go unnoticed by his closest allies. It was obvious that this dinner was not to his liking – contrary to what they had expected. But the children were happy, which was the most important (to Cale at least).
“Well, don´t mind us, since I´m tired, I´m gonna take my love and retire for the night.”
It was Alberu who ended up excusing himself and Cale from the overly fancy dinner and since most people could only see Cale´s pale complexion (which was the same as when he was still a kid), they didn’t ask any questions. The children remained seated on the table too, clearly they were having very much fun and didn’t mind their guardians leaving as much as usual.
And as soon as the couple exited the grand hall, Cale sighed in relief. Alberu smiled, seeing as how Cale began to relax again. The two of them walked to the crown prince´s chambers in a comfortable silence and as soon as they got there, the twenty four year old took off his disguising necklace, his hair and skin immediately turning to a soft chocolate brown. In the meantime, the redhead lied down on the fancy bed which the children had had occupied the past few days.
“Was it so bad?”
At that sudden (or not so sudden) question, Cale simply shrugged. He didn’t have many expectations for this evening, especially with it being nothing really special in the past. Sure, Alberu always tried to make it something special, but especially at times like these, Cale needed to get his priorities straight.
“Well, the food wasn’t bad.”
Alberu furrowed his brows, then took off his formal outfit and changed into something more comfortable.
“Is that all?”
“…And the children had fun?”
Alberu´s disbelieving look made Cale continue to look for the things he liked, which were extremely few, considering it was supposed to be something special. In the end, Alberu just sighed and lied down, putting his head on his boyfriend´s lap, as the younger had sat up.
“You know, it was supposed to be something special you would look forward to each year.”
Cale, for the first time that evening, let out a genuinely amused laugh and smiled. It was the expression Alberu had hoped for all evening.
“Hey Alberu, you don´t have to make something so grand. I believe I already told you that last year, and the year before.”
Alberu pouted at that, enjoying how Cale´s slim fingers were going through his hair. Ah, it had been a long time since he had felt this relaxed before.
“Still…”
Cale shook his head at that and placed a soft kiss at Alberu´s forehead, knowing the crown prince would love that gentle sign of attention.
“It was better than last year, I suppose – if you ignore Toonka´s constant laughter and him challenging Choi Han.”
Alberu chuckled at that. He recalled how the Whipper Kingdom´s strongest warrior had been shouting all kinds of things towards the strong people sitting on the table, challenging them (while eating food and also with his mouth filled with turkey).
“Yeah, last year was chaos pure.”
Cale froze in spot and glared at Alberu as he nodded.
“At least you know that.”
The crown prince shrugged it off, closing his eyes.
Last year, Alberu wanted Cale to enjoy Christmas as well, and thus decided to have a romantic dinner, just the two of them. He asked the ancient dragon to babysit the children (he naturally used other words) and made sure that Beacrox would leave the palace´s kitchen to him (it had taken a lot of convincing and promises not to burn it down).
In the end, Alberu had tried to cook for Cale and while he wasn’t such a bad cook usually, he had forgotten about the turkey at one point (naturally all of his attention was on Cale and the young noble´s lips) and it caused a fire to erupt in the kitchen. Needless to say that the head chef would never entrust his kitchen to the crown prince – or anyone else in that case – again.
“Hey, now that I think about it, it wasn’t that bad.”
Cale sighed. It was hard, but he had to agree with that. Before the fire, the two of them had had a rather fun and romantic time. It was quite nice for a change to be able to kiss each other without hearing disgusted or cheering comments from the children, or without being seen by Ron or Choi Han.
Now that the redhead was thinking about it…
Alberu was quicker this time, sitting up and pushing his boyfriend down. Without any words, he leaned in and started to kiss Cale passionately. It was a long kiss that the two of them shared, and it certainly wasn’t the last for this evening. After all, when else would the two of them get privacy like this again?
They needed to make use of this, as much as possible.
With their lips pressed against each other, Alberu leaned in more and more, pressing their bodies against each other too. One of his hands pinned his boyfriend down, while the other wandered to Cale´s red hair. It was just about to get even spicier when…
“Human!”
“Not that mouth eating again!”
“We´re still here.”
…the three children arrived.
Slowly, Alberu stopped kissing Cale and disconnected their lips. He then, extremely slowly, pushed himself up and stopped pinning down Cale. With a groan, he rolled to the side, he didn’t fail to see Cale´s amused smile, even though the redhead was panting and blushing too. Well, he took it as a half-win.
“Human! Don´t do that when we´re here!”
“It´s disgusting, nya!”
Raon and Hong quickly jumped up on the bed while On shook her head and lay down on the couch instead. Her two younger brothers surely couldn’t read the room well.
And while Alberu obviously disliked the current situation (as he would have loved to continue his kissing session with his beloved boyfriend), it was to Cale´s amusement.
Well, perhaps Christmas wasn’t something too bad after all.
Perhaps it was a day that would end up in the two of them kissing, and Cale was all for it.
A slight smile appeared on the young noble´s face as he turned to look at his boyfriend, who still had that disappointed expression on his face. Ignoring the children´s complains, the redhead leaned in and placed one last kiss on the crown prince´s cheeks, knowing it would lift the man´s mood immediately – which it did without fail.
“Human!”
“Cale, nya!”
“It was pretty fun, to be honest. Today, I mean.”
Alberu´s slight smile got a bit wider after hearing that sentence.
Yeah, that´s right; while today´s dinner might have been very awkward, the after it was very fun. Perhaps the crown prince could surprise his dear boyfriend with something even more special tomorrow.
And while the couple had their own somewhat nsfw thoughts, the two youngest boys were making disgusted expressions. On was the only one who shook her head, kind of understanding the situation.
And just like that, Christmas turned into something the young Commander would look forward to each and every single year to come.
Notes:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Ik, Ik, it´s a bit too early to say so, but someplace else it´s already the 25th and since I wanted to surprise y´all, I decided to upload it already! This is the big, suprising, Christmas-special chapter that I prepared for all of you. I didnt really give it much thought and didnt spoiler anything important, so I really hope you like it. I never wrote something like that before, so I also really hope that it didnt go wrong!
At first, I wanted it to go in a different direction (with a bit more spoilers and angst), but then the Christmas spirit came over me and I decided to write something wholesome. I´m really uncertain about the kissing scene since I´m not in the least bit experienced in that field.
(Literally, when I had to describe it I was like...HOW DO I DESCRIBE IT? HOW? HOW? AH! they kissed....PASSIONTELY!Well, we dont talk about that here! ( ＾◡＾)っ✂❤
Anyways, I wish all of you a very happy Christmas! May all of you get what you wished for, have a romantic, or family-friendly celebration (or one where you just sit by yourself and watch Netflix/read ff on ao3 while eating pizza)!
I hope you get what you wished for, and I also hoped this chapter was for your liking!(I really tried my best!)
Then, I will now upload the two suprise chaps that I wrote for y´all since I had (very little actually) time on my hands!
(˘▼˘>ԅ( ˘⌣ƪ)
Chapter 20: 18. Dongsaeng, you- haaa (2)
Summary:
The crown prince´s birthday banquet goes (kinda) wrong ಠﭛಠ
Notes:
No trigger warning, really, just a brief warning for the last three paragraphs or so, since it may be a bit extreme for some people (but hopefully not enough to trigger anyone, if so, please tell me and I´ll mark it as triggering content immediately!)
(ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was a very similar experience as walking down the aisle, and then being entrusted to your partner by your father, Cale noted. While he had zero dating experience, he had watched enough movies – all thanks to Choi Jung Soo – that he had a rough idea of how everything happened at a wedding; not that this was a wedding.
But it sure felt like one, by the way all of the nobles downstairs were staring at him as he walked down the stairs next to the crown prince himself. The two of them wore a heavy contrast to each other; one was clothed in white clothes while the other was wearing black clothes only.
And all in all, they seemed like complete opposites. The one was small and seemed extremely fragile while the other was two (and a half) heads taller and made the impression of having a robust body. Furthermore, one of the two was smiling while the other had an unimpressed scowl on his face, almost as if he didn’t want to be here to begin with. Nevertheless, both seemed perfectly in sync with each other, almost as if they knew each other for a very long time.
The nobles soon recognized the strange boy walking next to their prestigious crown prince as Cale Henituse, the “runaway boy from home”. He was sticking to their kingdom´s moon like glue and most of them, mostly the supporters of the second prince, found it annoying, to say the least.
Nevertheless, the countless gazes didn’t change anything and if anything, they caused Cale to stick closer to the crown prince. Naturally, it was the other way around, but nobles saw whatever they wanted to see.
The small redhead let out a deep sigh, trying to spot at least one face he was familiar with besides Marquis Stan´s. It didn’t take long that he found the northeastern nobles – Amiru Urbarr, Gilbert Chetter and not to forget Eric Wheelsman. The three of them were standing in a pretty hidden corner that was able to protect them from most gazes, naturally not from Cale´s. All of them had gotten a lot taller and larger, and not just two heads like Cale but like a whole lot taller. The redhead clearly remembered how they looked five years ago.
Eric´s grey hair was as short as ever, no, perhaps it was even shorter this time, and his grey eyes were hidden behind round glasses with a thin golden frame. He was almost as tall as Alberu now. Lady Amiru has gotten incredibly tall as well. She was at least half a head taller than Cale, yet also a lot more beautiful. Her green hair looked the best worn open and her cunning blue eyes were emphasized by her natural make up look.
Gilbert Chetter had gotten a lot taller too, he wasn’t as tall as Alberu, but taller than Eric (truly, the dear crown prince did have long legs). He didn’t change too much and looked the same as five years ago, just a bit taller and more masculine.
Cale smiled. It seems that all of them had grown up nicely. He then nodded to himself, immediately gaining the attention of the two people watching him at all times.
-Human! Did something good happen?
“Cale, do you want some cake?”
Ah, well, that´s the problem if people practically studied all sorts of expressions you can make. Nevertheless, Cale nodded his head to answer Raon´s question and said yes to Alberu´s cake suggestion. Honestly, who on earth could possibly say no to cake?
It didn’t take long, then Cale was handed a vast piece of Alberu´s birthday cake that wasn’t supposed to get cut just yet. He didn’t complain and Alberu didn’t care so everything was fine. The only one suffering was the Queen, complaining to the king as for the program had changed and the party was near chaos now. Naturally, he didn’t really listen to her and instead watched his oldest, even if it didn’t seem like it.
It was a funny thing to watch. Cale had never really understood those TV shows about embarrassing other people for one´s own amusement since they always failed to put a smile on his lips, but now he kind of got it. Seeing the queen´s face turn red out of anger was probably the highlight of this little banquet.
Since this whole thing wasn’t a banquet for nothing, it didn’t take long for the supporters of both the second and third princes to gather around Alberu and start talking to him. It was extremely boring and tiring and kind of annoying as well. It was obvious that they were desperate since the rope they had been holding was cut off – for now that is. Some nobles opposed the king´s decision and while they couldn’t openly show it, their remarks alone were enough.
The aristocrats weren´t dumb, not at all, and thus they understood that they couldn’t disrespect the new crown prince in front of him himself, which was why they instead turned to the literal child standing next to him and eating cake that was getting smaller faster than he ate it.
“What a lovely child you have by your side, your highness. It is true that two birds of the same feather flock together, hahaha.”
Viscount Heller laughed loudly as he patted the crown prince´s shoulder. The first prince´s smile didn’t falter even once during this conversation, even if he was incredibly annoyed with the Viscount and wouldn’t like to do anything else other than punch that man in the face; after all he knew exactly that Viscount Heller didn’t mean that in a nice way.
“The runaway boy from home”, that was Cale´s title the day the noble society realized he went to the crown prince without telling his family. His reasons for doing so were unimportant. Nobles only looked at the thing from their narrow perspective, not questioning anything even once.
“That´s right, Viscount Heller, that must be the reason you´ve been spending most of the time with Marquis Stan´s second young master.”
The Viscount´s face twitched and since he wasn’t good at controlling poker faces, one could easily tell that he was angry with the crown prince´s words that the eighteen year old had said with that princy and innocent smile on his face. Venion Stan, the second young master of the Stan March was known for his fierce character and somewhat unstable personality. While the man behaved normal around nobles of higher class, everyone below the Marquis class knew that he was twisted. It was then that the Viscount remembered something Duke Orsena had said to him a while ago.
“Your highness must know me better than I do myself, hahaha. Either way, the king must pity you so much for him to assign your highness as the crown prince now. After all, he will revoke that title as soon as the second prince will come of age and-“
Splash.
“Ups.”
Viscount Heller looked down on his expensive shirt which now had a big cake stain on it. The one responsible for that very stain just looked up at him with a stoic expression, one that didn’t show any signs of him being actually sorry – or of this being an accident – as which it was portrayed.
It wasn’t an accident, to tell the truth. Cale just had enough of that loud mouth´s voice, thus decided to sacrifice his last piece of the cake he had to shut him up. Honestly, he could only take that much, and if that bastard started to insult Alberu, even if it wasn’t direct; it was annoying and reminded Cale of all those annoying bootlicker of his past life.
There was the general manager, who always thought of himself as the biggest boss but still bowed his head to Kim Rok Soo, even if it was just for show. It annoyed Kim Rok Soo every single day, especially since he knew that very general manager was the one responsible for most rumors surrounding him.
While Cale was aware that he didn’t have to do something this petty, he had no reason not to. And Alberu was clearly amused, so it wasn’t for nothing after all.
“You brat, you-“
Viscount Heller could not continue what he was saying. It wasn’t because the crown prince was giving him a dangerous glare through his not smiling eyes, but because of the man standing behind the crown prince, hidden in the corner´s shadow. It was an old man, if he saw correctly. He was sharpening his dagger while looking at him – it was horrifying to look at that old man!
And the old man, who was naturally Ron, wasn’t the only one staring at the Viscount. Soon enough, two men approached the Viscount, Count´s son and crown prince. One had a bulky body and wore fat, black glasses that failed to hide his cunning, purple eyes. He had tan skin and long, black hair that was partly tied up in a lose ponytail. Next to him, there was a tall man with unusually golden eyes and cupper hair that was between Cale´s crimson red and Hans´ casual orange-brown.
The two of them were strangers none of the nobles here had ever seen before, and thus they frowned upon making eye contact with them. Nevertheless, everyone was aware that these two people were special people.
-Human! I´m back! Sorry I didn’t tell you I left! But I brought the stupid Mercenaries King and the smart Glenn!
The ends of Cale´s to a line pressed lips wandered up, even if it was just a little bit. He slightly nodded his head as if to respond to the invisible Raon. The young dragon was currently smiling a very bright smile as he circled around his human and then sat down on his frail shoulder.
-Human! Why does that bad guy have your cake on his shirt? Did he steal it?
Cale shook his head, even if it was only slightly noticeable, no one dared question him about it, thinking it was just a normal kid doing normal things.
“Tsk, who are these people? Did your highness order bodyguards or something?”
Viscount´s Heller kind attitude was now completely gone, instead replaced by his true feelings and emotions. Alberu wanted to laugh at that, but ended up just scoffing. It was nothing strange as he too was smiling constantly while he wanted to so nothing more than to do something, anything, else.
But he couldn’t, so he widened his smile.
“Ah that? Those are the two people I met during my trial to become the crown prince. The Viscount didn’t think I did nothing to deserve this position, did he?”
Alberu´s words were smart and his voice was sly and cunning. He knew exactly what he was doing, even before he met that eyesore of a Viscount. It seemed the Viscount still didn’t get his place as he continued to bark like a dog and question the two newcomer´s identities. In the end, he wished he hadn’t done so.
“Those two are the Mercenaries King from the Eastern Continent and his close friend. They are my subordinates.”
Both Bud and Glenn nodded their heads, even if Alberu´s words didn’t do them any justice. They weren't actually his subordinates and only were here since they had to fulfill their part of the deal. After all, everyone needed to realize that Alberu wasn’t a stupid prince but someone with power.
As expected – or rather as Cale had predicted – the noble´s immediately heard. Thus, it didn’t take much time for Alberu and Cale to be swarmed by them. It was then that Cale finally managed to sneak away from Alberu. After all, he had fulfilled his role (kinda).
Instead, Cale went back to the sweets and candy buffet and put many different cakes on his small plate. After, he exited the ball hall to the balcony where he hid himself behind the curtains. Finally, Raon could reveal himself – which had been Cale´s plan from the beginning.
“Human! Is going to banquets always this stupid? Everyone is so strange!”
Cale smirked as he put some cake into the small dragon´s mouth. He shrugged and looked back through the small window. Alberu was still swarmed by nobles while the ones opposing him had gathered together – which was also something Cale had predicted. The banquet, after all, was only part one of the plan.
“It is. But we´ll see if this will continue in the future too.”
Raon smirked and nodded his head. He recalled exactly what Cale had told him before coming to this banquet. While it was a banquet on the surface, it was an event that was a puppet play controlled by many puppet masters. And if you didn’t want to be a puppet that is controlled, you had to act as a puppet master. And who would be a better fit for that role than Cale? The redhead smirked as he observed a man clothed in all black walk out of the palace and talk to one of the royal guards.
“Bingo.”
Raon looked up from the cake plate and sat down on Cale´s shoulder. Because he had black scales, he didn’t need to turn invisible again.
“Is that that person you told the cookie prince about?”
Cale shook his head.
“He is not. But with a bit of luck, he will lead us to him.”
Raon nodded, as if he understood immediately. He then turned invisible and went to inform Ron and also Alberu, though the crown prince couldn’t do much besides acting normal. It was time to stop pretending to be puppets and move some strings.
Upon receiving Raon´s message, Ron slowly disappeared from the corner he had been standing in. Nevertheless, Viscount Heller wasn’t off the hook just yet.
~
A few days before the crown prince´s eighteenth birthday, Cale was lazing around in the soon to be adult´s heavenly bed. Alberu rolled his eyes upon seeing how the thirteen year old kid rolled around like some sort of worm without arms and legs. He would have had made fun of the redhead, yet this was the only thing he had been seeing in the past week and thus, it wasn’t as funny as before.
“Tsk, what are you doing?”
Without stopping his rolling around, Cale responded with a straight face, as if it was the most normal thing to do.
“I´m living my slacker life.”
Alberu would have bashed his head against his desk if there weren't these important papers he needed to sign for his supporters.
Currently, Ron and Raon were out, looking for a couple of things Cale told them to. It was strange how the redhead still didn’t disclose what they were for.
“Stop it, it can´t be that you´re being in bed all day.”
Cale then finally stopped his rolling around and sat up. His messy hair and somewhat confused and clueless look made him look very much like the child he actually was, but those calm yet cold eyes – it was as if he was omniscient. Alberu, as always, ignored it. Cale had gone through a lot, so he didn’t find it that suspicious. After all, everyone had their little secrets.
“Why not? I´m not disturbing anyone.”
Alberu rolled his eyes and got up. He sat down next to Cale on what had once been his bed.
“Now you´d be disturbing me if you rolled around.”
Cale scoffed at that and lay down again, yet he didn’t roll around in bed. The crown prince sighed as he watched Cale´s unmoving body. This young boy, he truly was a lazy slacker doing nothing but eat and sleep all day.
“Hey Cale, don´t you think it´s time to tell your hyung what you´re planning to do? It´s my birthday, after all?”
Cale only shrugged and didn’t even open his eyes. It was enough of a gesture for Alberu to understand that this best friend of his didn’t plan to reveal anything to him. It annoyed him partly, but at the same time he was worried. While he trusted Cale blindly – his plans were prefect, almost as if this little kid knew everything and didn’t miss even a tiny detail – he didn’t trust Cale with his plans by himself. What if he injured himself again and ended up in a coma once again?
“Stop staring at me like that, I won´t tell you either way.”
Alberu crossed his arms. He was thinking of ways to loosen his friend´s tongue, and in the end, he actually had one!
“Hey Cale~ If you tell this nice hyung of yours, I´ll give you the first and best piece of my birthday cake.”
At that, one of Cale´s eyes opened. He was staring at Alberu in suspicion, but in the end let out a loud sigh and sat up.
“It´s something that doesn’t revolve around you, hyung.”
Alberu shrugged as if he didn’t care, but truth to be told, he felt a little hurt. Was he that unreliable? Or was he excluded because it was his birthday? As if Cale could read Alberu´s thoughts, he sighed and shook his head.
“There isn’t a petty reason behind it, it´s just that you´re the best distraction there is. Since I plan to do this on your birthday…”
While Alberu was still somewhat displeased, he immediately understood where this little redhead was coming from. Thus, he nodded and waited for his best (and only) friend to continue. Cale sighed.
“Hyung, do you know about Duchess Gyerre, or rather about her territory?”
Alberu frowned, but told Cale anything – important or not – what he knew about the Duchess who guarded their southern borders. It was quite amazing how the crown prince memorized it all. But even that was not enough.
“But do you know about the Black Society there?”
Alberu frowned. Black Society, he had never heard of something like that. And honestly, he couldn’t have heard of it just yet. Even Cale didn’t know of it until recently where he decided to skim through all of his records of ´The Birth of a Hero´. There, he had found something very odd that was mentioned in quite a few sentences.
The Black Society wasn’t mentioned after that, since it was almost the end of the fifth novel where he had read this line. Nevertheless, this was enough for Cale to know what kind of organization this Black Society was.
“What is that? Sounds like a cult or something.”
Cale shook his head.
“It´s not a cult – it´s something worse than a cult.”
Alberu frowned. There were a lot of things that were worse than a cult. What was Cale getting at?
Seeing how clueless Alberu was after all, given that he wasn’t a full adult just yet and didn’t see too much in his childhood due to Cale, it was a natural answer. The redhead sighed as he pointed at himself.
“It´s a human trafficking organization.”
For some reason, Cale recalled that line. It was because Alberu´s reaction was unusually extreme. He didn’t just frown, no, his whole expression fell apart. It made him seem as if he had seen a ghost or something. He looked horrified.
“Hyung?”
Nevertheless, Cale remained calm. He was not someone who would lose his composure over something like this. Back when he was still Kim Rok Soo, human trafficking wasn’t something uncommon. One would get used to it one way or another.
Still, that didn’t make Cale indifferent to it. It was the contrary. He was furious, but he knew how to handle it.
“…Human trafficking you say? Are you sure?”
Usually, Alberu didn’t question Cale, but it sounded incredibly absurd, especially since it was the Gyerre territory at that! It was the one territory that didn’t have any trouble at all!
“Yes. You have to trust me on this one, hyung. It won´t start just yet, but on your birthday, so I´ll have to bust it then.”
Alberu´s expression got a bit paler. It was to that extend, that Cale started to worry about the crown prince.
“Hyung?”
To his surprise though, the seventeen year old simply shook his head.
“I´m fine, I´m very fine – what do you plan on doing?”
While Cale was still skeptical, he wasn’t one to contradict his best friend. As such, he continued to explain what he had in mind.
“You still remember the plan for your birthday hyung, right?”
Alberu nodded his head, recalling Cale´s precise words.
“Yeah, you want the two of us to walk around, attract attention and wait for one of my haters to come and approach us to question my position. Then you want the Mercenaries King to appear.”
Cale nodded his head. He was glad that Alberu understood him so well.
“Yeah, right after that, I´m gonna go with Ron and Raon. Since your position will be publicly recognized, you have to extend your influence, but you can do that without me and with Bud now.”
Alberu nodded. This was nothing really new, besides the fact that Cale wanted to go away. And as if the redhead could tell what his best friend was thinking, Cale sighed.
“We´ll take care of this Black Society, do don´t worry. I also won´t get hurt. I don´t even know what happened last time.”
Alberu believed Cale, so he didn’t even question him. Instead, he just sat there and waited for the thirteen year old to continue since both knew Cale want ready just yet.
“…What?”
Alberu scoffed at that, but a gentle smile appeared on his lips nevertheless. He fell back and watched Cale´s envious expression that wasn’t truly envious.
“That´s not it. Tell me more, for example, how do you know all of that stuff if even I didn’t know?”
Cale shrugged, then he thought about something for a long while. Alberu immediately noticed and thus stayed silent. It didn’t take too long, then Cale turned back to Alberu and smirked.
“I promise, one day I´ll tell you, okay?”
Alberu nodded. It was fine with him. And if Cale said he would tell him one day, he would definitely tell him one day, and to Alberu it didn’t really matter when that one day would be. It was because he had his own secret that he would tell this small redhead one day.
“Fine, then tell me one day. For now, tell me what exactly you want to do. And not like last time, where you try to sneak away and loot money.”
Cale frowned at that, not understanding what was wrong with looting the bad guy´s money. Sure, it was truly unfortunate that he fell through the ceiling and somehow ended up in a month long coma, but he got billions of gallons in return. It was worth it for him.
“Not much actually. I´ll just let myself be kidnapped and-“
“No way!”
At that, Alberu got up from his comfortable position. He shook his head really fast, so fast that Cale would have worried that it would fly away if it weren't grown.
“What do-“
“What do I mean?! You dare question that, Cale Henituse?! You do a lot of dumb shit like looting money and then falling through the ceiling, but that wasn’t intentional at all! And now you want to get kidnapped?! Are you sane?! Wait, wait, wait, there´s no way that scary butler of yours agreed to this!”
Cale frowned as he honestly didn’t understand Alberu´s problem here. He was so clueless – it was so stupid!
“Why are you like this? It´s nothing major – and before you start to complain again, listen to me, okay?”
While Alberu was (obviously) not okay with it, he did as he was told and listened to Cale´s explanation.
“I will get kidnapped, but Raon will be with me at all times, and no one is stronger than a dragon, right? Furthermore, since it´s human trafficking, there will be some sort of auction – that´s where Ron will be waiting. We will record a couple scenes to bust the Black Society, then destroy it ourselves and rescue the people. Not bad, right? And it´s safe since-“
“Since Raon is with you at all times, I got it. Still, I don’t like it.”
Cale shrugged and let out a deep breath. It wasn’t like he wanted to play slave as well, it´s just that he didn’t have another choice. He was a child, and the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ stated that only the children who were out alone at nighttime got kidnapped. Even if Alberu wanted to, he couldn’t participate. Furthermore…
“You´re not only a distraction, hyung. I know I said so before, but I strongly believe one of the nobles is helping the Black Society. Without the help of a high ranking aristocrat it would have been impossible.”
Alberu didn’t question Cale and simply nodded, understanding what his task was.
“Right, if there´s truly someone behind it, it would be a noble, and since it´s my eighteenth birthday, all nobles are forced to attend. If they´re a noble, they would want to stay in contact with the Black Society you told me about, and if so, they would immediately notice if something´s wrong…hm, that´s as smart as always, Cale.”
The redhead nodded his head.
“So hyung, let´s play into that puppet master’s hands for now and then destroy not only his puppets but also his strings.”
Alberu laughed at that metaphor. But he immediately saw where Cale was coming from. Naturally, both Ron and the young Raon had been informed of this plan in advance, but Alberu didn’t have to know, now did he?
“Alright, there are a couple people that behave a bit suspicious in the royal palace too. Perhaps it´s not just a noble, but a member of the imperial family – if that´s of any help to you.”
Cale smirked as he nodded his head. Naturally it would come in handy in the future, but Cale already knew that the moment he received this information. With that, his stage was finally set, and he could go back to slacking off again. This time, Alberu didn’t disturb him from rolling around in bed, like a sushi roll.
~
Alberu smiled his bright and cheerful princy smile at the other nobles. While he seemed calm on the outside, he was anything but calm. He felt anxious and worried and nervous and anything one could possibly imagine. He was thinking about the worst that could happen to Cale while conversing with his supporters or haters, his perfect façade didn’t even falter once.
What if Cale´s plan went wrong? While he didn’t believe that would happen, there was always such a possibility, no matter whose plan it was. And what if Cale´s plan did work out, but the child found some money and wanted to loot it?! Sure, Alberu gave him a golden plaque but Cale´s expression when receiving it was way too good! He was crazy for gold and riches!! What if that truly happed?! If it was a human trafficking organization, they would have lots of money, no? What if Cale got distracted by the money?
Or even worse, what if Cale got sold off to some fishy person? What if his disguise as an innocent child got boasted and his identity revealed? What if something went wrong or-
“Your highness, is everything alright? You seem awfully pale.”
“Ah, hahaha, I´m so sorry, what were you saying, Baroness Urbarr?”
Baroness Urbarr frowned as she handed the crown prince her cup of juice. Naturally, it looked like the wine being served, but there was no way Baroness Urbarr would drink at a royal event such as this, especially since there was no need to be stressed (or rather because her daughter Amiru showed interest in alcohol and she, as her mother, did her best to show that alcohol was useless).
“Here, it´s grape juice your highness. Please drink it. Is something on your highness´s mind?”
Alberu smiled his princy smile again. Tsk, all his anxious thoughts remained, but he felt a lot easier than before after conversing with Baroness Urbarr. While she had remained neutral for a very long time, actually, the whole Urbarr Family usually remained neutral, this woman here declared her support for him almost two years ago at his coming of age ceremony. It was a surprising turn of event, especially since after her Viscount Chetter and Count Wheelsman did the same thing. Well, I guess the northeastern nobles held together. Only Count Deruth remained neutral, but in all honesty, Alberu didn’t want to be supported by that scumbag.
“Well, whatever it is, your highness must not let it get to him. What could be so important to ruin his highness´s grand day?”
What could be so important?!
She honestly asked?
Cale smirked as he flipped the bucket of dirt over his head, now completely looking like a child of the streets. Ron frowned at that sight, but didn’t say anything, then watched how Cale walked in the open but empty street up to a single, very suspicious man who, after looking around, knocked him out and threw him over his shoulder.
THAT was important enough for Alberu to care for!
Notes:
Hi!
So, I wanted to surprise y´all with this chapter in addition to the X-mas special. I don´t know why, but I really love like literally the entire chapter (I think it´s my best one by far out of every single chapter I´ve ever written for any fic I´ve ever started! I dont really know why I think so, but I trust my feelings. Like please, I loved the ending! When I wrote it and realized what I wrote I chuckled like a crazy maniac over this!
Like pls, this was so Cale-like (hopefully not only I think that way haha)!
(o￣∇￣)=◯)`ν゜)･Anyways, I wrote this chapter a couple days ago, and when I was doing so, I was also baking a cake for Christmas (since I ain´t good at cooking anything else other than cakes, I´m being honest here, my cookies always taste over sugared and unlike cookies. And they´re always burnt when I take them out of the oven...) Either way! I then went to my computer (with my sticky fucking fingers) and started to write. MY POOR BABY KEYBOARD WAS SO DIRTY BECAUSE OF THAT AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON MY PHONE SCREEN I DIDNT FUCKING NOTICE THAT THERE WAS CAKE-DOUGH ON MY FUCKING FINGERS WAAAAAAH!
WHY DO THINGS LIKE THAT ONLY HAPPEN TO ME???? WAHHHHHHHH!
BUT I got it all off (after almost crying because I didnt notice) and there was no permanent damage from the water I accidentally used since my brain turned off the very moment I realized. Also, none of my data got thankfully lost, so I guess all´s good).
（●´∀｀）ノ♡Then, that´s it again from me!
Hope (as always) that you liked this chapter haha.
Chapter 21: 19. Dongsaeng, you- haaa (3)
Summary:
Ron, Cale and Raon vs Black Society as well as the crown prince being shocked in the end (he´s not the only one though)
(ʃƪ˘ﻬ˘)
Notes:
Trigger warning since the chapter mentions killing, death, human trafficking and could hint abuseful behavior. Since it´s apprearing and then disappearing before reappearing somewhere, please read with caution!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Bam.
Ron put the dead man about his size down carefully, hiding his lifeless body behind a few trash cans and bags. He then proceeded to take out all of the man´s belongings as well as his clothes. Luckily, he had had not only his ID with him, but also the important information for the special event tonight, since he was one of the countless middlemen Ron had been hunting down the last two hours, ever since his precious, puppy like young master-nim let himself be kidnapped.
People could say, what could happen, it was only two hours, but truth to be told, a lot of things could happen! For example, Cale getting beaten, or him getting abused – or something even worse! Sure, Raon was there with him, but Ron knew better than anyone else that Cale was not someone who would let the small dragon see awful things. The young boy probably had another plan in mind, a way to get the young Raon out of this mess he was in.
The young redhead was way too smart for his own good – literally. That was exactly why this old man hurried so much to get the things done Cale told him to and then get to the auction in time. He had just found out the location of it, after all. It looked like this middle man was a bit higher up in the ranks.
Ron scoffed as he put a garbage bag on top of the man who was about his age, probably a bit older. It was a perfect disguise. The former assassin put on the black mask that covered his entire face, then followed the map to a run down and small shank. Still, the old man knew better than to think this place was the wrong one.
Illegal organizations were always underground, after all.
And just like the former assassin thought, two bulky men soon stopped him from entering.
“ID.”
Ron silently handed them the ID of the middle man he just stole. Both of bulky men raised their eyebrows, then looked down at him. Don’t get him wrong, Ron wasn’t small and rather tall, yet these two men were very similar to walls.
“You´re sir Golosai? Alexander Golosai?”
The two men didn’t seem to believe him, and thus Ron decided to behave extremely arrogant and snobbish – since that was what the dead man had been like after encountering the old assassin.
“Don´t believe me, ah? Isn´t my ID enough proof? You dare question me?”
Almost immediately, the two men raised their arms and apologized, almost going on their knees at that.
“Our mistake can´t be forgiven, sir. It´s just that these last two hours, our people didn’t come and we suspect some rats are going around, trying to come in.”
Ron nodded in understanding, thankful that the mask hid his whole face since he had a very disgusted expression on his face sight now. Human traffickers weren't humans – nor could they be described as criminals. They were the worst of the worst, scumbags that were not humans and rather something akin to shit.
“But we´ll handle it, sir Golosai!”
“Yes, we will! Trust us!”
Ron simply nodded once again, then entered the rundown shank and went down the stairs. Alexander Golosai, he had met the worst death imaginable after encountering Ron, that damn scumbag deserved it. Participating or even helping someone who sold humans as if they were objects – someone like that was utter trash.
Either way, the old man shook his head to stop thinking about it. He had more important matters to attend to – like preventing Cale to get sold or even worse things to happen to him.
The old man furrowed his brows and finally activated the recording device inside his pocket. While it only recorded sounds, he also had one to record the setting. He then proceeded to act like he was one of the many customers and sat down in one of the VIP back seats, specially reserved for accomplices of the Black Society.
Ron looked over the many masked faces. While doing so, he noticed that all kinds of people were here, young and old, men and women. He even thought that he spotted a young child, yet it turned out to be a small man. But what was the most intriguing thing, was that the seats were full. Some people were also standing, waiting for the human auction to start. It disgusted the old man. How come so many people were here? They didn’t need slaves, hell, no one needed slaves!
The crowd was loud, everyone waited for the event to start; for exemplars to be shown, for money to be spend and for slaves to be acquired. It wasn’t long, then the doors to this underground hall were closed and all lights were turned off. The crowd calmed down and instead looked at the stage that had been hidden by the red curtains before. The only light was now shining down there.
And soon enough, the red curtains opened, revealing a wooden stage with a smiling man on it. He looked extremely unusual and wore, contrary to everyone at the auction, a white mask that only covered his eyes and nose. He had reddish-brown eyes that seemed to be piercing through Ron. The old man felt reminded of his puppy like young master-nim, for some odd reason. The man looked, besides the very similar eye color, nothing like Cale. He had raven black hair and a good built. He was also quite tall. While Ron couldn’t tell exactly because of the mask, he seemed to be handsome as well.
The masked man had a bright smile on his face. He wore a plain brown cape and casual clothes, but he had a very noble touch to him.
“Welcome!”
He spoke very loudly without a megaphone or microphone. He widened his arms as if to start a show and not a human auction – which would also match his awfully cheery mood. But then again, because this was a human auction, he must have been ecstatic. No normal human would go to a human auction, or moderate one.
“I see that many customers came to our very first event, what a nice thing to see. Unfortunately, I won´t be able to stay for long, so my partner will take over for me. But before, let me tell you the rules of this place.”
He stopped and waited for anyone to oppose (probably), but since no one did, he continued, his expression turned even brighter than before.
“First of all, what you buy is yours. No trades under customers whatsoever.”
Ron frowned. This was a very strange rule to have for a human trafficking organization, nevertheless he didn’t say anything. Others did the mistake to whisper under themselves. That was when the first man – or rather woman – was killed. The smile of the man on the stage got even wider as he shook his head.
One of the men clothed in black cloaks with five red stars around a white star on the left chest pocket cleanly cut through her neck, separating her head from the rest of her body. He wore a black, full face mask, just like the customers sitting in the audience. Now that Ron thought about it, there were quite a lot of these men clothed in the same cloak. They reminded him of something, but the old man couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“I´m sorry, I completely forgot to mention that you´re not allowed to talk while I speak.”
No one dares say anything this time, not even whisper. The man on stage smirked as he continued.
“Back to our few rules now, second of all, during our auction, none of you are allowed to argue.”
The smile got even wider than before, to the point where it looked inhumane and creepy.
“And lastly, everyone must buy something.”
At that last point, people started whispering again, but no one was slain since the man on stage had already finished his monologue. Ron felt how his heartbeat got faster. The audience questioned whether they really had to participate in the auction; others were thinking the man was bluffing, even after a woman was slain. But Ron, he knew that the man wasn’t bluffing. He was a lunatic, crazy enough to kill a woman for speaking. While she was anything but innocent, her death was quite useless.
While everyone was incredibly confused – but definitely not arguing – the man with the white mask exited the stage and was replaced by a tall yet frail looking old man. He wore a white suit and a black, full face mask, no different from everyone else. One was unable to see his expression because of the mask, but Ron could tell that he was happy though the look in his colorless eyes.
“Now, now, everyone calm down. There surely are enough products for everyone to get one if not two.”
Ron frowned upon listening to the man´s sickening voice and the way he was referring to humans as products. It was incredibly dehumanizing for him to listen to.
“Then with no more ado, let´s start today´s first event! Bring in the women, folks!”
Ron felt like throwing up after seeing all those relatively young and beautiful ladies being dragged on stage. All of them wore fancy outfits, outfits that were used on noble ladies of higher ranking. The women all looked pretty, they had makeup on and their hair was made. It wasn’t just a slave auction, it was something more frightening.
“As you can see, we have five events, so enough for everyone to get one! Let´s introduce our first product of the first event! Lizzy from…”
The man continued to talk about the woman who had tears rolling down her face. She was shivering, even more after the man said how she was a virgin and lots of lustful gazes went in her direction. It was just sickening at that point, yet Ron couldn’t act just yet. They had a plan to follow, after all.
It wasn’t long until the first event was over. After the second so called “event” Ron realized that each event was like a category. While the first was beautiful women for example, the second was about strong men that could help in the household. The third was once again women, but these would also be used as slaves, rather than as concubines or toys.
The forth event came soon and this time, it were children. Ron´s eyes widened in shock and he quickly looked through the girls; that was before he realized that these children were girls only. His puppy like young master-nim must be in the last event, such a stupid time loss.
Once again, mostly men bought the little girls. While some of them were crying and obviously frightened, others were a bit more collected – they were too young to understand what was currently going on, given that the youngest girl was only three years old.
Ron couldn’t help but think back to the time his puppy like young master-nim was three years old. The late Countess didn’t let him out of her watchful sight and even less wander off anywhere with servants other than Ron. The old man felt like retching.
It was already the fifth hour of the event when the moderator finally let his men bring in the children of the last event – all were little boys to teenage boys, mostly pretty boys. There was no one under the age of ten or anyone over the age of twenty. Now that Ron thought about it, the small boy with the plain brown hair and the pale complexion looked a bit younger than the others and-
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait!
That boy, he was his puppy like young master-nim!
Everything was the same besides the hair color, which didn’t suit him as much as his red hair but still looked good. But now as not the time for beauty talks! Ron immediately noticed that Cale´s cheeks were redder than usual, and given that he had a regeneration ability (yes, Cale had told Ron in advance), it couldn’t be because of a fever. Was his perfect, precious, puppy like young master-nim slapped?! Wait…now that he looked at Cale; he wore different clothes from before. Furthermore, he was chained while the others weren't!
Ron´s eyes widened in shock, worry and anxiousness. He didn’t know what to do. His instincts as a trained assassin told him to stay calm, remain on his seat and wait until his young master-nim got auctioned off – in simple words just follow the plan.
But Ron did not stay still – he was not able to stay still. His hands were shaking in, what others were mistaking as excitement, fear. His instincts as that young boy´s caretaker, father-figure, were telling him to step out of line this one – just this once. To kill anyone here, find that scumbag who dared to lay his hands on that precious child and torture him. He wanted to make a shitshow of this fucking Black Society this very moment, so much, it was so incredibly difficult to hold it in and do as Cale said.
In the end, Ron managed. It was because of something, or rather someone, appearing next to him. It was nothing more than a very soft breeze of wind, but it was enough for the old man to tell that it was the young dragon.
Raon, whom Cale told to wait upstairs until he came back out, did not want to wait any longer, thus came down here after knocking out a couple people.
-Gramps, I don´t like this.
Ron nodded his head as little as possible, enough for the young Raon to understand whereas other weren't able to tell the movement apart at all, as it looked more like he was about to fall asleep but then noticed.
-The human looks strange. I think he stands oddly.
Raon´s voice was calm and cold. It would have given Ron the chills if he weren't a trained assassin used to children talking this way. Nevertheless, it was very unusual for the young dragon to talk like this.
“Did something happen?”
Ron only whispered and no one but Raon could hear it – thankfully. Soon after, there was a certain weight weighing down on the old man´s shoulder as Raon sat down there.
-I don´t know. The human told me to wait. But I think something bad happened. He didn’t answer me before when I was with him and he has a strange expression.
And that was the last string.
Ron got up from his seat, immediately attracting most people´s attention, excluding the children´s.
“Shitshow.”
It was a single word that was only whispered by the old man and only heard by the young dragon by his side. But it was enough for the two of them to know what they had to do. Fuck the plan. If Cale seemed odd to the young Raon who spend almost every single second with him, something was definitely wrong with the child. And Ron couldn’t care less for other people if his young master-nim was involved. Naturally he hated human trafficking, human auctions and wanted to end this – that was why he came here. But he could not play his role if something was happening to Cale.
Before the moderator could ask Ron to sit down, a big fire erupted behind the stage. It was big enough to cause a mass panic, yet not big enough to actually endanger anyone. It was just for show. But the fires and magic attacks that followed after were definitely not for show. They stroke down many people of the organization that were clothes in those black cloaks with the five red stars around the one white star. Raon wasn’t stupid – he had observed this auction for about an hour before revealing himself to Ron, naturally that was after he tried to talk to his human.
And soon after the magic attacks, terrified cries filled the room. People got killed but nobody cared enough for it because one had to save his own skin, no? The moderator was a bit different as he seemed to contemplate whether to fight or to do nothing, yet he left the stage without coming back soon after, almost as if he didn’t care for this organization at all. Naturally, Cale had planned for Ron to strike this very moderator down, but it was better this way.
It took about twenty minutes, then the room was empty, only leaving behind corpses and the thirteen year old child. Contrary to before though, Cale was moving like usual; nothing seemed to be off now.
Ah.
It was then that Ron realized something. Perhaps Cale had pretended to be off for him to either attract most customers or no one at all. What if that had been the young child´s plan from the beginning? What if Ron had acted too early?
Nevertheless, it had been necessary. The old butler nodded to himself; fully convinced of his thoughts. Furthermore, Cale´s cheeks were still red, meaning that either someone hit him or worse, thus it couldn’t have been too early for Ron to act.
“Ron.”
Yes, indeed, Ron was right. Cale turned to face the old butler, taking off his shackles on his own, almost as if he had only held on to them for show. His wrists were unhurt, meaning that the shackles truly were just accessories. The young boy then slowly approached Ron, his plain brown hair turned back to its natural, crimson color.
The old man cleared his throat while the young Raon turned visible again.
“Human! Why didn’t you answer me before?”
Cale looked up at the young dragon and furrowed his brows, uncertain at how to answer this question. In the end, it all had been a big misunderstanding. Cale had been using ´Record´ continuously, not to forget even a single detail – thus his red cheeks. Sometimes, his excessive use of his ability blocked out other people, which had happened this time. But he couldn’t just tell Raon and Ron, now could he?
“I didn’t hear you…”
Raon pouted, which looked incredibly cute. Nevertheless, it was a pout which Cale couldn’t ignore.
“Don´t worry Raon, I had to think about a lot of things.”
At that, the young dragon nodded his head, sitting down on Cale´s shoulder like usual. Since he was still pretty small, he could still do so. As soon as things got cleared up with the young Raon, Cale turned to face the old butler, who was taking off his mask. Ron was, once again, smiling ever so benignly.
“Young master-nim, forgive this old man for not knowing better and acting out.”
Cale heaved a long sigh. It was already late and the redhead was tired. Things had already happened and it was no use thinking too hard about it. Furthermore, their plan had worked somehow. The whole building was nothing more but ashes and the Black Society pretty much dead. Sure, the moderator had run away, together with the big boss, but Cale had the feeling that both of them wouldn’t return to rebuilt the Black Society again.
It felt more like some kind of experiment or something of the sort. Nodding to himself, Cale walked up to Ron and patted his long arm (since he couldn’t reach his shoulder, even if he tried).
“Fine, let´s see how this ends. Either way, good work.”
Ron couldn’t help but smile more genuinely after hearing Cale´s calm words. The young child truly didn’t seem to care about this ordeal too much.
“Yes, young master-nim, this old man will to as you wish.”
Cale simply hummed at that and looked around this vast underground hall one last time. Before the three of them returned to the crown prince´s palace, the redhead picked up one of the black robes that was lying around, the body to which it belonged nowhere to be seen (though there was an arm lying around not far from it).
“Is something wrong, young master-nim?”
Cale shook his head at that, after Raon teleported the three of them back, right into the crown prince´s bed chambers. It was already past midnight, yet Alberu was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps his birthday banquet hadn’t finished just yet – ugh, that was why Cale hated banquets.
“Ron, can you find out about this cloak?”
The old butler furrowed his brows.
“May this old man ask why?”
Cale frowned at that, answered his butler´s question nevertheless.
“I have a weird feeling about this Black Society or whatever they call themselves. I get the impression that this isn’t the last thing we´ll see of them, so it´s better to be prepared.”
At that, Ron could only nod in agreement. While he didn’t have the same feeling as Cale, he decided to trust that child´s instincts more than his own – after all, Cale was like a grandson to him. And even if it turned out to be nothing but a feeling, it was better to check than to regret.
“As you wish, young master-nim. Leave it to this old man here.”
Cale handed over the cloak in his hands to Ron, who then walked out the room to immediately take care of it. Honestly, Cale didn’t really expect Ron to start looking for answers and information immediately, but he guessed it was better than the old man starting late. The early bird catches the worm, no?
Well, that´s probably related to getting out of bed, rather than starting to search for information.
“Human.”
Cale looked up at the strangely calm and silent dragon. Raon was sitting on the crown prince´s bed while furrowing his brows.
“What is it, Raon?”
The small child looked around the room before flying back to Cale and sitting down on the man´s shoulder.
“Something is strange.”
Cale frowned at that. If Raon was saying that something was strange with that kind of serious expression on his face, he couldn´t just ignore it.
“What do you mean?”
“This room smells strange.”
Cale´s eyes widened in shock and he quickly looked around. His first thought was that he accidentally left food here that had now gone bad, but then again, something like that was impossible since it was Cale – and Cale always finished his food.
“What does?”
Raon let go of Cale´s shoulder and circled around the room, seemingly uncoordinated. He then said something Cale couldn’t help but scoff at.
“It doesn’t smell like the room of a human.”
What did the young Raon mean with that? He had practically spent his whole life in this room; naturally it wouldn’t smell just human but also dragon-like. Why was he stating something so obvious as if it was a big deal?
Cale let out a sigh and shook his head. He had been worried for nothing, it seems.
“Don´t worry, it´s because you lived here, Raon. Naturally it doesn’t smell only human-like.”
Raon shook his head at that.
“That´s not it human! I didn’t notice before because I didn’t know better, but this room smells like a different kind of species, other than you and me!”
A…different kind of species?
But besides Cale and the young Raon, only Alberu lived in this room. Naturally there were also people going in and out of it, but it couldn’t be them, could it? Now that Cale thought about it, there was this one servant who was constantly around Alberu, his name was something similar to Houston.
Could it be-?
“What species is it?”
Raon furrowed his brows and started to think about the scent he could smell. It wasn’t a bad smell, but it was unfamiliar. It smelled a lot like nature and like his human, but it had something different in it. It smelled like earth, the forest and also like magic. Hm…it smelled a bit like a dragon too, but much less powerful. Raon had never smelt something like this before.
“I don´t know human!”
Cale frowned at that, immediately activating his ´Record´ ability and starting to play lots of different records of all kinds of servants who even looked a bit strangely at the crown prince. Not even once did he think that the young prince himself could be the origin of that strange scent Raon smelled.
“Human! It´s getting stronger now!”
Be it out of instinct or because of experience, Cale hid behind the door and gave Raon a sign to turn invisible. The young dragon immediately did as he was told and shortly after, the vast door to the crown prince´s chambers was opened – by no other than the crown prince.
-Human! The smell, it´s the cookie prince´s! I´m certain!
Cale´s eyes widened in shock and surprise alike. Was this crown prince an imposter? Was the real Alberu kidnapped without Cale noticing? No, something like that was impossible, especially since Cale would notice an imposter from a thousand miles away. His ´Record´ ability helped him a lot with that.
So that would mean…
“Hyung?”
Alberu flinched and turned around to see that his dear dongsaeng was standing behind the door. He didn’t even notice him, how odd. Almost immediately, a bright (and real) smile appeared on the crown prince´s lips and he was about to cheerfully welcome his best (and only) friend back when he noticed that Raon wasn’t there and that Cale had an incredibly serious and partly confused expression on his face.
“Cale?”
The redhead looked the first prince of the Roan Kingdom up and down. Alberu looked the same as usual and very much human. Where was this odd smell coming from, that Raon was talking about? Was this perhaps just a new perfume Alberu had gotten his hands on? Then again, the eighteen year old never used something like perfume.
-Human! Something´s really odd! I think the cookie prince uses dying magic! But I don´t think it´s just magic!
“How did your mission go? Did you get rid of the Black Society?”
Both Alberu and the young Raon were talking at the same time, but Cale could tell the two voices apart perfectly without missing a single word. His ´Record´ ability had activated itself, but the boy didn’t mind – no, he didn’t mind it because he didn’t notice it. He was blankly staring at the crown prince of the Roan Kingdom.
He recalled a line from the original novel, ´The Birth of a Hero´ clearly stated that. Sure, Alberu was someone who used people, but it was for the good of his kingdom. But other than that, he was portrayed as one of the most open, though also quite intriguing, characters in the book.
But now that very man was supposed to have a secret? That fucking author Nelan Barrow sure was the very definition of letting “unimportant” information slide! It was to that extend, that it annoyed Cale! But then again, the redhead didn’t exactly need to learn the crown prince´s secret. Five years from now, Alberu would abandon him and go safe the world with Choi Han, Lock and Rosalyn…Right?
No, that wouldn’t be the case now.
Cale decided to ignore his strategy of ignoring the bothersome things and instead learn about the crown prince´s secret – it was only because he was best friends with him. The redhead took a step forward.
“Did something go wrong? Where´s that overprotective butler of yours, huh? Wait, don’t tell me you were drugged or something!”
Alberu was clearly thinking that Cale was not in the right state of mind after coming home from the Black Society. The blonde prince looked the young boy up and down, but nothing particular seemed to be wrong. Nevertheless, Alberu could not let something like this slide. After all, Cale usually always answered his every single question, even if it was just a smirk or nod. Right now, the thirteen year old kid didn’t seem to hear his questions at all and he honestly looked like he just saw a ghost.
“Cale-“
“You´re not human, are you?”
At that, Alberu stopped everything he had been doing – even breathing for a split second. His mouth was open, just like a fish´s. He didn’t move and his face got a few shades paler. It was enough for Cale to realize that he – or rather Raon – had been right.
The crown prince Alberu Crossman, the boy he thought he knew everything about, was not human. But if he wasn’t human – what was he?
“You aren´t?”
Cale couldn’t hide the disbelief in his voice; nevertheless he started to calm down again. It was because he saw that Alberu was by far more shocked that he was – and that wasn’t a good thing. Never on earth did he want to give the crown prince the impression that he disliked or didn’t accept him for who Alberu was.
“How-“
“Raon told me that your room smelled strange and as you approached, he told me that the origin of the smell is you. Oh, by the way, he told me that you use something akin to dying magic?”
And Cale was back to being all casual now. Since this new smell obviously wasn’t a threat to Alberu, there was no need to worry. Even if Alberu turned out to be a monster, Cale was confident his one and only best friend wouldn’t harm him, not after everything the two of them went through and not after all the time they´ve spend together.
Alberu got over his shock rather quickly as well and watched how the redhead sat down on his bed. He also noticed how Raon turned off his invisibility spell and lay down right next to Cale, for the child to pat his head.
Ah, he had been worrying over nothing, it seems.
“What, you´re not gonna ask any questions?”
Cale looked up and there was a confused expression on his face, almost as if he was asking whether the crown prince really needed to ask the obvious.
“Why should I? You can tell me, or not tell me, I don’t really care. Instead, did you find the accomplices of the Black Society under the nobles?”
Alberu couldn’t help but laugh at that. He laughed for quite a long while and had to hold his stomach since it started to hurt. He laughed loudly and wholeheartedly. It was because he knew that Cale didn’t mind him being not human. The thirteen year old kid also had no problems with him not sharing his secrets. Alberu truly had a one of a kind friend.
“I did. I´ll give you a list soon. First, aren’t you even interested in what I am?”
Cale shrugged and watched Alberu take off his necklace. Now that he was thinking about it, he had never seen the crown prince without that necklace. And soon after the eighteen year old had taken it off, Cale realized why. First, it was just his hair and eyes that turned a bit darker, until both of them reached a chocolate brown color. After, his skin turned darker and darker until it was the color of a light chocolate brown. And lastly, Alberu´s ears got a bit sharper.
Without question, the crown prince didn’t even lose a drop of his handsomeness, if anything, he got even hotter than before.
“I´m a dark elf – quarter dark elf to be more precise.”
He smirked. And so did Cale. The two of them didn’t need words to understand each other. A comfortable silence was between them, until Raon decided to break it.
“Woah! Cookie prince, you´re so cool!”
Alberu chuckled at that.
“Yeah, I am pretty cool.”
Cale scoffed, yet didn’t say anything against it. It was because Alberu was truly pretty cool.
No, not just pretty cool. He was incredibly cool.
Notes:
Hi!
This is the last chapter I´ve prepared for you for Christmas! I really tried to get another one done, but unfortunately I had other things to do.
So....Alberu´s secret is out! Poor boy was so afraid to tell Cale and then baby Raon finds out so quickly like it´s was so wholesome to write! And I really loved Cale´s casual reaction! Pls! And Ron being overprotective and thinking baby boy would let insignificant human trash lay a hand on him (though he already does that with his trashy instructor
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щBUT worry not! We will have a couple suprises in the next few chapters (at least after my writing outline!). But I can guarantee that goldie gramps is coming very soon! (It´s not a spoiler, is it?) So just wait one or two chapters haha!
Well, that´s it from me- NO WAIT! I forgot to mention that I DIDNT FAIL MATH! Hell, I dont know what to say functions and this f(x) stuff really isnt that simple for me and I didnt really study that hard this time, but I somehow managed to get a 2 (which is a B/80% or 4, and yeah, same mark as my history exam). And hell, I´m so happy! Like pls!!!!!!!! Especially since my math teacher said it was a pretty bad exam!
(PS: My teacher noticed that my exam paper was ripped and asked me about it, so I had to explain the whole thing to her and I was even more embarassed because of her confused and disbelieving stare! Pls! I´m innocent this time, really! It was the wind´s fault!)
Have a merry Christmas y´all! I´ll try to update again this year, but I won´t guarantee anything since I have lots of things to do and lots of people to meet.
But hey, I got this fic over 100k words, so that´s something, right?
Well, no guarantees, but I´ll try my best as always!
(´ ▽｀)ｏ♥♡
Chapter 22: 20. You'll like it (1)
Summary:
Just a brief year passing slowly in one chapter + special adventure 2.0 in the end (ʃƪ˘ﻬ˘)
Chapter Text
After that (hardly) shocking revelation, Alberu started talking about his childhood before he met Cale and how hard life in the palace had been ever since his half dark elf mother passed away. It seemed that the king didn’t know of his and his mother´s secret and it had been incredibly difficult to hide it, but he had his aunt, Tasha.
Cale silently listened to his best friend´s story. He could tell that it had been weighing on the eighteen year old for forever, and the fact that Cale found out was incredibly relieving for him – especially since the redhead didn’t judge Alberu.
After, they discussed the Black Society again. Alberu had noticed a few nobles who had seemed extremely anxious and nervous at some point shortly before midnight. That had been around the time Ron decided to fuck it all and created a shitshow of the auction. Personally, Cale really liked it. The man had taste.
It ended up becoming quite a long night, as the two of them talked until the sun got up about all kinds of stuff. What had been a serious topic like the Black Society before, turned into a discussion about sweets and candy and ended up in talking about something as simple as everyday life. There was nothing that wasn’t mentioned besides Cale´s small secret – the one that he once had been Kim Rok Soo and was actually from another world.
But it didn’t really matter that much at that moment.
When the sun got up, both boys (or now one boy and one adult) fell asleep. It was then that Beacrox entered the room to serve breakfast, yet knowing what had happened last night, he didn’t ask any questions. He simply sighed and put a blanket on his young master-nim. The crown prince, after all, didn’t need his help at all.
~
Time flew by, and at some point, Cale returned to the Henituse Estate. While he wanted to stay with Alberu, an official letter sent by Count Deruth Henituse forced him to come back – else Ron and Beacrox would be the ones facing the consequences. It took both Alberu and Ron a lot of convincing to do to make Cale return while Beacrox was already ready to get fired. He didn’t need money that much either way and since he was with Cale, everything was fine.
In the end, it was Raon who managed to make Cale return. He simply wanted to know what the Henituse territory was like, and who was Cale to decline that?
Returning to the Henituse Estate was pretty easy, it was only quite annoying. Cale didn’t really care where he was staying, but he would prefer to be with someone who liked him, rather than stay with someone who hated him with a passion. Thanks to ´Record´ all the words, or insults, the Count had thrown at Cale were clearly in his mind. Deruth Henituse surely would not be forgiven.
When Cale finally crossed paths with the Count, it was a scene worth being in a movie. The Count started crying over nothing and tried to hug Cale – and let me say this, the boy had never been more thankful to Ron who placed himself in front of the young teenager so that the Count wouldn’t be able to reach him.
Deruth hadn’t expected that to happen, and he wanted to get angry at Ron, but Cale´s stoic expression made him reconsider. It was ever since then that Count Deruth gave Cale whatever he asked for; be it money or something else. He showed his affection for his firstborn son through materialistic things, but Cale didn’t mind that at all.
Time passed, and he met both of his siblings at one point. Basen had been afraid of him at first, but quickly turned into someone who loved to follow him around the house, which was incredibly annoying. Yet, Cale didn’t say anything since Basen was still a young child. Lily was, surprisingly enough, a very quiet child, so Cale didn’t mind his stepmother (mama bear) Violan go to the library with her whenever he was there.
The days passed quietly and at some point, Cale decided to attend dinner with his family (which was more because Beacrox and Ron asked him to). Raon liked the Henituse Estate very much, though he did prefer the crown prince´s chambers.
And just like that, another year passed without Cale doing anything but slacking. Alberu visited him in early spring and attended dinner with him and his family. No one asked a single question about how Cale knew Alberu.
It was on that very dinner, that Cale put down his fork without having completely eaten the food on it – which was completely unusual for him. Ron, who was standing behind him, frowned. He had just gotten a very strange feeling.
“Mother, father,”
Both the Count and Countess looked up from their plates. Deruth almost chocked on his steak piece while Violan accidentally spilled the water she was just about to drink. It was a month since Cale had stopped calling Deruth ´Count´ and Violan ´Miss´, and while the couple was incredibly happy with the change, it still surprised them.
But Alberu, who could see the cold look in Cale´s eyes while saying those titles, immediately understood that it was just for show. And judging by Cale´s body language – yep, the boy wanted something. Ron, who could tell the same thing as Alberu, smiled even brighter.
“What is it, Cale?”
Deruth looked at his firstborn whom he had neglected almost all his life before coming to a realization a year and a half ago. The redhead had a very serious expression on his face, and while that wasn’t something very unusual, the fact that his eyes practically pierced through the Count were.
“I want to ask for two things.”
Deruth nodded his head.
“Anything.”
Violan, on the other hand, frowned.
“Certainly not anything, please tell us what you want first, we´ll decide after.”
Cale nodded. Deruth may think he behaved like a good father, but Violan was more of a parent to Cale than the Count. It was simply because she didn’t allow him anything he liked, but had certain boundaries. It was important to have something like that, especially for children.
“The first thing I´d like to ask for would be permission to go on a trip.”
At that, Violan and Deruth weren't the only ones furrowing their brows, trying to understand Cale. Alberu, who was sitting right next to him, and Ron, who was still standing behind him, both didn’t understand where Cale was coming from. The child didn’t tell them anything about a trip prior. Raon, the invisible baby dragon, who was under the table, eating the bits of food Cale secretly handed to him, was the only one smirking. He knew exactly what Cale wanted to do – he wanted to look for something! And waste money.
“A trip?”
Cale nodded at the Count´s question.
“Yes, a trip.”
Violan furrowed her brows as she mustered Ron and the crown prince, the closest people to Cale. Contrary to Deruth, who was only thinking about how long Cale would be away from home, Violan was thinking whether she should let Cale go or not. While the old man may be reliable, the nineteen year old crown prince, who was nothing but a kid to Violan, certainly was not. Hell, he was still a teenager! What did he know about responsibilities, huh? And he certainly would not know how to take care of a child like Cale!
But then again – the Countess cleared her throat and nodded for Cale to continue explaining – Alberu had been taking care of Cale even before she knew it. Thus, he did know exactly what to do, and since he was the crown prince, he also had to be reliable.
“I just want to go on a trip with Ron and Beacrox. It won´t take too long, perhaps a few weeks?”
Alberu almost chocked on the wine he was drinking. Didn’t Cale count him in too? Cale, who looked over at him, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“I suppose his highness will accompany us too.”
Violan nodded her head in understanding. Hell, the crown prince had such a smug expression right now, it was truly a wonder how he became the crown prince, no, it wasn’t as simple as a wonder, it was a mystery!
“Aha, and where to?”
Deruth gave his wife a disbelieving look as if knowing that kind of stuff wasn’t important. But Violan didn’t care about that, especially since she was a mother of three – Basen, Lily and Cale.
Cale shrugged, then stated his destination.
“To the south and south-west; I plan to visit the ten finger mountain since I´ve heard a lot of rumors surrounding it.”
That was a lie. There were no kinds of rumors surrounding that mountain, and it wasn’t such a famous tourist´s destination either. It was no more than a simple mountain that was nothing but that – a mountain. As such, neither Deruth nor Violan could exactly tell where Cale was headed to, but the two of them still decided to nod. They could always look for information later, since it wasn’t like Cale would disappear as soon as he got permission, right?
“Well, I suppose it sounds nice. But I´m a bit bothered. Is it near the Gyerre territory? I´ve heard that there are a lot of criminals as of late.”
Violan looked incredibly worried for her oldest child; nevertheless Cale just shrugged it off.
“Not really. While we´re headed to the south, it´s not near the Gyerre territory, so no need for worries.”
He didn’t have time for worries. It was all because it was time to act now. A little over a year ago, the now fourteen year old kid had asked Ron to research something for him – the cloak he brought with him from the destroyed human trafficking auction. And Ron found a lot of things, one of which was that the Black Society was just a branch of the whole organization – nothing of significance in other words. The real organization was something bigger and more dangerous – it was the same one that killed Ron´s wife and hunted him down.
While that information had been relayed to Cale a few months ago, he couldn’t act immediately. It was because he needed to think. Should he act? He didn’t want to act though. He wanted to lie back and let the protagonist, the hero of this story handle everything. He should have never gotten involved with the Black Society in first place!
And after a long time, Cale came to a conclusion. He already started to act. He had people he wanted – no, he needed – to protect. He couldn’t just do nothing like with Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk (though he did something, Cale didn’t think so).
“While it calms me down a bit, I´m not all too sure whether it´s really okay to let you go…you´re still very young, Cale.”
Deruth gave his wife a glance that was literally telling anyone that he disagreed with Violan. Alberu gave his best not to snicker while Ron smiled ever so benignly. After a long staring contest with no obvious winner (naturally it was Violan), Deruth looked at Cale and heaven a long sigh.
“I´m not against it, my son. What is the other thing that you need?”
Without wasting a second, Cale´s eyes light up and he immediately answered.
“Money.”
That was by far much easier to understand than him wanting to go on a trip – and much easier to fulfill too. Deruth nodded his head with a slight smile on his lips. Judging by the Count´s relieved expression, Cale could tell that he could take lots and lots of money with him this time.
“How much do you need, my son?”
Cale shrugged and picked up his fork to eat again. At that, Alberu couldn’t help but choke on his food once again. Cale behaving like that meant it was a tremendous amount of money. But Alberu didn’t pity the Count.
“How much can I get?”
Deruth smiled at that and pulled out a checkbook from his pocket immediately. He wrote a couple things down on it (it took quite a long while), then got up and handed it to Cale. Alberu slightly looked over his best friend´s shoulder. While doing so, he almost fell from his chair. Honestly, no one in this rich family was normal, really! Not even Violan! How often did the crown prince almost die here? How often did these people shock him (almost) to death?!
With the amount written down on the check in Cale´s hands Alberu was convinced that this family was determined to kill him.
“Is that much enough?”
Did Deruth Henituse really just ask that? With that amount of money, one could buy not just a castle and a whole batch of land, no; one could buy land three times the size of this entire territory in addition to the castle!
It was a number with too many zeroes behind the one, worth more than a golden plaque. No, forget the golden plaque; it was worth more than ten of those things!
And Cale behaved the most shocking of this whole family! He simply shrugged as if he wasn’t just handed the most amount of money anyone had ever seen in the entire kingdom. Truly, Alberu doubted that his father had ever held this much money at once in his hands! And Cale was a fourteen year old kid! Hell!
“I guess it´s alright.”
Ron continued to smile his ever so benign smile as the redhead handed him the check. He also remained the same as usual when looking at the tremendous number written down on it, almost as if something like this happened nearly every day.
“Good, very good – just in case, if you need more, tell me.”
Need more?! Alberu would die because of this family and their crazy talks! He should have gotten used to this by now, he knew this very well, and he was also very used to Cale being a money-addict, but this amount of money was something entirely else!
-Cookie prince, is everything alright? You look like the weak human does! Hey, you aren´t sick, are you?
Alberu couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief before shaking his head. No one in the dining hall paid him any attention.
-I´m alright, Raon.
The invisible Raon furrowed his brows at that, but didn’t press this matter any further. Instead, he returned to eating the steak Cale just handed him incredibly discretely.
“I will.”
Deruth nodded, then the dinner continued. Just when desert was about to be served, the Count heaved a loud sigh, breaking the partly comfortable, partly awkward silence. He looked at his firstborn son. He was certain that if he was to allow this little trip, the chances of his son liking him better were high. The only price to pay would be a small (or not so small) argument with his wife…
“Your highness.”
Cale looked up from his empty plate, and so did Alberu, both were incredibly surprised that the Count decided to talk to the crown prince, especially since he practically ignored him the whole evening like no other.
“What is it?”
After clearing his throat very thoroughly, Deruth continued to say what he wanted to say. Violan was already frowning, knowing what was coming better than anyone else.
“It may be rude to ask, but since you are friends with my son, I believe it´s fine.”
Alberu raised his brow. It was not fine for Alberu, especially since he still regarded Deruth as an asshole, yet he didn’t say anything – all was for Cale´s sake.
“You may speak.”
Deruth nodded his head, then said what had been weighing on his mind.
“If – and I mean if – you were ready to accompany my son on that trip of his, would you take responsibility for him? I know that Ron and Beacrox are good caretakers for my son, but-“
“The Count wants to be certain that nothing happens to Cale, isn’t that right?”
Alberu smiled his princy smile and Cale could tell that he was very unhappy with the Count´s words. It was almost amusing, the way Alberu looked nothing like what he was feeling.
“Yes, that´s exactly it, your highness, it´s great that you understand.”
Alberu simply nodded his head.
“And would you-“
“Yeah, I guess I can do that much. Don´t worry Count Henituse, I´ll take great care of Cale.”
Naturally, the crown prince was displeased with the Count´s words, which no one but Cale noticed. Him disrupting the lord´s speech also wasn’t too obvious.
Deruth nodded, happy that everything worked out. In the end, he allowed Cale to go on that trip he had been talking about. Naturally though, he would come to regret it in the future, but that was a topic for another day.
~
The trip to the ten finger mountain started that very evening. Both the Count and Countess stared at the firstborn of the Henituse County as he stood next to the big carriage with the golden Henituse crest on it. The redhead seemed unbothered by their stares as he directed his two loyal servants. Neither Ron nor Beacrox showed any reaction to being watched by the two most powerful authorities besides the crown prince.
Alberu himself didn’t bother coming out of the carriage. The moment the dinner was ready and Raon told him thoroughly about his best friend´s plans, the nineteen year old sat down in the carriage, not wanting to get out again. It was, and Cale knew that with a certainty, because the dear crown prince felt wronged by the Count. While he had always been there for Cale, the latter just started to take care of the redhead now – when it was by far too late.
“Cale, my son, must you really depart today already? It´s already dark and-“
Cale stoically looked in the Count´s eyes. There were no emotions displayed, neither on his face nor in his eyes, which were famous for being the doors to one´s soul. Deruth shivered at that glance. Violan was the one who remained calm though. She sighed, almost as if she had given up on something.
“Your father is right, Cale. I don´t have a good feeling about this.”
-Human! Tell your mommy that you have me, the great and mighty Raon Miru! Nothing will happen to you!
Cale couldn’t help but smirk at that. In the end, he did not say anything regarding having a dragon by his side and instead just shrugged.
“I have the crown prince with me. If anything happens, I´ll just push him in front of me.”
While Alberu, who could hear everything Cale said incredibly well, pouted and yelled complaints from the carriage, everyone else nodded, including the Count and Countess as well as Ron and Beacrox.
“Yes, that´s right. Your own life is the most important, after all.”
Cale frowned. He didn’t expect to hear those words from Deruth, but decided to ignore them in the end. He simply nodded shortly before returning to the carriage. They would have to travel for quite a long period.
He waved at his stepmother and father one last time before sitting down. Almost immediately, Raon revealed himself and sat down on his lap, waiting to be patted like usual.
“Tsk, you´re truly something else.”
Cale smirked at that, his stoic expression from before was gone now that he was alone with his best friend and Raon. He smiled a genuine smile as he shrugged.
“What? It´s better if I push you, rather than if you jump in front of me yourself. That way, it´s a bit fun at least.”
The crown prince stared at his friend for a long while before scoffing in disbelief. Cale Henituse, that person surely was something else. But Alberu knew, probably better than anyone else, that he was the one at fault. Who spoiled that fourteen year old brat? It certainly wasn’t Ron, though the old man wasn’t all too innocent either.
“Haaa, defaming a royal in public? You know that´s punishable, right?”
As a response, Cale simply smirked while caressing Raon´s head. The young dragon was silent, letting the two friends talk freely while still attentively listening to their conservation. But it was nothing really special, just them having their usual talks.
“Haaa, what did I do to deserve this? You´re driving me nuts.”
This time, Cale simply shrugged.
“I know.”
Alberu saw no hope for this little brat. Well, you should water your plants every now and then, but if you gave them too much water, they would rot. And Cale was definitely rotten (but in a not too bad way). The crown prince shook his head. Well, that little brat was his best friend, so what could he do; other than just accept him for who he was? Cale had done the same, after all.
“Anyways, why are you so eager to visit a mountain? As far as I remember, you usually don´t do useless things.”
As soon as his words were out, Raon opened his eyes and stared the nineteen year old kid down. This time, the young dragon could not ignore the first prince´s harsh words.
“Cookie prince! Traveling isn’t useless! It´s so much fun!”
The quarter dark elf nodded his head and raised his hands, almost as if he showed Raon that he was surrendering.
“Yes, yes of course. You are right, but what I mean is that Cale´s actions don’t add up.”
Raon pouted at that, but didn’t say anything else. Cale sighed as he shook his head. He turned more serious when he looked back at Alberu again. There was a strange glint in the boy´s eyes, something his best friend almost missed – almost.
“Ah, I see. There´s something you want. And it has to do with money.”
Cale´s serious expression turned brighter as he smirked once again. That was enough for Alberu to know that he was right.
“Pretty much. First, we have to make a stop at the Flynn Merchant Guild to get the money, then we can go there and do what I wanted to do my whole life.”
Alberu raised his brows as he waited for the redhead to explain himself. Raon opened one of his eyes too, his curiousness getting the better of him. Cale´s smile got wider and wider, to that extend that Alberu wondered whether his best friend had ever been happier than in this moment.
After Cale didn’t say what it was that he wanted to do his whole life, Alberu took the initiative.
“What is it?”
Cale cleared his throat before saying it out loud.
“Throwing it all away.”
Alberu frowned, not understanding what Cale meant by that. What did the teen wanted to throw away? Not him – right?
“Though burning would be a more accurate term…”
Cale seemed to be lost in thoughts. That was when the young Raon, who had always had a better insight when it was about the money than Alberu, realized just what Cale wanted to burn.
His eyes widened as he shouted the answer.
“You want to burn the money? But what about the many gold?!”
Ron and Beacrox, who were sitting outside on the driver´s seat, widened their eyes. Cale wanted to do what?! They didn’t believe it. Their precious young master-nim would never burn something that he cherished as much as money. But, to their shock, it seemed to be the truth.
Inside the carriage, Cale nodded his head as if what he had just said about burning money was nothing special or unusual.
“That´s right, I´ll burn the money completely. Hehe.”
Cale chuckled at that. He seemed extremely excited for some reason. Did he not cherish money and gold? Wait, he did. He loved it more than his own life, even. So why did he want to throw it away like that? And such a large sum at that?!
Alberu´s face must have reflected his inner feelings and confusion, as Cale stopped chuckling like a madman and sighed.
“There´s something I get in return for it; and I bet that you´ll like it more than the money.”
Alberu pretended to think about it for ten whole seconds, then he shook his head.
“Nope, zero chance of that happening. There´s nothing worth more than that large amount of money.”
Cale smirked as he shook his head. Ron and Beacrox were also eagerly listening to this conversation, just like the young Raon.
“Even if it´s something that will protect me?”
Cale knew exactly that this was the moment Alberu had been had. There was a confused expression on the young adult´s face at first, but it quickly turned to an interested one, though there was still a fair amount of doubt.
“…Protect you? How?”
Cale´s smirk got wider and brighter, so that he really resembled a child that was looking forward for candy that it was about to receive.
“Yeah, you know, just like my Indestructible Shield and regeneration ancient power.”
Alberu´s eyes widened in shock as he realized what Cale was talking about. He had lots of questions regarding that topic, for example how Cale found yet another ancient power and discovered a way to get it, but in the end, the crown prince didn’t ask. It was because he trusted Cale, enough to not be suspicious. Sure, it was incredibly strange that the child found yet another ancient power, and one that wasn’t even close to him, but it was Cale he was talking about.
Cale Henituse was strange in every field possible.
And besides, Alberu was convinced that, someday, if he did ask, Cale would tell him. But today wouldn’t be that day.
“Aha, and what is that?”
Cale shrugged as he really didn’t know. The novel ´The Birth of a Hero´, that described a lot of useless stuff, didn’t mention anything regarding what kind of ancient power that one would be. It only stated that it was some sort of attacking ancient power, and a strong one at that. To Cale, who already had a regeneration ancient power and a regeneration ancient power, an additional, attacking ancient power would be perfect. In case one of his people got in trouble, he could help them. And since the civil war was approaching (even if it were still about four to five years until then), he could just get that ancient power now. That had been his decision after a long time of contemplating.
“Something useful.”
Alberu simply nodded. If Cale said it was useful, it usually was.
“Alright, I´mma trust you on this one.”
Cale nodded his head, as if the crown prince´s words were the most natural thing in the world. And to him, they actually were. It was a common thing for Alberu to say. And it was an even more common thing for Cale to react to that with a nod, as if it was nothing of great importance.
Well, that´s just how the two of them were.
Alberu couldn’t help but smile upon seeing Cale´s confident expression. Well, even if this whole thing really turned out to be a flop (which he really doubted, it was Cale´s idea, after all), then he could just see this as a real trip with Cale. That´s not too bad, right?
No, not at all.
Notes:
Hi.
Someone mentioned I was on Hintaus and I was like WhAt Am I oN?! And let me asure you, I´m not! I was just really busy since my mother wants to visit a lot of places and I have to accompany her, so that I have very little time to write! ಥ_ಥ
IF I GO ON HINTAUS (which I will not do any time soon) YOU GUYS WILL BE INFORMED!!!!!!!!! Pls, I´m not.Anyways, this chapter is more of a filler chapter since the next chapter will be the important one. I just wanted to give y´all the Deruth-Cale interaction that some of you wanted but didnt want to describe their confrontation, so I think it´s fine that way. If it´s really not to your liking since it was a pretty... neat chapter, feel free to tell me.
It´ll be 2024 soon...wow, it´s crazy now that I think about it. And with the start of the new year my vacation will cease to exist щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
I dont wanna go back to school! It´s tiring, annoying and what not! Furthermore my teachers just send an email and told us to do (read) a bunch of stuff and the worst thing is that we´ll write tests as soon as school starts! Waaaaaah why me?!I´ll skip monday for sure though, since I´ll visit my grandma and monday is her holiday. So at least one day less to go through.
Then guys, I was very happy about all of your comments on my last chapters! It was really like a Christmas present to me, so thank you very much!
Chapter 23: 21. You'll like it (2)
Summary:
WeLcOmE dAdDy ErUhAbEn-NiM!!!!!!!!
Notes:
Small trigger warning, it's marked with [T]. It's really nothing too major, just a summary of what happened to Cale over the years!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Hahahahahaha!”
Alberu stared at his best friend in fright and disbelief. What on earth was he seeing- Wait, was he dreaming? This must be a nightmare then!
Click. Clack.
Suddenly, someone put a hand on his shoulder, almost as if to support him, moth mentally and physically. That hand was, naturally, Ron´s. Beacrox wasn’t looking anymore; instead he was getting ready to prepare lunch. He was glad that he brought normal food with him, since there were no animals here that he could have possibly caught for them to eat.
“Muahahaha!”
Gold coins seemed to be raining from the sky, right into the burning hot magma that was swallowing them like a starving human. They disappeared into nothingness as soon as they touched the burning hot liquid. Cale was emptying his ten bags full of gold coins. He did not care whether he looked like a complete maniac; throwing away money as if it was nothing of significance was something he had wanted to do his whole life. Who would have thought it was actually this fun?
To the poor Alberu though, it certainly did not look anything like fun. Raon, who flew to him instead of remaining with Cale, smiled brightly.
“Hey cookie prince, the weak human looks very happy.”
Alberu was too speechless to answer, so Ron did so instead. He agreed with Raon as he watched his puppy like young master-nim empty yet another bag of gold, worth hundreds of billions of gallons.
´It´s not a question whether he looks happy or not, he looks like an ecstatic lunatic!´
Alberu didn’t – no, he couldn’t – speak his thoughts. He stared up at Cale who indeed gave off a very off vibe. Then, as soon as the child emptied his last, his tenth, bag, his laughter got even louder and crazier.
While that was what Raon, Ron and Alberu observed from the foot of the ten finger mountain, Cale saw an entirely different sight in front of him. Throwing away money felt even better than what he had imagined. It was fun and exciting – something he would definitely do again.
The previous owner of the ancient power he was about to obtain – the previous owner of the Fire of Destruction – was laughing the same way Cale was while asking for more gold coins. He didn’t stop to ask until shortly before Cale´s tenth bag was empty.
-Muahahaha! I wanted to be able to throw money away like trash like this too! But those damn bastards stole it all! My money, as well as my friends’ money! Those sons of bitches! You cruel bastards that treated us like slaves! I approve of you! You have the right attitude to gain this power! If it is you, if it is someone like you who is willing to throw money away like this, you will be able to overcome every obstacle in your way!
Cale still didn’t stop throwing away the gold coins, not even after the previous owner of the ancient power approved of him. The reason for him doing so was very simple: It was simply too much fun throwing away gold coins as if they were worth nothing.
-You wonderful human being!
At that, the Fire of Destruction naturally praised him. No, not only that.
-Angel! You´re an angel sent from heaven Muahahaha! Even crazier than I myself am! If it´s you, this power shall be with you! Muahahaha!
Then, the bag was empty and Cale finally could wipe the sweat from his forehead. He hadn’t realized it before, but it was incredibly hot and he was sweating very much. Suddenly, the mountain shook heavily, but not enough for Cale to lose his balance, even if it was pretty close. The magma started to split in the middle, as if to make path for the redhead to walk through. And Cale did not wait.
He walked along the path, ignoring the incredible heat. He cussed inside his head; he should have worn lighter clothes, dammit!
But it wasn’t all too bad in the end. After a few steps, Cale reached the other side of the mountain. There, in front of him, there was a flying piggy bank.
“How fitting.”
With a smirk on his face, Cale took that very piggy bank in his hands. He could feel a strong power entering his body. The moment it did, the piggy bank broke into hundreds of pieces, and before any could touch the ground, they disappeared. A similar thing happened to the magma. It turned darker and darker, until it was solid like a rock.
-Muahahaha! You crazy person! There truly is no one normal to own an ancient power! Here, take mine! But the money is all mine hahaha!
Cale sighed as he listened to the previous owner of the Fire of Destruction. He babbled crazy things but what other choice did Cale have other than to listen to him? He was talking inside his head and it wasn’t like he could make him shut up. But honestly, Cale was a bit surprised. The novel had described how a shaman tried to take this ancient power, yet, even after just a bit less money than Cale did, he could not attain this kind of power. It seemed to be cheaper than he had thought.
Yet, soon the ancient power cleared his confusion up.
-To be honest, I didn´t approve of you until I felt my friend´s power on you! It´s pretty ironical that you are in the land of boulders yet don’t have the ancient power of it! Muahahaha!
Cale frowned. A boulder ancient power? Was there something of the sort? No, that was the wrong question – since this was a fantasy world after all, naturally there would be an ancient power of the sort. But Cale didn’t know much about it since the novel didn’t share any information on it.
“A bolder ancient power?”
-Muahahaha! Yes that´s right! Money wasn’t the only thing I couldn’t destroy! I had a friend, he, who controlled boulders, always persisted through my fire! He was the strongest of us hahaha!
A boulder ancient power sure sounded good and all, but Cale had enough of them already – especially since he planned to get two more, though one of them was an ancient power through an object, it was still an ancient power. Cale didn’t really need another ancient power in addition to the ones he already had and the ones he planned to get. As such, it wasn’t really that important.
Cale nodded to himself, as if to agree with his own thoughts. He then smiled contently and finally decided to go down. Climbing up sure was a lot more difficult than climbing down, where he could just slide down. He was confident that even if he was to fall, it wouldn’t be that bad since he got the Vitality of the Heart.
After a few seconds of sliding down the mountain, Cale safely landed on his feet. The redhead then proceeded to turn around to face his family, yet regretted that choice of action almost immediately.
Alberu stared at him as if he wasn’t in his right state of mind while the old butler behind the crown prince was frowning. And Ron usually was never frowning, well, besides those few times when he was actually very displeased or shocked by something. But the most shocking reaction came from the former assassin´s son, this time. Beacrox was pretending as if nothing happened and while Cale preferred everyone to act like that, it was a bit odd.
Nevertheless, Cale simply shrugged it off.
“I´m done here.”
Ignoring his old servant and best friend, Cale walked over to Beacrox, who behaved as if nothing happened. He gave him a food bowl for him to eat the soup he had prepared while Cale had been doing his…thing.
“Thanks.”
Beacrox just nodded as he handed the young Raon a bowl as well. The young dragon had, at some point, come over to the head chef. He too behaved as if nothing was the matter as he smiled at his human.
“Human! You smell more like nature now! But you´re still weak!”
Cale smirked at that. Yeah, he was pretty weak, even after getting that ancient power.
“But it´s a good thing, no?”
Cale smiled at Beacrox calm question. Truly, how come the cook knew him better than his most loyal (grandpa) servant and best (and only) friend? Nevertheless, he was thankful for that.
“Yes, it is.”
Beacrox nodded his head and looked at his still frozen father and crown prince. He shook his head, almost as if he was disappointed by their shock. How long have they been with Cale? Furthermore, the two of them had been there when Cale had made Bud Illis the Mercenaries King, so shouldn’t they be the least surprised by Cale pulling out a stunt like that?
“It´s delicious.”
Beacrox just nodded his head, trying not to show that every so little compliment coming from Cale warmed his heart.
“The weak human is right! It´s very delicious food! Beacrox is the best!”
Cale couldn’t help but smile upon hearing Raon say that. Beacrox was probably the only person that Raon called by his actual name. Well, that could be considered a nickname of its own. The head chef just nodded to acknowledge the young dragon´s compliment and soon after, served the two children seconds. After all, no one had any idea when Ron and Alberu would move again.
And while Beacrox fed the children (or one baby and one young teen), the crown prince and former assassin stared at each other in disbelief.
“…He threw it away.”
Ron nodded his head, yet didn’t answer.
“…Didn’t he love money?”
Ron nodded once again.
“…but he threw it away.”
Ron continued to nod at every little sentence the crown prince managed to say. Well, Alberu seemed to be better than him, since he was able to talk already. Let´s just say, that the state of the two of them continued for a couple more minutes until they (kinda) returned to normal.
~
It took almost three full days to everything to go back to the way it really used to be. While Ron accepted it, more or less, after a couple hours, Alberu needed a bit more time to comprehend that his friend was truly crazy indeed. Nevertheless, he was best friends with him, so he had no other choice but to accept that Cale was a madman, a lunatic past saving.
Truthfully, Alberu just accepted that his one and only friend was a lunatic. I mean, what else could he even do? There was no way he would end the friendship over something like this. And honestly, it wasn’t such a big deal the longer the crown prince looked at it. It was just his money crazy friend throwing away a couple hundred billion gallons in gold coins hahaha…
After that crazy incident that Alberu was constantly thinking about, Cale´s group decided to spend the rest of their time in a town about two hours away from the ten finger mountain. It was because the town closest to it, while being incredibly beautiful, didn’t have an inn.
“Two gold coins kid.”
The two of them, Cale and Alberu, decided to explore the town closest to the ten finger mountain today. Neither Ron, nor Beacrox or even Raon wanted to come, god knows why. Usually, the young dragon would be ecstatic to come along, but this time, he didn’t want to. Oh well, nothing one could do there.
Alberu was snapped out of his thoughts as soon as he heard the harsh and somewhat grumpy voice. He glanced at the fat man with the ugly visage, who had his arms crossed while looking at Cale, not letting him buy the novel the young boy wanted. Well, usually, Alberu would have just shrugged it off and bought the novel for Cale, but the way that fatty was staring at his best friend caused a bad feeling in his stomach, almost as if the man wanted to do something to the redhead.
But before Alberu could get all angry in Cale´s stead, the young teen scoffed and mirrored the seller´s actions. With his arms crossed and a somewhat sneering expression on his face, Cale shook his head.
“Na-uh. You sold the woman the same novel for less than a silver coin before.”
The pig-like man scoffed at that as he shrugged. The smirk on his ugly face got a bit wider while his eyes turned to crescents, almost as if he had fun mocking Cale that openly. Too bad he didn’t recognize the person standing next to him. Alberu cleared his throat, gaining the man´s attention.
“My friend here is right. Why overprice something as simple as this so much just for him?”
The fatty sneered at Alberu´s remark and pointed at Cale with his chin.
“You see that snobby and arrogant expression on that kid´s face? He certainly doesn’t even know what the word hardship means. And I assure you that he´s rich as hell, so why not teach him a small lesson and get rich at once?”
Hardships?
[T]
Cale almost sneered at that. If he didn’t know any hardships, that man surely must have been the thinnest on earth. What else had his life as Kim Rok Soo been other than hardships? One after another, his friends and family left him; left him with his uncle at first, then all alone. What about all the people who died? All the lives that had been put on his shoulders since he “didn’t work much anyways”? All the nights he spent in an abandoned building without any food and water? All the days, weeks or months he kept facing monsters out of his league? Or even before the apocalypse? Sure, other kids surely must have had it worse than Kim Rok Soo (at least he said that to himself, probably as a coping mechanism), but that didn’t mean Kim Rok Soo had it all easy? Getting beaten over nothing or over very little things day after day? Getting yelled at and then thrown out on the streets because of a false beer can he brought? Getting almost drowned in the ocean? Getting almost killed at a trip? And what was with his high school life? Sure, there was no one there to physically abuse him, but all those fucking teachers sure knew how to stress out a student, didn’t they? All the talks about him having no parents, being an orphan in front of the class, sneering in the teacher´s lounge at how stupid of a kid he was because all of his assignments were turned in dirtily? And what about the no-friends life and the constant bullying, be it in middle school, high school or during his early twenties before being assigned to team leader Lee Soo Hyuk?
[T]
Weren't all of those things called hardships?
“Cale?”
“Ah?”
The redhead looked up, surprised. He hadn’t noticed that he was spacing out. Well, it couldn’t have been for too long, judging by the not confused look the seller was giving him. It was probably hard to notice that he spaced out at all, and Alberu could only do so since he knew Cale quite well.
“What?”
The crown prince frowned, suspicious about his one and only friend. Sure, he knew that Cale had went through countless hardships too (though the ones he thought of were by far less evil than the ones that Cale who had once been Kim Rok Soo had actually gone through), so naturally it would be quite strange to listen to a stranger talk as if he knew everything about a person he just met. Still…it wasn’t usual for Cale to space out like this. It almost made one wonder if what they knew about the child was truly everything.
Hm…Alberu couldn’t get rid of such thoughts. Cale´s blank look, almost as if he was close to remembering something he didn’t want to – it had been too real for Alberu to just let it slide by. There must have been something, and Alberu just had to find out, even if Cale didn’t want him to. But that was something he would do later since he needed to first get rid of this eyesore of a man.
“Nothing, I was just counting on you to support my opinion, but there you go, spacing out like that.”
“Tsk.”
The pig like man scoffed, nevertheless he untangled his crossed arms as he handed the novel to Alberu.
Ah, apparently, Cale had missed the whole discussion.
“A silver coin then. I gave the woman a discount since she was cute and didn’t have a silver coin.”
The man cleared his throat as he stretched out his arm to take the silver coin Alberu was holding. Swiftly, Alberu handed it to him while taking the novel, which he then gave to Cale with a smile.
´Let´s pretend to not know anything for now.´
Alberu smiled while having that thought, and it was only because Cale looked at his new novel that he didn’t notice that something was weighing down on his best friend´s mind.
“Then, have a ba- beautiful day, sir.”
The fatty snorted one last time as he watched the two people walk away. But he must say, the blonde one had a very glib tongue, he could be the crown prince himself who was rumored to be able to pursue just about anyone. No, forget that, he was even handsome! He surely was better than some prince growing up in a castle while having it all.
The man nodded to himself as he welcomed another customer, whom he treated normally since it was a woman. Well, nothing one could do there though.
On the other hand, Cale and Alberu approached a nice looking house. It was a small wooden building with a big sign saying “Henrique’s food & clothes”. It was a very odd combination, but since it was a small town and it would take at least an hour to go back to Beacrox (and his good cooking) it had to do.
Thankfully, the house was split in two by a large wall, separating the restaurant from the clothing shop – both were filled with cheerful and happy customers. Well, it must be good then, right? Though it sure was a bit strange that none of the town´s people went in since all of them were around. And the odd glances they gave Cale and Alberu for going in were just…strange. But neither of the two of them stopped. It must be good and expensive then.
Well, that was what both Cale and Alberu had been thinking before they got served…whatever that was what was supposed to be food. It was a brown broth that looked a lot like dirt with…was that supposed to be a carrot or was it just a dead bird? No, honestly, was it a dead bird? Alberu was certain he saw a beak and two bird feet there with lots of feathers! There was no way he was gonna eat-
Cale dug in, fearlessly and without a change in expression he swallowed that mysterious broth á la secrets spoon for spoon. Honestly, Alberu was a bit shocked at first. He was aware that Cale was nothing of a picky eater. Even if he said that he disliked a certain dish, if it was served, he would always finish it. Yet this level…it was a bit extreme.
“Hey, if it´s that bad we can just leave it and look for something else.”
Cale stopped eating the broth and put down his spoon before facing his best friend with an extremely serious expression.
“But it´s food, we shouldn’t leave food behind, even if it is bad?”
Alberu sighed. Cale was a noble child and even if he had been neglected by Deruth for such a long time, there was no way Beacrox would let him eat bad food. And yet Cale still was eager to not leave any behind. Perhaps that was just the kind of person Cale was though. Still, it was odd and while Alberu would have just shrugged it off – usually –, he couldn’t do so this time. Not after seeing that blank look before. There was something to Cale that he didn’t tell anyone, not even him.
In the end, Alberu had no other choice than to dig in too. Not gonna lie, it was more than just disgusting. The food didn’t just taste bland, it sounded like literal wet dirt! And Alberu was convinced that that thing swimming around in his brown broth was not a strangely formed carrot and he did not want to know what it was, not after swallowing it whole.
Someone, a few tables away from the two of them, frowned upon seeing that.
“How strange.”
The person sitting opposite to him, a young man with bright, golden hair and yet skin so pale, he looked barely alive if not like a ghost. He had a z-shaped scar above his eye and looked extremely beautiful compared to any other person in this establishment, yet, compared to the man who just spoke, he looked like nothing more but average.
“What is it, Eruhaben-nim?”
He smiled as he tried to look in the direction the man sitting opposite to him, Eruhaben, was looking. He spotted two young men, one obviously younger than the other, sitting there and eating. There was nothing unusual about that, thus he frowned. Eruhaben sighed as he shook his head.
“Those two, I haven’t seen them here before. It is odd, but since when can normal humans enter this establishment?”
The man with the z-shaped scar widened his eyes. That´s true, this establishment, “Henrique´s food & clothes” could not be seen and hence entered by anyone who wasn’t an elf. Since the elves living on the ten finger mountain had to be informed about what was happening in the world, an ancient dragon agreed to create an illusion in the nearby town, an establishment only the elves would be able to see and thus enter. Yet, two new faces could see and enter here too? It was indeed strange! And while the man with the z-shaped scar didn’t know all elves, he was certain that there was not a single one with crimson hair!
Almost immediately, he jumped up in shock.
“Eruhaben-nim! Intruders!”
The commotion created by the man who was actually an elf, didn’t go unnoticed by the other people – no, they were elves too – or Cale and Alberu. All eyes were on him and the man, or was he an elf too, sitting with him. Eruhaben shook his head as he waved his hand for the elf to sit down again.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Pendrick. There can be no intruders here.”
He was incredibly confident, though he did have his reasons. The incredibly beautiful man, who wasn’t in fact an elf, but rather the very ancient dragon, who was responsible for this establishment, just knew that his magic would not fail. But at the same time, he could feel that at least one of the two of them was definitely not an elf, but how could he enter? What did he do to enter?
Pendrick, the elf with the z-shaped scar, sat back down again. Nevertheless, the frown on his face was persistent. He did not understand why the ancient dragon in front of him didn’t mind the intruders. Wait…if they weren't elves, which they weren't, there was only one possibility-
“Dragon-nims!”
Pendrick jumped up once more, but this time he hurried to the table Cale and Alberu were sitting on and bowed down on all fours. Naturally, the other elves couldn´t not hear his exclamation and thus bent down on their knees to, bowing to the son of a Count and son of a King. Needless to say both were confused.
Eruhaben, the real and only dragon in this little establishment let out a tired sigh. If the two of them truly had been dragons, he would have noticed it by now. But then again...the dragon´s pupils turned sharp as he looked at the crown prince and his best (and only friend). There was a trace of strong mana on the little kid as well as a strong presence of nature. The other on the other hand smelled a lot like the other elves, though a bit different as well.
Could it really be that the two of them were a dragon and an elf? Could it be that Eruhaben hadn’t noticed because the red kid was suppressing his presence? There was no way, right?
The ancient dragon´s curiousness was enough for him to get up and approach the table where Cale and Alberu were exchanging glances that seemed to be asking whether all of these people were crazy – which they were, Eruhaben could tell.
“Hey, brats.”
Cale snorted at that and crossed his hands before looking up at the ancient dragon. His gaze was cold and calculating – truly, it was just like the attitude of an arrogant, young dragon! Had Pendrick been right? Was Eruhaben getting too old?
“What?”
Alberu rolled his eyes too. He could feel that the man standing in front of him and the redhead was odd, yet he couldn’t exactly tell what kind of strange it was. Thus, he decided that in case everything went wrong, he could just pull out his title of crown prince. Furthermore, how dare a stranger disrespect him like that? No one but Cale was allowed to do so.
“Tsk, who are you brats?”
Cale snorted once again. He did not like that attitude of the man standing in front of him.
“We´re not brats. Who are you to call us that? Can´t we just eat here like everyone else? Furthermore, what´s up with this shitshow? Did we accidentally walk in on a theatre? Or a cult perhaps?”
Cale then proceeded to smile a strange smile, one that Alberu knew pretty well. It was a scammer-like smile with a sadistic side to it. After seeing that kind of smile, the crown prince knew that he could just lean back. It was different than with the situation with the fat seller. This time, Cale was his usual, calm and calculative self, the very one Alberu knew. He wasn’t distracted or anything.
“Don´t tell me it´s a cult indeed?”
At that, the man, who was an ancient dragon, snorted. He then took off the hood that hid his beautiful and brightly shining golden hair. It was so golden; Alberu´s hair seemed yellow and blank in comparison. The man´s golden eyes were of unbelievable beauty as well, and not just that, but just anything about his persona was gorgeous. But what stood out to Cale the most were the man´s sharp ears.
Ah.
Cale realized that he had fucked up that very moment.
He didn’t recognize the people bowing down to him as elves since all of them wore disguises, but that was unimportant. If Cale was to know that, he would have fainted that very moment. The redhead recalled a line from the novel ´The Birth of a Hero´. It was about how Choi Han, the protagonist, met his fourth party member, the elf healer Pendrick.
The only reason Choi Han met Pendrick and got access to the elf village on the ten finger mountain was because he rescued the healer. Usually, elves could communicate with elementals, yet, Pendrick was different and as such, could not protect himself at all. That was why he thought he would die – wasn’t it for Choi Han rescuing him.
Nevertheless, that had nothing to do with Cale´s current situation! The redhead was certain that he avoided the elf village completely, and the novel did say that the elves didn’t come down from their small village on the ten finger mountain´s peak! So why was he meeting one of them here?! And he even insulted him!
But that wasn’t even the worst!
It was another of the novel´s “filler” lines that Cale skipped past while thinking that t was totally unnecessary to mention those. Who would have thought he would recall them in this kind of situation?
“Tsk, just answer my question. Who are you?”
What elf did Cale save to get out of this mess?
Could Alberu quickly pose as one of them?
No, that would be too risky!
“I asked you a question.”
Cale cleared his throat. He had no idea how he could manage to get out of this crazy mess – nor did he know how he even got into this mess! Why couldn’t this elf just ignore him and leave him be? Why did all of these people bow down to him in the first place?
“Let me ask you another thing then. Are you a dragon?”
Ah! Cale´s rescue plan! This was it!
Cale snorted at that, returning to his calm and casual self. It must have seemed arrogant to the beautiful and elf-like man as he just raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you asking?”
Alberu hit his head on the desk, not understanding what Cale was planning once again. Oh well, he had no other choice but to trust the redhead…sadly. Cale not confirming was pretty much like a positive answer, hell! And Alberu wasn’t the only one who thought that way. The only dragon in this establishment raised his second eyebrow as well.
“I see.”
Cale smirked cockily.
Cale´s escape plan. It was rather simple; just pretend to be a dragon without fully confirming it and then somehow run away when the elf was looking away. If needed, Cale could create some havoc with his new ancient power too.
The ancient dragon, on the contrary, had very other plans. He frowned and was about to grab Cale´s arm, yet couldn’t do so as Alberu got up and pushed him away.
Let´s just say, if Alberu would have known that this man wasn’t just a simple elf but an ancient dragon, he would have thought twice. But he didn’t know that – yet that is.
Notes:
Hi!
I managed to update today! Yay! I'm super proud! I really love this ending with Eruhaben thinking that Cale is a dragon (naturally because of Raon's smell) hahahahaha!
Like pls, he's just a weak human!Anyways, I was in the library today, looking for books about AI. I have to prepare a presentation about it in January, so I have to start preparing (it's already a bit late, but no one cares but me).
I'll go watch some movie now, then return to my desk and try to finish the next chapter (if I manage to that is). I still have to read this fucking drama my german teacher writes a test about! щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щWHY?!?!?!?!?!?!
Anyways, have a great day/night!
Til next chapter! (Ɔ ˘⌣˘)˘⌣˘ C)
Chapter 24: 22. You won't like it (1)
Summary:
Meeting Eruhaben Part II (enjoy!)
Notes:
No trigger warning this time (* ˘⌣˘)◞[_]♥[_]ヽ(•‿• )
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Alberu was tightly holding the ancient dragon´s arm, preventing him from touching Cale. The redhead was frowning. The novel didn’t have much information on dark elves, but it did say that while dark elves were seen as beings that brought misfortune, they were actually no different from normal elves. The only big difference was skin color – which was no different from the old racism. They were just as close to nature as normal elves. Another (rather small) difference, which was the reason they were portrayed as the bad guys, was that they were able to handle dead mana – but that was it.
So who would technically win, if they were to fight?
Well, Cale would never find out since the elf-like man simply sighed and pulled his hand back. He glanced at Alberu, looked him up and down, before frowning. To Eruhaben, the crown prince did not seem like human or elf; he seemed like a mixture of both. How odd.
“Tell me your name.”
Cale smirked as he crossed his arms and shrugged. He was not eager to meet an elf or let him know more about his identity. Well, since he posed like a dragon, shouldn’t he act accordingly? It didn’t look like the elf doubted him.
“Why should I? Who are you to know my name?”
Alberu scoffed at that Cale-typical behavior. Well, he actually didn’t mind. He found that man, that elf, in front of him pretty irritating too.
Eruhaben just let out a tired sigh and turned around to look at the true elves inside the building. He waved at them, and without losing a second, all of them disappeared into the other part of the building so that the ancient dragon was left alone with those two strange figures.
Cale naturally thought that those people weren't elves but normal humans who knew of this man´s elf-identity and thus listened to him. He couldn’t have been more wrong, actually.
After they were left alone, Eruhaben´s golden pupils turned to slits. It was a very strange sight that didn’t exactly fit into his elf persona, but oh well, Cale didn’t know much about elves. Alberu, on the other hand, immediately knew that something was wrong. No elf´s eyes could look like a reptilian´s. It was almost as if this man wasn’t an elf, but a being above elves…
“Fine, then let me ask you another question.”
Cale raised his eyes while Alberu kept thinking about countless theories; needless to say that he didn’t pay any attention to his best friend´s conversation.
“What is it?”
Eruhaben smirked as he pushed back his long, golden and slightly shimmering hair.
“Why are you here? What could a dragon want in a place like this? And more importantly, since when does a dragon have a companion? Tell me, brat, you smell a lot like a dragon, but there´s no way you truly are one.”
Cale raised his brows provocatively, almost as if he was ready to challenge that elf. Naturally, that was just a big bluff. Cale did not know where he mustered up the courage to pull a stunt like that, though it wasn’t all too important in the end.
“Why do you think so?”
Eruhaben had a smirk on his lips and the very next second, there was an incredible force pushing down both Cale and Alberu. It was to that extent that both of them felt fear beyond their imagination – well, more or less. That was what it was supposed to make you feel, yet neither Cale nor the crown prince felt anything else but a strong force pushing them down. Naturally, it was because of Cale´s Indestructible Shield ancient power.
After a few moments, that strong pressure stopped and the two teens were able to breathe properly, well, more or less. There was blood on the corner of Cale´s lip that he wiped off before Alberu could notice it. To be fair, the quarter dark elf was too busy staring at the man he believed to be an elf.
“…you are a dragon, no?”
Eruhaben smiled a genuine smile. That was confirmation enough to both Alberu and Cale. The two of them exchanged glances with each other, knowing they completely fucked up at this time. What would they have done if it managed to get Raon here?
“Yes. Now answer my questions if you want to live.”
While Alberu was ready to do as he was told, Cale certainly was not. Sure, that man in front of him was a dragon and while Cale wouldn’t want to do anything more than just run away with Alberu, something deep inside of him made him stand up. Hence, Cale shook his head.
“We don’t want to.”
“Ho!”
The dragon scoffed in disbelief, yet nothing bad like getting burned alive happened. Instead, Eruhaben simply shook his head as he took a better look at the petty seeming redhead.
“What a brat you are.”
Cale snorted at that, but couldn’t say anything else as Alberu leaned in to keep his mouth closed. The ancient dragon couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He immediately knew that the redhead was the troublemaker while the half human and half elf smelling one was his caretaker. Well, perhaps the blonde one was also a part troublemaker, judging by his behavior before.
Eruhaben could hear some muffled sounds that seemed to be saying something along the lines of ´who are you calling a brat´, but it did nothing other than make the ancient dragon´s smile bigger. He took Alberu´s bowl (which wasn’t even half-finished yet) and inspected it. At that, he could only furrow his brows.
It was a dish the pregnant elf women ate to give birth safely. Were these two perhaps…crossdressers?!
“Why is he staring at us like that now?”
Alberu frowned while watching the dragon´s calm and somewhat amused expression turn into a shocked, half-terrified one. He pulled his hand away, releasing Cale´s mouth. The redhead just shrugged.
“Dunno, maybe he thinks we´re crazy.”
Alberu almost laughed at that, but in the end, he couldn’t help but remain being serious. He shook his head and watched the ancient dragon clear his throat.
“You two…are you…perhaps…of the other gender?”
Eruhaben immediately disregarded that possibility judging by the first confused and then somewhat shocked expressions. Ah, perhaps the two of them were just nothing more than tourists. But then again, how on earth did they manage to not only find this establishment, but also enter it?
“What do you want from us, dragon?”
Cale turned serious once again. Eruhaben almost got the chills. That gaze of that brat, it didn’t seem like the kind of gaze a kid could have. But, the ancient dragon managed to ignore it. Instead, he just sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“Do the two of you not know where you are right now?”
Alberu frowned, yet he answered rather quickly.
“We´re in the only restaurant of this town, ´Henrique´s food & clothes´.”
Eruhaben almost laughed at that and in the end, he did let out an amused chuckle. It caused confusion to the two best friends and they exchanged questioning gazes, unsure what the dragon found amusing enough to laugh at.
“You two, there´s no way you are humans. What on earth are you?”
Now, instead of wondering about the dragon laughing, Cale and Alberu froze in their movements. It was all because of Alberu´s quarter dark elf identity. But the ancient dragon wasn’t done just yet.
“You, the blonde one, you smell a lot like an elf. Tell me, are you a hybrid? Half human and half elf, or something else? And the little brat, tell me, why do you smell like a dragon?”
Before Alberu could answer truthfully, which he was ready to do (Cale could tell), Cale jumped up and tried to throw over the table. T. R. I. E. D. He did nothing but gain two confused looks, both not understanding what he was doing, or rather had attempted to do. The redhead cleared his throat and sat back down, pretending nothing happened. He recalled all the table flips he had done back when he was still Kim Rok Soo…haaa that was probably the only thing he would miss about his old and strong body.
Alberu glanced at him with a look that questioned his doing and thus Cale avoided eye contact. Instead, he looked back at the dragon and answered his question, not intending to reveal their identities at all. It was never a good thing if one got involved with powerful beings, especially arrogant dragons. Raon was different though, of course.
“Why are you so interested in our identities either way? Aren´t you like a very busy dragon with a lot of things to do, someone who doesn’t concern himself over earthly matters?”
Eruhaben smirked at that and simply shrugged.
“Little brat, you´re quite amusing. Since I like your fiery attitude, I´ll let you off the hook this once. Instead, just tell me your names; that much will be fine, no?”
While Alberu would have just said yes, it wasn’t on him to decide. Thus, the crown prince waited for Cale to answer, which the redhead did after a few seconds.
“Fine, I suppose knowing our names won’t cause any harm.”
The ancient dragon smirked as he waited for the two boys to introduce themselves…which they did not do. He sighed, immediately understanding what the problem was.
“Tsk, and what a brat you are, making your elders introduce themselves first!”
Cale scoffed at that while crossing his arms.
“It’s called manners.”
It wasn’t really because Cale was eager to know more about the dragon, the reason behind him doing this was rather simple even; it was because he did not want to get involved with that dragon that he behaved rudely. Little did he know, if he behaved not as arrogantly, Eruhaben would have lost interest in him immediately…
“My name is Eruhaben. Now what’s yours?”
It was finally Alberu’s turn to answer. The crown prince took a deep breath before introducing himself, then his friend. The whole time, Eruhaben seemed unimpressed.
“Aha, and what are you brats doing here?”
Alberu smiled his usual princy smile, which had zero influence over Eruhaben. The ancient dragon just sighed as he waited for Alberu to answer – which happened soon enough.
“We were just visiting this town, looking for souvenirs and then got hungry. Surely, even a dragon-nim would understand such circumstances-“
Eruhaben raised his hand for Alberu to not speak any more. It was annoying, especially since he knew that Alberu wasn’t really serious about any of those things. Instead, he turned to Cale. The redhead just shrugged.
“It´s like hyung said, we’re just shopping around.”
Eruhaben nodded. He watched how Cale got up once again and Alberu did so too. Ah, it seemed like the two of them got ready to leave already. He sighed as he watched them walk away without turning around, despite knowing he was a dragon. Truth to be told here, it was really hard for Alberu to not turn around, bow down and show proper respect to Eruhaben, but he somehow managed.
Just as Cale was about to reach for the door knob to leave, Eruhaben let out an amused chuckle.
“You sure you want to leave already, brat?”
Cale smirked as he turned around one last time.
“Yeah, why? Got any business left with us?”
Eruhaben snorted at the disrespect, but chose to ignore it this one time (Alberu noted that the ancient dragon did the very same mistake he had done with Cale, but then again, it was impossible to tell this child to speak properly!).
“And is your friend sure as well?”
Alberu frowned as he turned around as well. It sounded a lot like the dragon knew something he should not know…
“What do you wish to tell me, mighty dragon-nim?”
Eruhaben ignored the extremely formal speech Alberu used with him all of a sudden. Perhaps there truly was something behind the elf-like smell on him. The ancient dragon got up from his chair as well, a book in his hands. Ah, both teens immediately recognized it as the novel Cale wanted which was so hard to attain. How come they forgot about it?!
Nevertheless, good thing the dragon handed it to them. Yet, before completely letting go of it, leaving it in Alberu´s hands, Eruhaben pulled the nineteen year old closer, so that Cale wouldn’t hear what he was about to whisper in the crown prince´s ear.
And truth to be told, Cale really wanted to hear. It was because the dragon seemed to ask a question, to which the crown prince nodded his head. After though, Alberu’s eyes widened in shock and he looked over at him, almost as if it was a wonder that he was standing. Well truth to be told, it was.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Eruhaben raised his brows as he pointed at Cale.
“It’s very simple, brat. You seem to have more than just one ancient power – which is a wonder in itself – but it doesn’t seem like your elements are balanced out.”
Cale frowned at that. A balance of all elements? What was that damn dragon talking about? Who needed a balance of all elements in first place?
Alberu, contrary to Cale and Eruhaben, wasn’t the least bit amused though. He had a strangely dark expression on his face, almost as if someone would die soon. Wait…it wasn’t him, was it?
“What are you talking about?”
Eruhaben chuckled this time, then revealed the shocking truth he had just found out himself.
“You´re such an unlucky brat…haaa, you will explode in a week like this. It’s a wonder how you’re still standing – I suppose it’s some kind of healing related power since else you would’ve exploded right on spot when two element attribute ancient powers would have clashed with each other.”
To Cale, the dragon was speaking in riddles. As such, he explained the situation more thoroughly, since Alberu wouldn’t have understood much anyways besides Cale being in danger. Now that Eruhaben was thinking about it…he sure was quite worried for someone who pretended to not care too much about the redhead.
“Do you have ancient powers inside your body?”
Cale nodded his head, a constant and persistent frown on his face.
“Well, what attribute are they?”
Cale was incredibly confused. Was it really such a good idea to tell a dragon all this? And a dragon he just met at that? Well, then again, if Eruhaben really wanted to harm him, he could have done so before.
“Wood, healing and fire.”
Eruhaben nodded his head, then continued to explain with an odd smile on his face.
“I assume the healing attribute ancient power was your second?”
Cale nodded his head, still confused.
“Well, it is what is holding you together right now. I’m not certain about what’s happening with you either, yet I can tell that the nature power flow inside your body is not working properly. You can imagine it like the fire and wood ancient powers weighing down your plate and thus destroying your body.”
The redhead still didn’t understand properly, which was why the ancient dragon smiled once again. But the things that came out of his mouth was nothing worth smiling about.
“If a balance isn’t created in a week, your body will break down and you will…let´s say explode. Then, have a nice day.”
Eruhaben smiled as he waved at them, totally missing the partly shocked, partly confused atmosphere in the room. Meanwhile Cale was cussing out that damn novel ´The Birth of a Hero´ that mentioned all sorts of useless information besides important crap such as this! Hell, curse Nelan Barrow out! Cale sure hoped that the man ended up in hell, if such a place truly existed!
“Cale! Do you not understand what he just said?”
Eruhaben listened to the blonde confront that little brat. Alberu was beyond worried. There had never been a time in his life that he wished for Ron to be present, but right now he actually did wish so. Still, he somehow managed to remain at least a bit calm. Meanwhile, Cale who had to stop cussing in his head; was just dumbly staring at Alberu. But he did have an idea how to get out of this mess and avoid exploding.
“…Well, we can still just find a couple ancient powers? It’s not the end?”
Alberu scoffed in disbelief while Eruhaben just laughed. After all, ´The Birth of a Hero´ did mention quite a lot of unimportant stuff like the location of ancient powers that may have never been of use to anyone.
“Finding one ancient power is already enough of a miracle, but now you want to find three more?”
Stoically, Cale replied to the ancient dragon’s words, almost as if he asked the most obvious thing, since to him, it was.
“Yes?”
He also looked at Eruhaben with a look that said if he was asking the obvious.
Oh well, Cale already knew the location of two ancient powers, and he would certainly manage to find the earth attribute too, which the Fire of Destruction mentioned before. He clearly recalled him stating that it was somewhere in the land of boulders, which could only be the northern part of the Roan Kingdom. So, perhaps it wasn’t that bad after all.
Well, Alberu sure didn’t think that way.
~
“Oi gramps, you sure the human will like it?”
Ron smiled his usual benign smile as he nodded. The young Raon flew around in circles above Beacrox’ head while the head chef was preparing a big dessert isle – Cale´s favorite.
“Raon-nim, would you mind sitting down. The young master-nim voiced his concern for you flying around in circles all the time.”
Raon immediately stopped what he was doing and sat down on the armchair of the vast room they were currently staying in. While it couldn’t be compared to the luxurious rooms of the crown prince or Cale, it did its job at providing a roof over their heads. Furthermore, his human said that he liked it, so Raon liked it too.
“Gramps, do you think the human is very sad today?”
Ron stopped preparing the dishes and looked up at the young, curious dragon. Raon was now two years old and understood a lot of things, his level of intellect was probably around a ten year old’s. And while he might not understand just yet, Ron still decided to tell him the tragic story behind this simple seeming day.
“The young master-nim doesn’t show it, but he seems lonely very often, doesn’t he?”
Raon kept thinking about what Ron said; then nodded his head. It was true! His human stared off into space rather often whenever he was alone, seemingly thinking about something (or someone) long gone! Naturally, this was all a big misunderstanding and it was just Cale’s idea of a perfect slacker life – one in which doing nothing (which meant staring off into space) was the best. This led to the observant former assassin to misunderstand.
“But why does the human look that way?”
Ron knelt down in front of the young dragon and shook his head.
“Raon-nim might not know, but the young master-nim once had someone who he loved so much, he couldn’t be apart from her even for a couple minutes.”
Raon pouted, disappointed that someone wasn’t him. But as Ron continued, he quickly realized that it was wrong of him to be disappointed over something like that.
“That someone was the late Countess, the young master-nim’s mother.”
Raon could not be angry at something like that. While he himself did not have a mother, he had Cale who was pretty much like a parent to him.
“But gramps, where’s the human’s mommy now?”
Ron shook his head, an unusually serious expression on his face.
“The late Countess passed away six years ago, Raon-nim. And today is the anniversary of that day.”
Raon frowned at that, but quickly realized what was going on. Now that he thought about it, Ron and Beacrox prepared such a feast every year – and it was always around, no, on this day. While Raon could not understand what his human may be feeling, the young dragon did understand that if Cale was to disappear one day – to die one day – no, Raon did not want, could not, think about such a cruel thing happening, ever.
Little did he know, he was about to be confronted with such a possible outcome.
Before Ron and the young dragon could finish their conversation, a sudden array appeared on the floor of their inn room. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a teleportation array! As soon as Raon realized that, three individuals appeared inside the room, shocking Ron and his son, so much that they were already holding some sort of weapons in their hands. Yet, they quickly put those away as they realized that it was just Cale and Alberu…and a strange individual they paid no mind for.
“Young master-nim, weren't you supposed to return in the evening?”
Cale shrugged as he hugged the young Raon who immediately flew to him for a hug. He was probably too young to notice the other dragon in this room, but it didn’t really matter. Since Cale was too busy cuddling, it was on Alberu to respond.
“Originally, that had been the plan, but we have no time any longer – hence we cannot afford to waste time doing nothing.”
Ron immediately frowned. What did this brat mean with they didn’t have any time? They were on vacation! Naturally they had lots of time on their hands, time to do anything they wished to do, even waste it!
“Tsk, your highness seems to have forgotten that we’re on vacation.”
Beacrox’ low grumble was heard very well. At that, the ancient dragon who had been ignored up til now cleared his throat. He was not used to getting ignored at all. Eruhaben was someone who lived in seclusion and only came by the elves once or twice a year, just to check things up and look after the world tree branch in the elf village, since it was part of his responsibility of a dragon. And the elves usually praised him, prayed to him and practically worshipped him. Never on earth had his presence ever been ignored before!
Even back in the days, when Eruhaben had been a young dragon, others had at least glanced at him, though not always with the best of intentions in mind. It was still better than getting ignored like this, almost as if he wasn’t here to begin with! Yet, him clearing his throat gained the attention of Ron and Beacrox, as well as the young drag-
Ah, cool, cool, cool, Cale had a dragon.
Yes, that was natural, right?
Normal, right; humans being with dragons?
That’s nothing to be surprised at…right?
“Eruhaben-nim, it might be better to close your mouth.”
Cale stood there, in front of the ancient dragon, while looking at him with an expression that seemed to be asking why he was so shocked. As if Cale being with a dragon – no, hugging a dragon – wasn’t shocking and something that was to be expected! Did Eruhaben go into the wrong universe all of a sudden?! And it was a baby dragon at that!
Usually, especially young dragons kept to themselves only, or to their own kind. Dragons were the most animalistic in their younger years since their intellect wasn’t developed just yet, similar to a human’s child. So how on earth did Cale manage to make a dragon hug him like that?!
You know what, that brat owned three fucking ancient powers before turning fifteen, and was friends with a hybrid or whatever this blonde boy was. Furthermore, his two servants didn’t smell like normal humans as well. The ancient dragon should not be surprised just because he was friends with a fucking baby dragon.
“Tsk! Oi old man, don’t stare at our weak human for too long! He’s very weak!”
Did that baby dragon just call him…old man?
Eruhaben couldn’t help but scoff. It seems that the little brat taught the little dragon his manners!
“Tsk, little kid, do you even know who I am?”
Alberu sighed as he crossed his arms and shook his head, almost as if he knew that Eruhaben was about to face the shocker of his life. And truth to be told, he was. Alberu wasn’t stupid, or as obvious as Cale, hence he understood that Cale was anything other than a normal fourteen year old kid. He was someone with many surprises. And Raon…well, he was pretty similar to Cale, both in speech and attitude.
“I don’t need to know! You’ve been staring at the weak human for too long now! And I’m not a little kid, old man!”
Eruhaben was out of words for a few moments. During that time, Raon managed to get in between the ancient dragon and Cale, so that Eruhaben could no longer look at his face – which he didn’t do to begin with.
“Raon, how about you calm down a bit? Come here and let him speak, it’s about Cale, you know?”
At that, Raon immediately listened to the crown prince’s words, yet instead of going to him, he returned to Cale and sat down on his shoulder. The redhead sighed, yet he didn’t send the young dragon away, no, he couldn’t send him away.
“Oi old man, then speak!”
Eruhaben honestly didn’t want to, now that this young dragon disrespected him like that, but then he accidentally made eye contact with the nonchalant Cale. He didn’t seem the least bit stressed, anxious or even afraid. He was calm, and looked back at the ancient dragon with a stoic and calculative gaze, almost as if he wasn’t about to die in a week if he failed to obtain three ancient powers of different attributes in that time! Hell, it was absolutely impossible, a suicide-mission! Yet, the ancient dragon was here. And while he had only tagged along because he was bored and wanted to see how that redheaded brat managed things, he certainly hadn’t come to see him die.
“Eruhaben-nim, was it?”
Ron, who didn’t involve himself up til now, finally spoke. It was because this elf-seeming man was here because of Cale – and judging by Alberu’s tensed body it wasn’t a good thing.
Eruhaben finally turned away and instead faced the old butler. The ancient dragon could feel an ominous aura around that man which almost gave him the shivers, yet as a great and mighty dragon, he ignored it blatantly, instead tilting his head a bit.
“And who are you?”
Ron smiled ever so benignly, but his eyes did not smile at all. There was suspicion hidden in that vicious glare directed at Eruhaben.
“I’m nothing but the young master-nim’s humble servant, Ron. If this old man may ask, is Eruhaben-nim perhaps an elf?”
The ancient dragon couldn’t help but scoff at that. If he was indeed an elf, he would have been on his knees already, worshipping and praising the young Raon.
“Don’t compare me to those creatures.”
Eruhaben sneered at that thought. He wasn’t a crazy lunatic like the elves. Ron furrowed his brows, clearly looking at the man’s sharp ears. If he wasn’t an elf, what was he? Alberu let out a tired sigh. Seeing that Cale had no intention of talking right now it was on him to clear up this strange situation.
“Ron, Eruhaben-nim is a…uh…dragon.“
At that, Ron raised his brows in confusion. Another…dragon, again? Just how many of those creatures did his puppy like young master-nim attract, and more importantly, how?
No, no, no, the how wasn’t important right now. If Eruhaben was indeed a dragon – which he was – then why was he with his precious young master-nim? The young Raon had more than enough reasons to remain with Cale, since the redhead was the first thing and person the young dragon had seen in his entire life and had practically raised him. But Eruhaben, he seemed like a dragon adult. So why was he here?
Ron’s expression seemed to ask his questions for him. Eruhaben scoffed as he pointed at Cale, ignoring Raon’s excited looks as well as the young dragon flying above his head in circles to the best of his abilities. Well, he seemed to be a very young dragon, truly.
“I’m here because of that brat, or rather his friend that forced me to tag along.”
All eyes (besides Raon’s and Cale’s) were on Alberu now and the crown prince tried to avoid eye contact to the best of his abilities. In the end, he failed and made eye contact with the silent head chef, which was even worse than to make eye contact with Ron. Alberu swore, Ron was nothing compared to that judging head chef. Ever since Beacrox first saw him, he seemed to hate him more than humanly possible while Ron just acted cold towards him (and called him punk, but that was nothing).
The crown prince of the Roan Kingdom cleared his throat and looked at Cale for help, yet the fourteen year old was already sitting comfortably on the armchair while reading the novel Alberu bought him. Oh well, Alberu could give him those few silent moments, since the next week would be pretty hectic.
“Well, it seems there’s a tiny, little problem with our vacation plans…”
Beacrox furrowed his brows while Ron’s benign smile got a bit wider, to hide his vicious look, naturally. Raon stopped flying around in circles above the ancient dragon’s head and instead landed on his shoulders (in which Eruhaben naturally had no say whatsoever). Cale was the only one who calmly turned the page and continued reading the novel.
It made Alberu sigh. Cale made it seem as if nothing was about to happen – as if nothing was happening! It was as if today was a day like any other, as if Cale wasn’t in danger of dying, as if everything was fine. But it wasn’t.
“And what may that be?”
Ron’s benign smile was scary, so Alberu turned his head to face his best (and only) friend. He had to clear his throat once again. (Was he getting sick? The room seemed very hot right now).
“Well…Eruhaben-nim, don’t you want to tell them?”
In the end, the ever so powerful crown prince of the Roan Kingdom chickened out. The ancient dragon sighed. Since he had no relation to these people (and didn’t know them and underestimated their affection for the redheaded brat to no ends), he simply blurted things out like they were.
He naturally regretted it afterwards.
“That brat is going to die by the end of this week.”
Needless to say that the very moment those words were out, hell broke loose in the inn’s room.
Notes:
Hi!
I managed to finish this today and Jesus Christ was it difficult in the beginning but it was so smooth in the end! Like I legit wrote another chapter, which I'll be posting on new years. I will have to focus on my school assignments these next few days, so I'm really glad that I have a chapter to release on new year's since I've been very unsure whether I can make it happen!Anyways, now the real chaos begins hehe! I bet the next chapter will be very unexpected for you guys! (since it was unexpected for me as well, but we can talk about it when it's out, alright?).
I read on in my german drama (Nathan the Wise) and it's not as boring as it was before. I think the story has somthing to it and it it wasn't written in this old language, it may have been even more fun to read. But either way, since it's for school it's still something I kind of have to force myself to do. But i hope it'll get better.
Last year, our english teacher (he was the biggest dick there is) forced us to read this novel and I hate it til this day. I won't say the title but hell was it badly written (as if a sixth grader had done so) щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
Like why do I need to read that crap? I know I can write on a whole other level and I have to read shit like this? I don't want to appear arrogantly, but it's the truth. My classmated noticed it too and the novel had just so many mistakes! I wanted to cry while reading it!But it doesn't matter. It's new years soon, do you have any plans? Like celebrate with family and co? Or something else? Personally, I'll probably celebrate with my fam. I'm not really excited for the new year, it makes me feel kind of old? 2023 is almost over and I still feel like it just started (ʃ_⌣̀ )/||
I really hope you liked this chapter today as well! I know it feels kind of...like a filler? But trust me, the next chapter is a good one (at least it felt like a good one to me while I was writing it,,,, I almost cried but not gonna spoiler!) hehehe!
Thanks for reading/leaving kudos (and all those extra kudos; I've received them with care)/and or commenting! I really appreciate it!
Til next chap! (˘▼˘>ԅ( ˘⌣ƪ)
Chapter 25: 23. You won't like it (1)
Summary:
Looking for Super Rock - fail and die or find it and live, what will it be? ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
Notes:
No trigger warning again~ (but it'll be emotional, so watch out hehe)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Ouch! Damn it, it hurts like a bitch!”
Bam!
“Urgh! Goddamn it Glenn!”
Bud Illis, the Mercenaries King held his head while looking at his best friend, Glenn Poeff, with teary eyes. Naturally, it was all fake and the highest grade mage’s hit didn’t even hurt him, but he was a drama queen, what else? Glenn, who would usually smile at that and then make fun of Bud, only shook his head and hurried to walk past him, along the small tunnel way.
The whole cave was small, wet and kind of scary as well as uncomfortable, yet it was the very cave that had the object in it which would save their favorite child of all time. The tall Bud naturally hit his head on the cave’s ceiling every so often and cussed at that, and while Glenn would have scolded his best friend, he couldn’t do so right now. Finding that strange ‘Water Suppressing’ stone or whatever had priority right now.
“Ouch! This fucking cave’s ceiling is fucking me over, fuck me!”
Glenn rolled his eyes, recalling the redhead’s calm instructions on where to find the stone.
‘It’s in the back of the cave. You’ll recognize it once you see it since it shines in a light blue color, even in the dark. It’s also formed like a tear, so you’ll definitely recognize it.’
End of the cave his ass, they haven’t found it yet! And what on earth did Cale mean with it is shining?! The only thing shining was the water here and it was-
It was shining?
Glenn’s eyes widened in shock as he bent down and looked closer at the puddle which he and Bud had passed at least three times already. And just as he guessed, the water was shining because of the object in it!
“Bud! I’ve finally found it!”
Bud groaned in relief, glad he didn’t have to hit his head any longer, which he did one last time while trying to walk over to Glenn. Needless to say that this time, after he cussed, Glenn scolded him properly. After, Glenn bent down to pick up the shining stone and indeed, it was just as Cale described him.
The wave of relief that went through him was something he had never experienced before. For a second, the highest grade mage closed his eyes, only now realized just how fast his heartbeat was.
He turned around to face the Mercenaries King. It was odd how Bud hadn’t been saying anything for more than ten seconds, yet turning around to the blue haired swordsmaster, Glenn understood why. The Mercenaries King had a strangely serious and absent expression on his face, almost as if his thoughts were someplace else – a more depressing place. Glenn knew immediately where.
“Hey Glenn.”
The highest grade mage gulped, before finally meeting Bud’s green, calculative eyes. He wasn’t gonna lie, whenever Bud behaved this seriously, he got the chills.
“W-What?”
The swordsmaster looked at his hands, thinking about his own wind attribute ancient power and the conversation he had with Cale exactly three days, four hours and twenty-six minutes ago.
“What if he doesn’t make it?”
There was no need to specify who Bud meant. Glen froze in his movement and stared at his friend, uncertain about what to say. What did Bud mean with ‘what if he doesn’t make it’?
Slap.
Bud’s face was turned to the side and his left cheek was burning like hell. Glenn had a really strong right hand. Nevertheless, that pain was nothing for Bud Illis. The strong swordsmaster simply looked at his best friend with a serious expression. Glenn was pale and he looked incredibly furious, but both of them knew that Bud’s question was a valid one.
After a few seconds of silence, Glenn turned around and walked out of the cave.
“Don’t spout useless bullshit, Bud.”
But both the Mercenaries King and the highest grade mage knew that it was not bullshit and something that could very well happen. But it couldn’t happen. It wasn’t allowed it happen. It just mustn’t.
~
Cale looked down on the map in his hands. It was a map of the Forest of Darkness next to the Henituse territory. He had designed it after rereading all of the recorded lines of the novel ‘The Birth of a Hero’, and while it looked pretty…bad, not gonna lie here, it fulfilled its use in being a readable map, though it was only readable to Cale.
The redhead looked up at the ancient dragon and quarter dark elf (not in disguise this time) accompanying him. Those two were the only ones this time. No Raon, no Ron and certainly no Beacrox were here. It had taken at least two hours to convince the young dragon and make him stop crying so much. It was such a pain in the ass to make such a young child like Raon cry over someone trashy like himself. But it was better that way.
The redhead folded the map in his hands, looking around in this vast forest. The three of them were currently still in the inner region of it, which they have been for a whole day and a half. So to break it down, they have been wasting time, precious time they did not have. They had a bit less than two days left now; with only the earth attribute ancient power missing.
Alberu couldn’t believe that it took them four whole days to collect the water and wind attribute ancient powers for Cale. Sure, it was something that shocked the ancient dragon to his core since collecting two fucking ancient powers in less than two lifelines was deemed impossible, but none of Cale’s people seemed to question that. And instead of being happy and relieved, they were stressed and complaining at how much time it took to collect those two ancient powers – time they could have spent searching for the earth attribute ancient power!
Well, Eruhaben knew from the very beginning he and Cale made eye contact; that brat and the people around him could not be normal.
“What way?”
Alberu was clenching his teeth while asking short questions. His body was incredibly tense, even more so than yesterday. But the ancient dragon couldn’t mind it. It was because, while he knew this little redheaded brat for only less than a week, he began to feel anxious and stressed as well. He wondered if Cale was truly as calm as he seemed – which, truthfully, he wasn’t.
Two days.
That was the time they had left to find and obtain the earth attribute ancient power while not meeting Choi Han or triggering any other events. And while two days may seem like a lot, it wasn’t. Cale knew very well that navigating in this forest alone took its time; they still haven’t arrived in the inner borders of this forest! And his ancient power’s voices inside his help were no help either, that were constantly counting down the time he had left to find the earth attribute ancient power.
It was stressing and annoying. Cale felt the same way he had felt when he had just gotten employed by his cooperation and was still a rookie under Lee Soo Hyuk. Kim Rok Soo’s every so little movement was judged. ‘What did he eat for dinner?’ ‘Oh, he didn’t help Gun Jeon Won with his paper work? What a petty and lazy bastard!’ ‘Kim Rok Soo is working late again? Pah, what an attention seeker!’
While it doesn’t seem like much, and really wasn’t, Kim Rok Soo had felt very uncomfortable with all his co-worker’s comments on his every actions. It was Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo who stopped the people from gossiping about him. Until this day, Cale still doesn’t understand just why people couldn’t stop bickering about him.
But it didn’t matter, that nervous feeling he had felt as a rookie employee was the very same that he was currently feeling. While the situations couldn’t be more different, the feeling was the same – how ironical. Nevertheless, it was a feeling Cale did not like. He also did not really understand just what it was.
“The other way.”
Cale pointed in the direction of the black and purple trees that did not look like normal trees. They were also taller, bigger and a lot uglier compared to the ones in the outer border of the Forest of Darkness, in which the trees resembled normal trees – not just resemble, they were normal trees.
Nevertheless, there was no time to lose and Alberu just nodded. His chocolate dark skin that was a tad lighter than his dark brown hair and warm, terra colored eyes fit in pretty well into this forest, especially with his casual, black outfit. The ancient dragon, on the contrary, looked like he didn’t belong here at all. But appearances did not matter. Time did.
Quickly, the three of them walked into the direction Cale had pointed to. No monsters crossed their paths, and it wasn’t because of the ancient dragon’s strong presence. Before entering this forest, Cale had said that he didn’t want the ancient dragon to accompany him. It was because of his dragon presence. His scent alone made the monsters kneel in fear – it would be something that wouldn’t go unnoticed by Choi Han.
That was why he planned to go alone with Alberu (whom he originally wanted to leave behind as well, but Alberu pretty much insisted). In the end, Eruhaben agreed to suppress everything, and him being an experienced, ancient dragon, he could do that.
The reason the monsters were not approaching the trio was another. It was because most of them weren’t even on this side of the inner border of the Forest of Darkness, but on the one opposite to this one. Reason behind this was simple too: Choi Han was there, and he gave off a strong presence that didn’t scare but rather attract the monsters. Well, it all worked out in favor of Cale, Alberu and Eruhaben.
Their steps quickened the longer they walked, which accumulated their breaks due to Cale’s fatigue. It was quite funny how the Vitality of the Heart’s strength slowly lessened with time, instead focusing on balancing out Cale’s plate to give him more time to find the earth attribute ancient power, even if it were just seconds.
Currently, the trio was on yet another break. Cale sat down on a tree trunk and tried to calm his fast breath. Ah, the Vitality of the Heart truly worked very hard for Cale. How long has it been since long and fast walks tired him out like this? And while he could always use his newly obtained wind attribute ancient power, the ‘Sound of the Wind’, it would only drain the time he had left to find the missing ancient power – so much, that it was faster like this.
Eruhaben scoffed while looking at the redheaded brat for a prolonged time. He pulled out a water bottle from his special space and handed it over to Cale. Dragons truly were cool. Naturally, the fourteen year old couldn’t refuse, thus took it and drank from the water. He really wasn’t thirsty, but oh well, the ancient dragon didn’t have to know. Alberu, who, contrary to Eruhaben, could tell very well, took away the water bottle from Cale and handed it back to Eruhaben.
To the ancient dragon, albeit elf or dark elf, they were all the same. Yet, Alberu treated him no less than a normal person and no more as well. But he couldn’t comment as Cale got up again and their small adventure continued.
-I smell him! I smell him!
Cale then suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around; listening to the previous owners of the ancient powers that now belonged to him. All of them were telling him that they smelled some sort of familiar energy, eager to help him obtain the earth attribute ancient power to survive. And they did not do it for themselves, no, they didn’t matter. It was just that they couldn’t let a fourteen year old kid die – under no circumstances! Not after they took such a liking to him.
-It’s a couple miles on the left.
The husky voice of the previous owner of the Sound of the Wind sounded clearly through the mess of the voiced of the other ancient powers and Cale gave a small nod of acknowledgement. He looked up to see both the ancient dragon and crown prince oddly glancing at him, but he chose to ignore it.
“It’s on the left from here. A couple miles it seems.”
He wasn’t questioned about how he knew this information, just like he wasn’t questioned by his people when he said he knew where to find the wind and water attribute ancient powers. It was almost as if his people expected him to know. Nevertheless, it was better this way for Cale. He wouldn’t have to waste time to do useless explaining.
The three of them turned left and walked in the direction Cale had pointed to. Their paste had gotten even quicker at one point, forcing more breaks for Cale to happen. It was annoying, but Cale did not think that it would be quicker if they were to continue to go slower with less breaks. This was truly for the best.
-His energy is much stronger now! We’re definitely going in the right direction! So hold on so we can burn much more money in the future Muahahaha!
Cale felt annoyed after hearing the Fire of Destruction’s voice, but it felt reassuring for some reason as well. Perhaps it was because he was confident that Cale would get that earth attribute ancient power. While he was confident, Cale was not. Finding it was one thing, obtaining it was completely different.
Cale only managed to do so because of the novel’s thorough description of what he needed to do with each ancient power. For example how he needed to feed the black hole of the black tree in the Henituse territory bread in order to obtain the Indestructible Shield, finish building the rock tower for the Vitality of the Heart, burn a lot of money for the Fire of Destruction, complete a necklace for the Fire Suppressing Water and destroy a fucking rock underwater for the Sound of the Wind.
But what did he have to do to obtain this earth attribute ancient power? Each single one had its own trial prepared, which the wielder had to pass in order to gain the power. But that wasn’t everything. An ancient power could still refuse like the Fire of Destruction had done in the novel. The redhead felt very strange all of a sudden, a feeling he could not exactly identify, which was why he simply ignored it. It couldn’t be something important either way, right?
Sighing, Cale took another step – a step he shouldn’t have taken (or at least looked at before). It was because Cale stepped into wet mud and slipped right then and there. Naturally, it hurt pretty much, even more since he had no Vitality of the Heart to heel his injury.
“Cale!”
Alberu stopped in his tracks and turned around. Just as he was about to help Cale up, the ancient dragon clicked his tongue and lifted the boy instead. He then looked at his bloody knee. It wasn’t a big injury, not at all, but for someone as weak as Cale it could be pretty dangerous, especially since his Vitality of the Heart wasn’t working on his body right now. It distressed Alberu more than he wanted to admit.
The crown prince cleared his throat and tried to look up from his best friend’s knee, yet with no success. Well, it didn’t matter.
“Can you continue walking?”
Cale frowned as if Alberu had asked the most obvious question on earth. His look spoke volumes, making not only Alberu shake his head. In the end, the three of them carried on like they did before, with the only difference being that they slowed down a bit – not their best decision.
In the end, they didn’t manage to find the earth attribute ancient power before nightfall, and both Alberu and Eruhaben silently agreed that Cale needed his sleep, especially since he had walked for almost two days straight now.
Twenty-four hours.
That was all the time they had left.
And while Cale managed to fall asleep rather quickly (he was by far more exhausted than he wanted to admit), neither the ancient dragon nor the crown prince of the vast Roan Kingdom managed to get some shuteye. The whole time, they sat on two tree trunks, watching Cale sleep peacefully as if his life wasn’t in danger right now.
It was ridiculous how at peace he seemed at all times, no matter what. No, it wasn’t just ridiculous, it was absurd. Absurd, stupid, ludicrous, comical and whatnot! But the most hilarious thing of them all was that it seemed like Cale was certain that things would end up well (which he certainly wasn’t, he simply couldn’t express his emotions at all).
If a fourteen year old was so calm when faced with death – no! It was just Cale that was calm! It was not normal! He was probably confident because he was certain to obtain the earth attribute ancient power! Certainly it couldn’t be because Cale was okay with dying!
Sure, it was suspicious how he said goodbye to Ron, Beacrox and especially Raon. How he even said sorry to Violan and told Deruth that he forgave him (which that fucking bastard didn’t deserve at all!!!!!!). How he-
“Is he usually like this?”
Alberu was thrown out of his thoughts upon hearing Eruhaben’s calm voice. The ancient dragon was looking at the redheaded brat that was peacefully sleeping. He seemed at ease. Now that his eyes were closed, that his expression wasn’t stiff like usual, he truly looked like the kid that he was. It left a bitter taste on the ancient dragon’s tongue for some reason. No, not for some reason! Eruhaben knew the reason behind that sour taste very well. It was the very reason he insisted on tagging along with this little brat.
“Like what?”
Eruhaben finally looked up from the calmly sleeping redhead. Instead, he was facing the quarter dark elf. The nineteen year old kid who had been smiling ever since first entering “Henrique’s food & clothes” didn’t do so anymore. Actually, he had stopped smiling the very moment they had entered the Forest of Darkness, and even before that, his smile felt strained the whole week. But Eruhaben understood why that was the case.
“Mature, calm, somewhat cold even.”
Alberu sneered at that, a fake smile on his lips. His expression was bitter, no, it was desperate now that Eruhaben was looking at it more closely. It was desperate because Alberu did not want to be faced with this kind of situation. He was desperate because he did not want – he simply couldn’t – lose this one and only friend of his.
While being with Cale, Alberu didn’t recall when exactly it happened, but at point, this empty hole in his heart, the one place that always felt cold and sometimes hurt ever since his mother passed away, stopped feeling cold and stopped to hurt as well. But if Cale was to disappear – to…d i e… Alberu would not be able to handle it. It wasn’t just that a part of his heart would return to this cold thing that it had been once, he felt like he wouldn’t have a heart any longer then.
“Yeah, he’s always been like that.”
Alberu did not look at Eruhaben, even though he was talking to the ancient dragon. Instead, he looked at his one and only best friend. He was so calm, it seemed like the whole world could end this very moment and Cale would just continue to sleep through it. Then he would wake up and act like nothing happed while eating his favorite cookies.
“When did you meet?”
The smile on Alberu’s lips got a bit bitterer as he started to think back to the funeral of the late Countess Henituse, Cale’s birth mother. It were almost six years now, no? Ha, ha, ha, he recalled how he didn’t want to meet with Cale under any circumstances and only was there since his aunt, Tasha, pleaded him to. How he only attended that stupid “tea party” afterwards since he thought Cale looked lonely and pitiful. How he didn’t want to become friends with Cale and then, in the midst during their time together, changed his mind and declared that they would be friends from that point on.
Hahaha, those were good old memories, no? How Cale always tried to kind of dump him, not to meet him. Then he practically glued on Alberu and didn’t want to part ways under no circumstances.
“When?”
Alberu looked back up at Eruhaben, a somewhat nostalgic look in his eyes. It spoke for itself, even without Alberu needing to say anything, but he did so nonetheless. He was probably unaware of that look anyways.
“A long time ago…”
“Ah, I see.”
The crown prince then turned back around to look after Cale. It was just like back then, when Cale had been in that comatose sleep for four weeks straight, as if looking away from Cale would cause the boy to die immediately. Pfft, how stupid he was. He knew that it didn’t matter – that looking at Cale wouldn’t change shit – but he did so nonetheless. Why was he doing so? He didn’t know.
“How…how did you meet?”
Alberu did not look away from Cale this time. He shrugged and responded to the ancient dragon’s question as if it was no big deal, which it really wasn’t.
“At a funeral.”
At the very funeral Alberu had almost not attended. He never really thanked his aunt for forcing him to attend, did he? After all, that had been the best thing he had done in his life – meeting Cale, not attending that silly excuse of a funeral naturally.
The quarter dark elf did not know what a weight his words held for the ancient dragon – how sad and depressing they actually sounded. No, not just sounded. Those words were depressing. It’s just that Alberu and Cale had gotten used to this depressing shit, a very long time ago at that. Maybe that was why they were actually so good friends.
Broken things tended to flock together or something like that, no? So they could feel less broken?
Alberu wanted to laugh, and in the end, a small chuckle escaped his lips.
Death was such a very simple, such a very normal thing. Even after his mother’s death, and later even after Cale’s mother’s death, he had never given it much thought. People died all the time, no?
But those people didn’t matter much to Alberu.
The people that did, Cale, those people weren't allowed to die.
No, Alberu wouldn’t allow it. Alberu didn’t agree to it!
Yes, ignorance is bliss. Cale would survive; Alberu would make sure of it. What the fuck?! There was a freaking dragon with him! Of course Cale would – could – not die!
Eruhaben sighed as he looked up into the dark sky. This night, the stars hid behind big, dark clouds. There was only one star that wasn’t hidden, it was a small star, a very small star, yet it seemed to be shining the brightest this night, even brighter than the big moon.
And while Alberu was keeping eye on the redhead, Eruhaben observed that one star, until the sun rose and the three of them kept on going. Today was the last day. If they didn’t manage to get the earth attribute ancient power today, they were done for. No, not just done for, they were doomed then. Completely doomed at that.
Today, the three of them were much slower on their feet. The reason behind it was probably anxiousness, nervousness – fear, despair. Thoughts like ‘what if this is the last walk?’ or ‘what if it’s over after this?’ were going through not only Alberu’s head. Their first break of the day was a very silent one – and a rather uncomfortable one at that. No one really said anything; everyone was busy with his own thoughts.
-Cale! We’re here! We’re here! I’m certain! This is it!
All of a sudden, Cale stopped walking, making Eruhaben and Alberu stop as well. The two of them were staring at the small and weak child, how he looked around, furrowed his brows and frowned before raising them again. It almost looked like he was talking with someone (and that someone was naturally the Fire of Destruction).
‘What do you mean it’s down there? Down there my ass!’
Cale did not say his thoughts out loud. Half of the day was already over and while he really wanted to trust his ancient powers, there was nothing out here! Nothing but trees and rocks!
-In that rock there! Behind it is the entrance to an underground cave I think! It certainly looks that way! Let the dragon blow it up!
The Fire of Destruction wasn’t laughing like usual, meaning even he understood that this situation was urgent. And what other choice did Cale have, other than to believe him? If it was only bull, he would pay the price too since he would die as well.
“Eruhaben-nim.”
Eruhaben frowned at the little brat calling him out like that; nevertheless he approached Cale and raised his brows.
“What is it? Did you find it?”
Alberu went through his hair at that, obviously nervous.
Cale sighed as he nodded.
“I think so. Could you blow away that rock?”
Eruhaben couldn’t help but furrow his brows. Was this a joke? No, Cale wasn’t someone who would joke in a situation like this – no, forget that, he was someone who looked like he couldn’t joke at all. The ancient dragon thus nodded as he called forth his golden dust particles and blew the rock away in less than a second. No, the process couldn’t really be described as ‘blew away’. It was more like the rock ceased to exist as soon as Eruhaben’s dust particles came in contact with its surface – as if it disintegrated!
And as soon as it did so, Cale could tell what the previous owners of his ancient powers had been talking about, or rather that cheapskate. He smiled, then frowned.
It was because Alberu tried to go in first, Eruhaben was already standing behind him, eager to enter as well. Cale cleared his throat, gaining both adult’s attention immediately. He sighed and crossed his arms.
“You can’t go in there.”
Alberu frowned, he felt like Cale threw a direct insult at him. Did his one and only best friend not want him there? And Eruhaben felt insulted too. How come this puny brat tells him to stay out? It was his business too, if Cale was to live or to die!
He didn’t question his own thoughts at that and just accepted that he may have grown a little, tiny bit (or perhaps a little bit more than that) attached to this redhead. But he would naturally never admit that. Instead, he mirrored Cale’s actions and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Cale left out yet another tired sigh, defeated by those two adult’s strange actions.
“I have to go in by myself, since the trial of the ancient power doesn’t allow more people to be there.”
Eruhaben shook his head while Alberu corrected Cale.
“The trial doesn’t allow us to help you! There’s a difference in us not being able to accompany and us not being able to help you. Cale, honestly, do you really think I can just stand here and wait for my only friend to go in without being 100% sure that he will come out unharmed?”
‘Rok Soo, do you really think I can just stand here and look at my nails – that are perfect by the way – while you go in to fight against that big ass spider?’
‘And what if I’m hurt, ah? I’m a fighter-type, you know? Hahahahahaha!’
Ah. There was a memory resurfacing which Cale had long forgotten despite having recorded it. No, he didn’t forget it, he simply suppressed it. The voice from his memories – the voice of his back then only friend – sounded oddly similar to Alberu’s. It was to that extent that…
“Fine, but only you can tag along hyung. I’m serious. I apologize Eruhaben-nim, but it’s better if one of us stays here in case monsters do appear.”
Eruhaben scoffed in disbelief.
“You brat just think that I’ll help you and interfere, don’t you.”
The smirk on the redheaded brat’s face was answer enough for the ancient dragon. He sighed. He really didn’t need to be there. He knew this quarter dark elf rather well – at least in regards to Cale. The young boy would be safe with him.
Yes, he had to be.
“Fine, but you have to promise me something.”
Cale raised his eyebrow while Alberu crossed his hands. Eruhaben chuckled at how well the two of them matched each other. Well, he supposed that’s just what best friends were like.
“Come back safe.”
Cale smirked at that while Alberu nodded. His eyes were determined – enough for Alberu to trust him.
Yeah, because who else would guarantee this little brat’s safety if not his best friend that went through thick and thin with him?
Eruhaben had that much trust for Alberu.
Notes:
Hi!
2023 has been a pretty good year for me. I'm still not really realizing that it'll be over soon haha!
I have to make this pretty short...since I don't have much time on my hands (since my parents are already calling for me to come back and celebrate. In 30 minutes, it'll be midnight. In 30 minutes, the year will be over.
Huh... it was over so fast.Thank you all for being so supportive and commenting/leaving kudos! It always put a big ass smile on my face, made me shake my legs in excitement and chuckle like a crazy lunatic.
I swear, joining ao3 was the best decision I could have made. And sharing my work, not hording it for myself...haaa, I didn't think I would get more than 100, 1000 hits at best. Well, I suppose I can't predict everything haha! But I'm glad. very glad.Okokok, I have to go back now!
Then, I hope 2023 has been good for you! But I hope that 2024 will be even better!See y'all next year, then!
Yours, whatever you wanna call me
(Ɔ˘⌣˘)(˘⌣˘)˘⌣˘ C)
Chapter 26: 24. You won't like it (3)
Summary:
Another emotional chapter to start the new year (˘▼˘>ԅ( ˘⌣ƪ)
Notes:
No trigger warning here again, but it may be a bit hard to read sometimes, so read with care! ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
-Swallow it!
-Eat it!
-You have to put it into your mouth and bite it then swallow it!
Cale frowned upon hearing the voice of the former owner of this earth attribute ancient power, the Super Rock. He squinted his eyes as he looked at the rock that was on top of a table in the midst of this underground villa.
“Cale? Everything’s fine, right?”
Instead of continuing to stare at the unmoving rock, Cale turned his head around to face his best friend, the crown prince. Alberu was casually leaning against the fancy wall of this Super Rock underground villa, but his tense body and anxious look betrayed him, showing Cale that he wasn’t at ease at all. Furthermore, his voice sounded uneasy; stressed.
“…He wants me to eat a rock.”
Alberu uncrossed his arms. He didn’t need to know who wanted Cale to eat a rock since he knew that it was the trial to obtain the earth attribute ancient power; well, at least it seemed that way since Cale had that disgusted look on his face and obtaining the earth attribute ancient power was the only reason they were here right now.
“Then eat it.”
Alberu would never forget that disgusted and partly hurt expression on Cale’s face; it was almost as if the fourteen year old kid felt betrayed by Alberu for telling him that. Well, not gonna lie here, Alberu would have felt the same if he needed to eat a rock – a pile of dirt. But it was necessary for Cale to survive. And if that was all it took for the redhead to live on – Alberu would even forcefully make Cale eat that rock.
And after a couple seconds in which Cale was cussing out his life (and how it had come to this fucked up situation), he indeed did eat the rock. Before, the former owner of this ancient power had blabbered about a comfortable life without any worries, and how he protected his friends, yet the moment his ancient power was obtained by Cale, he asked a very strange question.
-Do you want to sacrifice yourself?
Cale’s somewhat calm and at the same time disgusted expression almost immediately fell apart, making Alberu worry. He stopped leaning against the wall so casually and instead approached Cale. Seeing how he already ate the rock, the trial was – must be – over. Thus, it shouldn’t be a problem to approach Cale.
“What? Is everything alright? Hey, hey, hey, speak to me!”
Naturally, the first prince of the Roan Kingdom was uselessly worrying over nothing. There was really nothing wrong with Cale, or the ancient power he just obtained. The trial was over, his plate would stabilize soon enough and-
“Cough.”
Alberu almost jumped back, but managed not to do so. He stared at the dark liquid dripping down Cale’s chin, staining his white shirt and leather boots, as well as the crown prince’s clothes since he’d been standing so close to Cale.
That dark liquid of a dark red, almost black color; was blood. While Cale’s blood was usually much lighter of color, it didn’t really matter to Alberu right now, no, perhaps he didn’t even notice. The only thing he saw was that Cale had coughed up blood, and not too small of an amount. With the dark liquid running down the edges of his mouth, down to his chin and then dripping on the floor, his complexion seemed a lot paler than it actually was. Having this scenery in front of him – it left the crown prince with the glib tongue speechless.
Cale, on the other hand, felt much lighter. He didn’t even notice that he had been feeling bad before he felt this good. The Vitality of the Heart really was the best. After obtaining the Super Rock ancient power, his plate stabilized immediately and the Vitality of the Heart could do its job properly again. It seemed that Cale had almost caught a cold. The coughing up blood – well, the redhead found it a bit of an overkill, but if that was the way the Vitality of the Heart worked, he couldn’t really do anything against it.
The really odd part was the Super Rock ancient power, continuously asking him whether he wanted to sacrifice himself. No, he did not, thank you very much.
In the not so far away future, the Super Rock would regret ever asking Cale this very question.
But that was not the problem right now. Cale looked up from the small blood puddle near his legs, and made eye contact with Alberu. He wiped the blood from his chin with his white sleeve (what a good idea, no?), then couldn’t help but frown. Why was Alberu making a face like that? Was him eating the rock that shocking? He told him to do so himself! Naturally, the dense boy could find zero relation between Alberu’s shocked state and him coughing up blood, since he thought it was fine as long as he wasn’t feeling any pain. If he only knew what an image it was…
“Hyung?”
Alberu couldn’t help but sneer in disbelief. He shook his head, clearly not in the right state of mind. To be honest, it was fair. Cale’s time was almost over and it wouldn’t be too shocking if the “dying-process” would start a couple hours earlier. Alberu knew nothing about ancient powers. He only had the one-use artifact with an ancient power embodied in it, which his late mother left him. To him, Cale coughing up blood was the same as Cale not being able to obtain the earth attribute ancient power.
His hands started shaking. There were only nine hours, twelve minutes and a few seconds left. There was no way they would manage to find another earth attribute ancient power in that short amount of time! No, no, no, no, they had to! They just had-
“Hyung? What’s wrong with you?”
Alberu staggered, almost falling over since his feet were currently unable to do their job properly. Luckily, Cale supported him on time, frowning as he clearly didn’t understand why Alberu was in such a state. Was it because he was relieved?
As Alberu didn’t even answer his question, Cale’s frown deepened. Did he miss something? Did something happen to the crown prince while he had been busy ignoring the Super Rock’s voice? Wait…was there a monster in here?!
“Your highness?!”
Alberu finally snapped out of his state. Ah, it seemed like he almost had a panic attack (which he managed to avoid thanks to Cale’s loud yell). Naturally, Cale only yelled to get his best and only friend’s attention, which thankfully worked out. It could have been worse if he didn’t yell at that very moment.
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re totally right! Right! Right! Right, we can’t, just can’t lose any more time! W-we have to-“
“Your highness, what are you talking about?”
Alberu stopped talking and instead looked at Cale. He did not understand how his best friend was still standing, even after coughing up so much blood. It wasn’t all too much, really, but to Alberu, even a drop of blood coming out of Cale’s mouth was too much of an amount. But Cale standing wasn’t the issue right now. The issue was him yelling at him, as if nothing bad was about to happen, as if they had all the time in the world.
Sure, the redhead had acted like everything was fine the whole week, probably he had already given up at some point, but Alberu-
“Tsk, why are you making such a face? Is it because I really ate the rock? You told me to!”
For a split second, Alberu’s brain shut down and the firstborn son of the royal family just stared at Cale as if he had two heads. Then, slowly, very slowly, he noticed how Cale’s skin wasn’t as pale anymore, how the wound on the redhead’s knee wasn’t there anymore, how his whole complexion had gotten better, how his eyes had gotten a bit more vivid-
“Ha, ha, ha, ha!”
Alberu couldn’t help but start to laugh. His body was shaking, and if it wasn’t for Cale supporting him, he would have fallen down. The crown prince, Alberu Crossman, laughed at himself; at his stupid reaction, at his incredible misinterpretation. They really did have all the time in the world. They really did not need to worry about Cale dying anymore. They could really just…live on normally.
Alberu did not stop laughing for a while, his shock turning into relief, his suppressed tiredness exhausting him even more. But all that didn’t matter now, not anymore. Cale was okay, he was fine. The boy wouldn’t die now, he could live on. It was…Alberu could not describe what he was currently feeling.
Meanwhile, Cale just frowned while he watched Alberu sit down on the floor, laughing about something he did not understand. He had never, not even once, seen Alberu laugh like this. It wasn’t an amused laughter, no, it was the opposite. To Cale it looked similar to Alberu crying, even though no tears were dripping down his cheeks. The redhead did not like seeing his one and only friend like this, he hated it.
“Your highness, get it together. More importantly, what is wrong with you?”
Alberu slowly stopped laughing like a lunatic, even more than Cale had been when he had thrown all that money away. He drove his hand through his hair before finally looking up. He was not gonna lie, while Cale looked a lot better than before, the blood on his clothes and white sleeve made him look sickly. And the bits of dried blood that he missed when wiping it off, made it look even worse.
But he was fine.
Yeah, he was.
If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t look at him as if he was crazy.
If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t stand in front of him, shaking his head like that.
If he wasn’t, even he wouldn’t be that calm.
“You’re driving me nuts…really…haaa…”
Cale sneered at that and crossed his arms, shaking his head. Oh well, it wasn’t like Alberu never said that, but it still didn’t mean that Cale liked it. Still, it was better than Alberu blabbering crazy things like before.
“Hyung, are you alright?”
Alberu let out a scoff before getting up from the floor. He patted the dirt from his black clothes, finally coming back to his senses.
“No. No, I’m not alright.”
Alberu approached Cale again. The still young adult sneered at the redhead’s confused expression.
“This was definitely the worst week of my life.”
Cale, as dense as he was in regards of himself, frowned, not understanding where Alberu was coming from. Sure, it wouldn’t be too good of a thing is he had failed to obtain the Super Rock, but then again, it was him who would die, not Alberu.
“Haaa, I didn’t sleep, I don’t know when I last ate, I think I haven’t showered even once and I feel so shitty…haaa…”
Alberu shook his head as he realized that the things coming out of his mouth were utter bullshit. The truth was…
“I-“
The words that weren’t coming out of his mouth were…
“I-“
‘I really thought you would leave me all alone again. I really thought I wouldn’t get to see you another day. I really thought- really thought that this was the- the end.’
“What? Say it already, it’s unlike you to stagger like this.”
Alberu’s words, that he wanted to say more than anything, were not coming out of his mouth. Perhaps that was for the better. Yeah, because if he really was to say it, perhaps it would make things more serious. No, that wasn’t true. If he was to say what he wanted to say, the situation would seem as serious as it was. Right now, now that Cale was safe, it didn’t seem that bad. Yeah, he didn’t need to make his dense friend realize that it was actually an incredibly serious situation.
“I’m just relieved that everything turned out alright.”
Cale frowned, still suspicious about Alberu’s words. There was simply no way that the crown prince would get so worked up over such a simple sentence. But then again, while the crown prince often behaved one way, sometimes, he acted oddly, different than Cale expected him to. Perhaps this was such a thing again.
“Alright, then let’s go back again.”
Alberu scoffed, then smiled. How could he stay angry at Cale? And it wasn’t that he was angry at the redhead to begin with. He was angry at himself for being so useless.
“Yeah, let’s go back.”
Cale nodded. Just as the two of them were about to leave this underground villa, he stopped to look back at the fancy building, not only rivaling but surpassing the royal family’s buildings. And it wasn’t just that it was fancy, it also held lots of riches in its countless rooms. Thinking about all the gold coins, magic stones and other treasured hidden within the vicinity, Cale’s eyes lit up. He’d definitely come back with Raon and collect everything. And this underground building in itself was not bad too. It was good for hiding during the approaching civil war too.
Alberu naturally noticed Cale’s sparkling eyes. He shook his head and sighed, realizing that this redhead truly was something else. Now that he was over the hill, he was thinking about gold, riches and whatnot again – whatever he could think of.
Cale Henituse – he was really the only person who could drive Alberu Crossman nuts.
~
Tick tack. Tick tack.
Ron was sharpening his knife while sitting in his puppy like young master-nim’s room. It was almost midnight now – the time was almost over now. He did not know whether the ancient dragon and that crown prince punk managed to find the earth attribute ancient power on time. He did not know whether his precious young master-nim managed to obtain it. He did not know whether the young noble managed to survive.
Beacrox, while he would have tried to calm his father down normally, sat on the velvet couch, staring at the golden wall while doing nothing. He had already cooked too much food, enough to feed the whole territory for at least half a month.
And the usually incredibly energetic Raon was lying on his human’s bed, doing absolutely nothing as well. While he had been incredibly energetic on the first day, mostly because he was hoping that his human would return fast, he felt quite hopeless now.
Ron and Beacrox told him that Cale would return soon, Glenn and Bud did the same as well. But where was the weak human right now? Where was Cale? Was he hiding under the bed? Playing a bit hide and seek? No! He was not here!
The only two people who were loud in this room were Bud and Glenn, and the two of them were bickering the whole time, almost like an old couple. While their arguments had been somewhat plausible two days ago, they were currently arguing about shoes, or rather which shoe color was the best.
Dong, dong, dong.
The clock struck twelve. It was midnight.
Both Bud and Glenn stopped bickering, Ron stopped sharpening his knife. All of them looked up, even Raon. They were looking at the clock. It was midnight. Cale still wasn’t back, neither were Alberu or Eruhaben. Did they really fail?
Before hell could break lose in the room though, someone entered it. While everyone had expected it to be Cale at first, some sort of a surprise, it wasn’t him. No, it was the Countess instead. Yet, she wasn’t alone, bringing her husband, Count Deruth, with her as well.
“What the-“
Deruth stopped in his tracks, frowning. Why were there so many people in his son’s bedroom? No, forget that, why were Ron and Beacrox here? Weren’t they supposed to be on a trip with Cale in the South? No, no, no, forget that too! If the two of them were back and inside Cale’s room, where on earth was Cale? Naturally, neither the Count nor the Countess were able to see the young dragon, since he had turned invisible as soon as he saw the couple enter. But that was the smallest of issues the couple had right now!
While Deruth was completely out of it, his wife was still somewhat able to analyze the current situation. Thus, she looked at Bud and Glenn, ignoring her son’s two loyal servants for now. Her shocked expression turned cold in less than a split second and she composed herself as if nothing ever happened in first place. Straightening her back, she approached the Mercenaries King and his best friend. Yet, she talked to Ron instead.
“Ron, who are these people and what are they doing in my son’s room?”
While the old butler would have been thrilled (more or less) to answer usually, he stayed silent this time. It was more than enough for Violan to know that something was up. She turned around and looked at the old man sitting next to Cale’s bed while holding a knife. But she was not afraid. It was because Ron was no one who would harm Cale. She was certain.
Deruth on the other hand, wasn’t certain. Instead of uselessly standing in the door frame, he quickly approached Ron and started to shake him by his shoulders. The old man showed no reaction whatsoever – neither did his son. The room stayed silent, almost depressing.
“What on earth did you do to my son?!”
Deruth was yelling by now. He was furiously shaking the old man who simply let it happen, that is until he had enough of it. Swiftly, Ron pushed the Count away from him. He still did not speak as much as a single word.
Holding back her somewhat hysteric husband, Violan approached the son of the old butler now. She frowned as she noticed how he showed no reaction whatsoever. Just as she was about to talk to him, the man with the blue hair and golden glasses opened his mouth.
“We’re Cale’s friends!”
Quickly, the Countess turned around. Cale’s friends they said? Well, she didn’t know her stepson well enough to tell whether he was truly friends with these people (after all he was friends with the crown prince), and since neither Ron nor Beacrox showed any kind of reaction, she could do nothing but believe the man’s words.
“If you’re Cale’s friends, where is he?”
At that, Ron finally snorted. He got up from the chair he had been sitting on, a grim and somewhat bitter expression on his face. He looked much older now than he had when the old man left with Cale. It seemed he had aged a couple years during these two and a half weeks.
“What’s it to the Madam? Since when does the Madam care? Did she ever care to begin with? Madam, let me ask you a question, what is the young master-nim to you?”
Before Violan could answer Ron’s question – which she really wanted to do – and before her husband could say anything, the old man sneered. It was the first time he sneered, or showed any kind of expression other than the benign one with the big smile.
“Excuse me for asking the obvious. The young master-nim is nothing of the Madam’s or the Lord’s concern anymore, not that he ever was!”
Deruth Henituse staggered at Ron’s words, unable to properly understand them. He had never seen Ron act out like this. Was this something similar to a mental breakdown or burnout? Did the old servant overwork himself? What on earth was currently happening?
While her husband seemed to be hurt by the butler’s words, Violan was still standing strong. It wasn’t that Ron’s words didn’t matter, they really did; it was just that she knew that the old man wasn’t in his right state of mind. His eyes seemed to be trying to hide a certain sadness, overshadow it with rage instead.
“Ron, come to your senses. Tell me instead where the child is.”
At that, the old man fell silent again, sitting back down on the chair he had been sitting on before. He buried his face in his hands, not looking up again. Violan frowned. She was just about to ask again, as Glenn put his hand on her shoulder. He shook his head, as if to tell her to leave the old man alone.
“Madam, we cannot answer your question.”
Violan frowned at his answer.
“What do you mean you cannot answer my question? It is a simple question; I asked you where the firstborn son of the Henituse County is; where your friend is. Do you honestly want to tell me that you don’t know? Or is it that you simply don’t want to share it with us? Don’t tell me- Is Cale doing something dangerous? He’s not out drinking, is he?! Did that friend of his do something? He didn’t run away again, did he!?”
And just like that, Violan was taken out as well, her motherly instincts for Cale going crazy. She loved the boy like he was her own child; there was nothing anyone could do about it. In the end, it was Deruth who had to calm her down.
“Dear, let’s not jump to conclusions yet.”
Violan took a deep breath and nodded. Her husband was right; there was no need to imagine things that weren't true. Instead, she just needed to ask and get an answer. Her ice blue eyes met with Bud’s green ones and the Mercenaries King was unable to look away.
“You, tell me immediately where Cale Henituse is.”
Bud sneered, shrugging and pretending that things weren't as serious as they actually are.
“Dunno, why don’t you tell me what you are doing in Cale’s room first and I tell you where he is after?”
Violan scoffed at that and Deruth seemed to go back to his usual, composed self as well.
“Listen here. Cale is my son. You are currently in his room, in my house, in my territory. Since it is like this, I can go wherever I want whenever I want and I do not need to tell you why. Now, I have ties with the royal family, so you better tell me immediately where he is.”
Deruth Henituse was a Count. He may be talked down upon, and he may have had a lot of bad years behind him, but he was still the man he was. And there was no way he would let people boss him around like that.
Just as he was about to continue his speech, someone cleared his throat. Someone; who definitely hadn’t been in this room before.
“What’s with this mood?”
It was, strangely enough, the firstborn of the royal family, crown prince Alberu Crossman. His blonde hair was shining as brightly as ever, even though the room wasn’t lit properly and he was smiling even brighter than his hair shone. He was casually leaning against the door, looking perfect as always. While he seemed a bit tired to the people who spend lots of time with him, it was nothing the Count and his wife noticed.
“Guys, Cale’s only in the shower. Damn, y’all are so lost without him. And why so angry? He only scratched his knee, nothing too bad. You can’t protect him all the time, you know?”
The faces of the people who knew immediately brightened up and Ron would have almost jumped up, yet managed to remain calm. Quarter past midnight, that was the time he learned that everything was fine with Cale. Haaa, unbelievable how much time it took!
Violan and Deruth frowned in disbelief. Were all of Cale’s friends and servants acting like lost puppies, no, lost shepherds whenever he wasn’t around? What a crazy bunch of people indeed.
Count Henituse cleared his throat.
“E-hem, why didn’t you tell me, Ron? Is Cale being in the shower such a big deal to you?”
Ron did not answer and just averted his head, not meeting either the Count’s or his wife’s eyes. Violan, though still a bit suspicious placed her hand on Deruth’s shoulder, making him look at her.
“Beloved, perhaps Ron is overworked since he never asks for vacation. What I’d like to know is when all of you came back. There were no carriages today and Hans also didn’t tell me we are having any new visitors today.”
Violan then looked at the on the door leaning Alberu. He was so casual and calm, even relaxed and chill, despite being in a noble’s house, a noble that didn’t even support him! Wasn’t his behavior a bit…strange?
As if Deruth could read Violan’s mind, he turned around to face Alberu.
“Your highness is here too? I thought you would return to your palace. How can this lowly noble’s house be adequate for his highness?”
Alberu simply shrugged, he truly was all casual with the Count. But honestly, to him, Deruth was nothing more than the bad father of his best (and only) friend. How could he act respectful with him? While he usually would have put up a façade, he was simply too tired right now.
“Well, Cale invited me to stay, and who am I to decline? The Count doesn’t mind, does he?”
Alberu then pushed his body from the door frame, entering the room. He crossed his arms; all casual as if he was the owner of this room.
“May I repeat Ron’s question and ask the Count and Countess why they came to the young master’s room?”
Deruth scoffed at the disrespect Alberu was currently displaying. Did him not having a proper instructor cause his lack or manners or what? He would have to talk to Zed sometime soon. Good thing that he hired that Simon van Augustus to teach Cale then!
“E-hem, not that it’s any of his highness’s interests, but I came to say something to my son.”
Naturally, that was a lie. Deruth came here almost every night ever since Cale departed for his trip. It was because he missed his son. He was aware that it wouldn’t fix their broken relationship at all but…he had hopes like all human beings.
“Aha.”
Alberu didn’t know whether it was the truth or just a lie, but it didn’t really matter. It was just a bit creepy if it was a lie, but that’s all there was to it (which is why he sincerely hoped that Deruth was telling the truth).
“Will his highness answer our question now?”
Alberu shrugged as he pointed towards the purple haired man who was sitting down on the velvet couch next to Beacrox and seemingly smiling for no reason. He sure was…odd.
“It’s a mage we met on the way back. Since Cale makes friends pretty easily, he practically begged us to let him come with us. In exchange, he teleported us back here.”
“Ah.”
Violan nodded her head as the crown prince answered her question this casually. Well, she did feel that the purple haired individual had a strange aura surrounding him (though that strange aura was naturally Raon unable to hide his excitement properly).
“Well, beloved, let us g-“
“One moment, if I may.”
Ron got up from his chair, smiling as benignly as always. It was as if he hadn’t ever yelled at his employers in the first place.
“My Lord, may this old man ask what you wished to tell to the young master-nim? This old man shall give him your message.”
“Ah.”
Deruth nodded as he quickly thought of some excuse he could say. He then looked at Alberu and had an “amazing” idea.
“It’s about Cale’s instructor. He has skipped a lot of lessons, almost the whole year. If Simon van Augustus wasn’t as kind hearted as he is, I wouldn’t know what to do with Cale. I came to leave him a note, telling him that he would have a few lessons as soon as he would get back.”
Ron nodded. Deruth’s explanation was making sense, which was very strange. But oh well, it was a good thing.
“Alright, this old man shall pass on my Lord’s message.”
Deruth nodded, and soon after, he and Violan left the room. As soon as that happened, the room turned chaotic once again, this time it was overfilled with joyed individuals. The moment the door closed, the bathroom door was opened. Cale walked out, frowning as he clearly didn’t understand why Ron had had such an outburst. He really had too much to do and too few vacation days (as dense as he was he did not find any relation between Ron’s low mood and his possible death).
“HUMAN!”
Ah.
Cale’s frown was now gone, replaced by a small but genuine smile. The young Raon was sobbing as soon as Cale’s hands wrapped around his small body. He buried his head in the young teen’s casual beige shirt (which had taken them hours to find).
“Human! I thought- I thought you were gone!”
Cale simply patted the young dragon’s back as he nodded his head.
“I-I’d have b-burned down the w-whole world and then k-killed everyone and then m-myself!”
Cale ignored Raon’s vicious words and simply nodded, trying to soothe the young child. He was clearly much more shaken than anyone else (if Cale only knew…).
Ron sighed a breath of relief after seeing his puppy like young master-nim’s casual attitude. Yes, it was truly as if nothing had happened in first place. Everything was back to the way it used to be.
The former assassin fell back onto his chair. Ah, he didn’t ever recall his heart having beaten that fast. Beacrox laughed in a similar way Alberu had done in the way, but his laughter was overtoned by Raon’s loud cries. Bud and Glenn were both in a better mood and really wanted to hug the frail redhead, yet they didn’t dare to do so, at least not now.
Eruhaben, who had exited the bathroom after Cale, sighed. He had…underestimated Cale and his people. And not only that, he was certain that he was now one of them, though he didn’t exactly mind that too much.
“Eruhaben-nim?”
The ancient dragon looked at the nineteen year old leaning on the wall next to him. Ah, he didn’t notice him at all.
“Let’s not tell them about the coughing up blood thing. I think Cale’s fine and while you might be right, let’s keep it a secret for now.”
Eruhaben nodded. Alberu was right.
“Alright, you punk, but let’s watch out for that brat.”
Alberu snorted as he realized the true meaning behind the ancient dragon’s words.
“Welcome to the family, mighty dragon-nim.”
Eruhaben scoffed as he watched the chaotic scene in front of his eyes. And while it may be a bit chaotic indeed, he felt very welcomed for some odd reason.
Notes:
Hello dear readers~
It's 2024!
Did you know that it's the year of the Dragon (Chinese Calendar)? If not, now you know! I really love dragons (and not only because of goldie gramps and Raon). Ever since I've been a child, I've been a big fan of "Dragons", the TV show from Dreamworks. I've loved Toothless and Hiccup, they're one of the best dragon-human duos (on par with Raon and Cale)!
And even if we look at non-animated stuff, dragons from legends, books and myths are all so cool and powerful! I've got the feeling that this year will be a pretty good year, at least I hope so.Power, vigour and charm. (I googled it, that's what the dragon stands for haha, and vigour for those who don't know - like me - means physical strength, also health and longlivity). (⌐■_■)ノ♪♬
Anyways, let's talk about this chapter! Goldie gramps is finally part of the family, most drama SEEMS to be over and everything seems to be calming down, right? Well wait until next chapter to find out if that's really the way this story is progressing muahahaha
ψ(｀∇´)ψBack to my personal life now! I'm 2/3 through with the german drama, only two parts are left out of five, but they have fewer pages than the first three parts, so I suppose 2/3 is fine to say. I must say, it's not that bad. The language is readable now that I've kind of understood how to read it, and the story isnt that boring. I think old dramas have something (though I must say, it's not that interesting either. I wouldnt read it if I wouldnt be forced to do so).
Then, that was it for today.I hope you're happy with the first chapter of the New Year, and I also hope it was to your liking.
Til next time then~
（●´∀｀）ノ♡(PS: Thank you so much for the many good wishes! I wish everyone the best this year!)
Chapter 27: 25. Getting rid of it (1)
Summary:
Time to get rid of trash (part 1)
Notes:
Trigger warning here! It's, as always, marked with [T] when it starts and ends. It consists of child abuse, domestic violence and violence (also muuuuch blood), so read with care and stay safe! (✌ﾟ∀ﾟ)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Sweet, sweet fifteen.
No, it was sixteen, right?
Yeah, pretty sure it was sweet, sweet sixteen and not sweet, sweet fifteen.
Bud did not know where the difference was and simply shrugged it off while laughing as he emptied yet another shot. He laughed even more cheerfully as he passed the other glad of alcohol to the fifteen year old teenager sitting next to him, who, without thinking much of it, emptied the glass as well.
That was probably his worst decision, but he hadn’t been in his right state of mind from the beginning anyways. With a flushed face, Cale lifted the empty glass, a fat grin on his lips. It wasn’t just that his cheeks were flushed, no, he was pretty much wasted.
But let’s go back to the beginning.
A couple hours ago:
Beacrox was in the kitchen, together with his father and the ancient dragon. The head chef did not understand why his father and the old grandpa dragon were standing in his kitchen, not at all. They had neither any use in here, nor were they being helpful, not even a bit. It was the total opposite even, they were nuisances. Beacrox loved and respected his father dearly, but hell; he was such a pain in the ass right now!
The old butler in question frowned as he inspected the birthday cake his son prepared for his perfect, precious, puppy like young master-nim. He frowned almost immediately. It was a normal chocolate cake. It didn’t matter that it was his son, the most talented chef on the whole western and eastern continents, who baked it, nor did it matter that it was decorated according to today’s festivities. To Ron, it was nothing but a simple chocolate cake.
And while Ron was staring at the cake, the ancient dragon was standing in the midst of the passage, right in front of the fridge where Beacrox’ subordinates had to go like every two minutes! Contrary to Ron, who was inspecting the food, the ancient dragon was inspecting Beacrox’ perfect kitchen and kitchen utensils. Sure, it was fine since he also cleaned everything up that was even a bit messy (and thus Beacrox wouldn’t have to do it later) but did he have to stand in front of the fridge? It was almost as if he was wanted to hinder Beacrox’ and his subordinate’s work.
But the talented cook could not say anything, not against a powerful ancient dragon and his father. Well, at least it was that way until Ron stepped back and walked into one of Beacrox’ subordinates who let the bowl with the cookie dough fall and until the ancient dragon accidentally ruined the head chef’s steaks.
Beacrox immediately stopped cooking strawberry dessert, turning around to face his father and the ancient dragon who didn’t seem to be bothered by the kitchen’s failure at all.
“Father, Haben-nim.”
Ron and Eruhaben immediately stopped what they were doing, instead looking at Beacrox, who was standing in front of them with his arms crossed. He seemed unusually serious today.
Eruhaben, who was known as Cale’s guardian knight ‘Haben’ by the Count’s staff, and Ron raised their brows, almost as if the two of them were in sync with each other.
“Why are you in the kitchen? Out. Don’t you have a young master to wake and a young dragon to teach? Or if not that, a party to prepare?”
Ron sighed as he shook his head while Eruhaben just snorted.
“Raon is with that punk.”
It was a bit funny how both Eruhaben and Ron had the same name for Alberu. Either way, Beacrox just nodded at Eruhaben’s excuse (though he didn’t like it at all) and instead looked at his father now. Ron cleared his throat.
“The young master-nim is up and with that instructor of his.”
It was clear that Ron did not like van Augustus at all. And it was the same for all three of them. Simon van Augustus, while he always smiled, there was something incredibly fishy about him, yet Ron found no dirt on him whatsoever. But the former assassin’s intuition didn’t fail him even once.
“Fine, then don’t you have anything else to do? Like being with his highness and Raon-nim? Or you can go look what the young master-nim’s doing. Who knows, maybe the two of you can get him out of his lesson.”
Almost immediately, Ron and Eruhaben’s eyes lit up. It was so fast, Beacrox found it ridiculous. But it was the only way to get rid of these two practically best buddies, so he didn’t mind it as much as he usually would.
“That’s right, Haben-nim. As the young master-nim’s personal butler and guardian knight, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal if we are with the young master-nim during his lessons too.”
Eruhaben nodded, fully convinced of Beacrox’ proposal – it was funny how they needed the head chef to tell them to do so in the first place. Soon, the two best buddies disappeared from Beacrox kitchen and finally he and his subordinates could work properly again. Haaa, it sure was difficult.
Ever since Cale almost died in spring and Ron’s mental outburst, Deruth had “demoted” or “promoted” Ron to be Cale’s personal butler, however you looked at it. To Ron and Cale’s people, it was definitely a promotion, since the old butler’s only priority was the redhead. To the Henituse Estate’s stuff though, it looked pretty much like a demotion, since Ron had been one of the, if not the, highest ranking butlers of the family. And ever since that small job change, Ron had been a lot less busy. During the day, almost every day, whenever Cale had his lessons with van Augustus, Ron was lingering around about anywhere.
The ancient dragon was no different. Right after Cale’s near death situation, he was introduced as Cale’s guardian knight to Deruth by Ron. While the Count had wanted to decline, he was unable to do anything since the ancient dragon’s smile had been more than horrifying and vicious. And he too, had little to do during the many lessons Cale had with that shitty instructor of his. That was probably why he and the former assassin spend so much time together. While they weren’t similar in age at all, they had very compatible personalities, thus it didn’t really take a long time for them to become something akin to friends.
Beacrox sighed in relief as he finally went back to making more cookie dough. He never knew how much Cale wanted to eat, and since today was the boy’s fifteenth birthday, there was no way he would make too few cookies. Better too many rather than too few!
In the meantime, Cale was rolling his eyes behind van Augustus’ back.
He wondered how he got stuck with that asshole of an instructor in first place. His father didn’t seem to hate him, so how come van Augustus wasn’t fired yet, ah? That man was such an annoying and violent bastard. Sometimes, Cale wondered if it wasn’t for the better if he simply told someone about that man’s true lessons, but then again, van Augustus wasn’t someone he couldn’t deal with alone.
“Did you get all of this, boy?”
The excuse of a man and an instructor turned around and looked at Cale. The fifteen year old teen was leaning his head on his hand, obviously bored. And while van Augustus hadn’t said anything about Cale sitting that way in the past, today was his fifteenth birthday, so he had to gift him a fitting gift, no?
Bam.
Once again, the man threw his fat ass history book onto his desk. It was the very same history book he had had when he first met Cale, and the very same history book he had thrown at Cale all these years. Oh well, it wasn’t like the stuff he was teaching Cale was worth anything, so it didn’t matter, even if it was the history book he had had with him seven years ago.
“Oi boy, when I’m talking to you, it’s mandatory that you answer! Didn’t I teach you anything after all this time, ah?!”
Be it the fact that Cale was fifteen now, or that he simply had had enough of this excuse of a human being, but he simply frowned. There was nothing he could learn from this bastard, so why did he keep this up?
Time to get rid of the trash.
That was his birthday present to himself.
[T]
“Was it Simon van Augustus?”
The man with that name sneered as he crossed his arms and raised his brows.
“Still ‘sir’ for you, brat.”
Cale only smirked upon hearing that.
“Van Augustus, it’s time to end our acquaintance, don’t you think?”
Van Augustus frowned. Neither did he understand what Cale wanted from him, now why he had to put up with that child’s nuisances.
“Shup up brat and listen. Since it’s your birthday, I’ll give you a second chance, so don’t you dare say anything other than ‘yes sir’!”
Instead of complying like he usually would, Cale got up from his seat and shook his head.
“I strongly believe that I’ve played along with your act long enough. You’re fired.”
Cale’s instructor snorted at that once again, obviously not believing Cale’s words. He picked up his heavy history book and threw it at Cale, yet he missed the boy by a few inches (some people really got worse in the things they did the more often they did it).
“Tsk, son of a bitch, you think someone like you can fire me? Me? Pah, dream on!”
Not having his history book by his side, the Simon van Augustus grabbed the next best object next to him – that was a heavy fountain pen – which he then proceeded to throw at Cale. And this time, be it out of luck or because of Cale’s extremely bad luck, he didn’t miss but hit Cale’s leg. It was stuck there, and because of that, the Vitality of the Heart couldn’t do its job properly, not until Cale would pull it out. The problem was that it would be pretty painful to pull it out, and he would lose some blood.
-Cale! Pull it out! Pull it out! I’ll heal you!
-That bastard! Isn’t throwing books enough already?! Let’s burn that shit down! And everything he holds dear with him!
-What a bastard. Cale, listen to the crybaby, he’ll heal you!
-You must let that son of a bitch starve! Starve him to death! That is the most painful death, I can tell!
All of the ancient powers were talking inside his head at once besides the Super Rock who stayed silent, as every single time van Augustus mistreated Cale, but the fifteen year old had learned to ignore all of their voices over the years and months. He was a bit surprised that the thief was swearing, since she was usually on the calmer side, but oh well, it wasn’t an every-day thing that he got stabbed with a flying fountain pen.
Since it was too painful to remain standing, Cale sank down on the floor. Just as he was about to pull the pen out, fully ignoring van Augustus, that monster fucking son of a bitch, he was hit with another, less thick book – naturally in the leg, on the very place he got stabbed with the fountain pen. And be it because fate is a bitch, or because of gods or whatever, but the very moment Cale didn’t manage to suppress his groan, his reliable and incredibly loyal butler and guardian knight (aka Eruhaben, the ancient dragon) decided to enter the library without prior knocking.
‘Ah shit.’
Cale and Simon van Augustus, for once, were thinking the very same thing, though because of different things. Cale was cussing inside his head because the wound just got even more painful, while van Augustus knew that his career as a private tutor was over. Well, at least he thought that only his career was over, and not his life – what a delusional man.
The moment the ancient dragon laid eyes on the on the floor sitting redhead, the very same kid he was ready to act as a servant for, he simply lost it. His pupil’s turned to slits and the whole aura surrounding him changed into something incredibly dark and dangerous. That was when Cale finally noticed Eruhaben and Ron standing in the door frame.
“Ah.”
Cale’s calm behavior in this fucked up situation scared not only the former assassin. And not just that, he didn’t look the least bit surprised. Sure, Cale didn’t look surprised very often, but if someone fucking stabbed you with a fucking fountain pen and then threw a book at you, you’ve got to be surprised, even if it was Cale!
[T]
Ron didn’t lose any more time as he hurried to his puppy like young master-nim. As soon as he reached him, Ron took a better lock at the fucking stab wound. How even did you stab someone with a fucking fountain pen!? Sure, those pens were a hell of a lot expensive, but how on earth could they stab someone!? Or was it Cale that was just so weak that he could get stabbed by anything, even a banana?!
“Young master-nim, what happened?”
As soon as the question was out, Ron shook his head.
“No, don’t answer. Young master-nim, your healing ancient power, can it heal your wound? Do you need to see a doctor right now? Can I be of help somehow?”
Cale nodded his head as he stretched out his hand for Ron to take and to help him stand up properly.
“It’s fine. If you will, can you pull the pen out? As long as it’s in my leg, my ancient power can’t take care-“
Cale was not able to finish his sentence because of an explosion, and two even bigger ones that followed. The first one was caused by the ancient dragon, a strong and incredibly powerful explosion; the latter two were caused by a certain small baby dragon who had come here upon feeling the ancient dragon’s dragon fear.
And if the young Raon was here…
“What the hell!?”
…the crown prince who had been waiting with him for Cale to finish his lessons wasn’t far.
“The hell is going on?! Cale!? You’re bleeding!? Fuck, who did this to you!? Don’t tell me it was that dipshit!?”
The ever so gracious nineteen year old crown prince, who would turn twenty in two months, behaved unlike an adult and was currently swearing like a sailor. He entered the library with fast steps and crouched down next to Ron and Cale, taking a closer look at the wound.
“It’s a fucking stabbing wound!? Wait…Is that a fucking fountain pen!?”
“Human! What did you do to the weak human?!”
By now, the instructor was shitting his pans. He was looking up at the black blob flying next to Cale’s guardian knight, the man who was introduced as ‘Haben’, who didn’t seem to be human as well! That small black blob – there was no questioning it, it was a fucking dragon. But that small dragon wasn’t the reason for his fear, not at all. For one, he was currently under Eruhaben’s dragon fear. Scared didn’t even begin to describe the emotion he was currently feeling. Terrified was too simple of a word as well.
He knew he was dead the moment he made eye contact with that monster posing as a noble child’s guardian knight. Eruhaben took a single step forward, after which the real monster inside this room passed out helplessly.
“Tsk!”
Eruhaben looked at the thing that couldn’t – just couldn’t! – be human. Simon van Augustus, he knew that name very well since Ron had been keeping him updated on his background research at a time. It wasn’t human, no; it was a thing, a monster nonetheless.
The ancient dragon, not sparing that thing another glance, turned around to the teen with the stab wound. With fast steps he approached the ‘Birthday Boy’. Raon was already there, sitting next to Cale while the redhead patted him. He seemed calm and unlike he had just been stabbed with a fucking pen. While everyone around him was panicking, he was casually patting the three year old baby dragon with a genuine smile on his lips. Eruhaben scoffed.
Cale must have been used to this; there was no other explanation for his casual behavior!
“Young master-nim!”
“What the fuck Cale!?”
Cale sighed as both Alberu and Ron seemed to have lost even the last of their rationality, going crazy over something this simple. To him, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. His uncle, Kim Seung Jong, had done things worse than stabbing him in the leg. This really was nothing. And now that he had the Vitality of the Heart, it would be really fine as long as someone finally pulled out the fountain pen from his leg! Because then, the Vitality of the Heart could do its job and Cale wouldn’t have to be in so much pain any longer!
“You stupid punk, let me pull it o-“
“Urgh!”
Cale bent forward upon Alberu suddenly but quickly pulling out the fountain pen in a swift motion. It was good since Cale was unprepared and surprised. It hurt quite a lot, but now that it was out at last, the Vitality of the Heart could do its job properly.
Cale left out a sigh of relief, and naturally, that sigh of relief was misunderstood by everyone present in this room. Alberu stared at the bloody fountain pen in his hands for quite a bit before he simply tossed it aside since it was worth nothing, no matter how anyone looked at it. It was the thing that hurt Cale.
The very moment the crown prince tossed it aside, it blew up like a bomb. The culprit? Naturally it was the young Raon, but no one commented on it. Cale also shrugged it off since it wasn’t too bad of a thing. The destroyed library shelved though…those were an issue. Explaining-wise naturally, not because of the money! The Henituse Estate had lots of money, enough to restore a library like this.
“You-!”
Cale raised one brow at Alberu’s unfinished question. The crown prince simply shook his head, he did not find the right words, and even if he did, they wouldn’t have left his mouth. Ron and Eruhaben were just as speechless as the young adult.
“Human, leave that trash to me! I’ll take care of it!”
Cale smiled at Raon’s vicious yet cute exclamation and he shook his head.
“No need. I fired him, so I won’t see him again either way.”
Let’s just say the way the three adults looked at the young teenager was a mixture of disbelief and shock. Was Cale fine with just that? They were certain if Raon was the one that got hurt, Cale would have gone crazier than just crazy, but now that it was himself…he wanted to do…nothing?
“That’s a good thing, young master-nim. That way, you won’t have to face that scum again and whatever happens to it won’t be any of your concern. Don’t worry young master-nim; I’ll have Beacrox take care of it. He’s really talented in taking out trash like this.”
Cale got the chills. He knew that Beacrox was a torture expert and he also knew that van Augustus probably wouldn’t survive much longer. Oh well, it wouldn’t be any of his concerns anyways. He already fired the man, so Ron was totally right.
“Alright then, I’ll have Beacrox take care of hi-“
“It’s an it.”
Ron was smiling ever so benignly as he corrected Cale. Seeing that benign smile, Cale got the chills once again. Ah, sometimes he forgot that Ron was a former assassin since he babied him pretty much all the time and behaved more like Cale’s grandpa rather than a servant or former assassin. It were moments like these that reminded the redhead. Oh well, it wasn’t too bad either. Van Augustus deserved it.
“Okay, I’ll have Beacrox take care of ‘it’. Hyung, help me up.”
Alberu reached his hands for his best friend who immediately helped him up. Naturally Cale was just too lazy to get up himself, but everyone got the impression that he was still weak after getting stabbed with a fucking fountain pen in the leg.
“Ron, did Beacrox prepare cookies?”
Ron’s ever so benign smile got wider, yet the expression in his eyes got a lot bitterer. It was because Cale truly was too good of a child for this world. Even after getting freaking stabbed, he behaved as if nothing happened, as if nothing was wrong and just carried on with his life.
But that wasn’t even the worst thing. The worst thing was that today was the child’s fifteenth birthday. What a nice preset, getting stabbed on your birthday, no? Ron was unable to contain his anger and disdain; his hands were shaking ever so slightly.
“Naturally he did. Let me guide the young master-nim to the kitchen. Do you need-“
Before Ron could finish his question, Alberu already made Cale climb on his back, giving him a piggyback ride. Cale was a lightweight, creating even more chaos in the crown prince’s head. Alberu knew he was eating well, but how come he didn’t ever gain weight?!
“Ah, let’s go then.”
Naturally, Cale could also walk just fine, he was simply too lazy to do so. And Alberu giving him a piggyback ride was very welcome, really. And obviously, Cale did not understand that he seemed even weaker to the outside, now that he accepted his best friend’s piggyback ride (though he only did so since Alberu was a very comfortable carrier).
Ron carried the two best friends and the invisible dragon to the kitchen – to get cookies in such a crazy situation – while Eruhaben stayed back. It was something Ron and he agreed to do through their eyes. The ancient dragon approached that dipshit thing lying on the ground, unmoving. He knew that that trashy scum didn’t faint. He may have done so before, but he had come back to consciousness at some point. Eruhaben could tell because of that monster’s ragged breath and flickering lashes. He was conscious, definitely.
[T]
The ancient dragon kneeled down. He had never felt such rage before, not once in his almost thousand years of living. The rage he was currently feeling, it was more range than he had felt in his entire life combined. He was certain. Be it because he took a liking to that redheaded brat and kind of thought of him as a son, or because that trash like scum was just utter shit, he did not know. Probably the first though.
Kneeling down next to that scum, Eruhaben gripped that monster’s bleak hair and pulled his head up. Van Augustus let out a pained whine, finally opening his eyes and revealing that he was indeed conscious.
“Fucking imbecile, you dare put your hand on my child while I’m on the same continent, in the same building as him? You dare hurt him? You dare make him feel pain?”
Eruhaben’s voice was calm, incredibly calm and cold, frighteningly so. Perhaps that was why his words were even scarier to the trash like monster. It shuddered, trembled and whined – all of which had no use. Eruhaben didn’t need to ask whether the redheaded brat that he regarded like his own son indeed had trembled like that. It was because he knew Cale. He would never tremble, shudder or whine. He had not once cried over the last eight months and probably wouldn’t do so in the future as well (hopefully so).
But did that make the things this trash did to him okay?
“Did it satisfy you? To bring pain to others? To bring pain to my child?”
As the so called private tutor didn’t answer with words and only shook his head, Eruhaben ripped out all the hair with which he was holding that being’s head up, making it hit the ground. Grabbing the leftover hair, he pulled the head up once again, straining the thing’s neck even more. The trash like scum had a bloody nose, that fucking weakling. So it could hurt others but not get hurt itself, ah?
“Answer with words you fool.”
Almost immediately, the ugly voice of that thing came out of his useless mouth.
“N-N-No!”
And its hair was ripped out once more, almost making him lose two thirds of his entire hair. Van Augustus’s head hit the floor once more, this time stronger. He was feeling the incredible pressure – which was dragon fear – from before again, making him tremble even more.
“Speak the truth dunce.”
That thing did not answer, which lead to his remaining hair being ripped out a third time and his head hitting the floor again. His nose was broken by now and the thing was certain that it had lost at least two teeth.
He was now almost completely bold, only having about a hundred hairs left. With that last bit of leftover hair, the ancient dragon pulled the instructor’s head up one last time. This time, the truth was coming out of its mouth.
“Y-Yew. I-I louwed to s-swee him s-swuffer!”
The man’s lost teeth caused his speech to go downhill, yet the ancient dragon still understood his words perfectly fine. ‘Yes, I loved to see him suffer’ – that was the last straw. Even the leftover hair was finally ripped out, leaving van Augustus bold. All of his ugly and straw like hair was lying right next to his blood, creating an incredibly ugly picture to anyone who might walk into the library.
Having no hair left, Eruhaben stopped kneeling next to the whining and begging thing and got up. With his foot, he stepped on its back, pushing him down while making his dragon fear even stronger than before.
The ancient dragon’s heart hurt. He had never seen the quick-witted and smart kid in such a state ever before. Sure, he had seen him all bloodied (more or less) a week after he met him, when he had come out of the cave, but it was different. Back then, he was fine. But just now…He had been groaning in pain. He had been really hurt. If he hadn’t been in possession of a healing attribute ancient power-
“Argh!”
Eruhaben stepped on the being’s head. He heard a loud crack and how it whined, but it didn’t make the ancient and all powerful dragon stop. He put more and more weight into his foot, pressing down harder and harder. The thing lying under him was so close to dying and while he was begging for mercy right now, in less than two hours he would come to regret it. It would have been better for everyone if he had died at that very moment.
[T]
It was Deruth Henituse who stopped the ancient dragon to fulfill his plans. In some sorts, that was a good thing. Eruhaben had completely forgotten about how Beacrox had to torture him first.
“Haben?!”
The Count, who was only bypassing and saw how the library’s doors were open, thus decided to take a quick glance, could not describe what he was currently feeling. He felt like he was going crazy. There was a blood puddle near his couch, a blood that was of a lighter color than the one next to van Augustus and thus couldn’t be coming from him. Wait-
“Haben! Did that man do something to Cale!?”
The ancient dragon scoffed as he kicked the thing’s head once more before turning around to face Deruth. His eyes went back to normal and he had the aura of a normal guardian knight too. He patted the dirt from his clothes.
“You hired that thing?”
Deruth got the chills as he nodded his head nonetheless.
“I-I did.”
Eruhaben raised his brows.
“Well, the young master fired him. I was ordered to take out the trash.”
‘Deruth Henituse, the young master-nim’s father, neglected him almost all his life. It was only recently that he tried to get close to the young master-nim, but it seems that the child’s trauma goes deep. I also don’t trust him, and I certainly do not like him.’
Eruhaben couldn’t help but recall the old butler Ron’s words about Count Deruth Henituse. Naturally, the former assassin gave him a thorough description of all the things the man had done, it was enough for Eruhaben to know that the man was no one he needed to tell Cale’s state to, even if he looked devastated and shocked right now. The ancient dragon recalled the crown prince’s reaction. It was by far more real.
“B-But did he h-hurt my son?”
Eruhaben raised his brows even higher and shrugged.
“I work for Cale Henituse. His personal butler told me not to disclose any information about him, to anyone.”
“Ah.”
It was the same as answering yes to Deruth’s question. And the moment the Count realized, his whole expression turned a lot paler, the next moment he was on his knees.
“B-b-b-b-b-b-but I told him t-t-t-t-t-to stop!”
Eruhaben scoffed. Ron was right. That excuse of a father was pretty much the same as this excuse of a human being Eruhaben had taken care of. He was certain after seeing Deruth react this way. He knew something. But it was none of his concern, not anymore.
During the time Deruth was down, staring at the floor in disbelief, Beacrox entered the room, and together with that thing and Eruhaben, they exited the library, leaving Deruth Henituse all alone.
The man fucked up and he knew it.
He finally noticed that all the time, it seems that Simon van Augustus, whom he originally hired as a disguised private instructor to hurt Cale, had continued to do so even after he told him that that was no longer needed. He fucked up. He really did.
And there was no going back.
Meanwhile, Cale was eating cookies, happy that he got rid of van Augustus, one way or the other. Well, that was what he had been doing, before someone special decided to visit him on this very special day.
Notes:
Hi!
I've finished this chapter really fast! I've had so much motivation coming from nowhere and then somehow wrote as much as I did! I hope it was to your liking \(◦'⌣'◦)/But honestly, how did you know that it was finally trash-throwing out time? Did I hint it too obviously? Like, here am I, sitting and chuckling, fully convinced that I'll suprise you guys with this chapter since all of you have been looking forward it so much, and then I read through the comments, and as good as all of you got it
(ﾉ °益°)ﾉBut I still hope that this chapter somehow came as a surprise to you (especially the beginning). It's really only "half" though, I must say. I couldn't finish everything that happens on Cale's fifteenth birthday in 5k words, so I'm gonna end it in the next chapter. I hope you don't mind haha.
Either way, the trash was thrown out, but it's not fully over yet! Please look forward to part 2 of getting rid of the trash!
ლ(o◡oლ)
Chapter 28: 26. Getting rid of it (2)
Summary:
Time to get rid of trash (part 2)
Notes:
This chapter consists of triggering stuff (mostly violence used to torture), it's (as always) marked with [T] when it begins and end, so read with care! This chapter also has (unforced) underage drinking, so if you're uncomfortable with that...idk, I didnt mark it since it's in the end only haha. Tell me if it's triggering to you and I'll mark it immediately too!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
That special someone was not one, but two people; it were Bud Illis and his best friend Glenn Poeff. Coincidentally enough, the purple haired highest grade mage teleported exactly into the kitchen this time. Almost immediately, his best friend the Mercenaries King laughed cheerfully and approached the on the counter sitting birthday boy who turned fifteen today.
“Oi kiddo, you ain’t no kid no more! Happy birthday!”
As always, Bud failed to read the room’s mood, though it wasn’t that bad, really. Ron, who was standing behind his puppy like young master-nim, and the crown prince, who was leaning on the counter next to the place his best friend was sitting on, both had grim expressions on their faces. Cale was the only one who was eating his chocolate chip cookies casually as if nothing happened, and as if everything was the same as usual.
Hence, he looked up to face Bud, with the same stoic expression as always. Raon, who was sitting next to him while eating cookies as well, was back to being all cheerful like his usual self too. It was because he was still so young; he probably didn’t understand what happened a few minutes before properly. To him, Cale was healed right now and the culprit behind his weak human being hurt was gone too, so the problem was over.
“How did you know?”
Bud scoffed at Cale’s cold answer and pretended to be hurt.
“How couldn’t I know? Ugh, that hurts me! We’ve been through thick and thin with you! Don’t you remember how we saved you on this cold winter day? You would have gotten lost and drowned in the deep forest’s snow and-“
“A person can’t drown in snow.”
Bud’s nostalgic and exaggerated speech was ruined by Alberu’s sober comment. The Mercenaries King almost immediately started fake sobbing.
“Why is everyone making fun of me?”
Cale scoffed at that and looked at Glenn for help, yet the highest grade mage was standing next to Ron, speaking with him. And judging by the way he looked at Cale, it seemed that he had now been informed of the van Augustus situation. Well, it didn’t really matter to the redhead since he wouldn’t have to see that sorry excuse of an instructor ever again.
“It doesn’t make sense. There’s no way Cale would get lost in the snow.”
Bud sneered and Cale raised his brows. The crown prince really did put an incredible amount of trust in him, not that he would mind. But this time, Cale recalled the day he got the Vitality of the Heart, he would have gotten lost, wasn’t it for Bud and Glenn. And even if he didn’t, things may have ended up worse than they did. But, there was no need to help Bud, right?
“Well, in fact, we did help him! And that’s not the point I’m trying to make here right now! Damn it, your highness!”
Alberu just raised his brows and crossed his arms. There was zero amusement on his face and he wasn’t smiling, unlike usual. Ah, he seemed to have been more taken back by the events than he let on. Perhaps Cale getting a stab wound and him letting his best friend see him bleed hurt Alberu mentally a lot? Cale frowned. Right, if their roles were in reverse, Cale would have run amok or something like that, even if Alberu had a healing ancient power.
“Ah.”
Cale looked at Alberu. He seemed calm and composed, but his body was incredibly tense and he wasn’t smiling. Usually, whenever the crown prince was with Cale, he had some sort of grin on his face. Be it a mischievous one or a real, happy smile. But right now, his lips were pressed together into a line and he looked incredibly displeased. It seems like Cale had acted a bit…well, stupid.
But then again, Cale did have a healing attribute ancient power, and an incredible one at that. Alberu knew that he couldn’t get hurt no matter what. The only thing that may have upset him so much would be Cale’s instructor then…
“Oi what’s with this bad mood? You know what, kiddo, come here; I’ve got a good birthday present for ya outside!”
Cale frowned and shook his head. He had more important things to do right now, like to make sure that Alberu was okay. And just as he was about to decline, it was his best friend who was smiling once again, yet his smile did not reach his eyes. It was strange, but Cale could not say anything.
“What a good idea. Cale, let’s do it like that. You can go with Bud, and we’ll stay back and take care of things.”
“Human! The cookie prince is right! Go with the stupid but strong Mercenaries King!”
Cale frowned as it was unusual for Raon to tell him to go somewhere without taking him along. But just as Cale was about to comment on it, he saw Alberu’s somewhat begging look. Ah, it seems that van Augustus had been the reason for Alberu’s bad mood indeed.
“Alright, but we’ll be back soon.”
Alberu nodded.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to hurry.”
And with that, Cale left with Bud. Later on, Ron would come to regret not having accompanied his puppy like young master-nim, though Alberu did never regret his choice, not even once.
~
That was how Cale ended up with Bud in a bar. It was only noon, but no one gave them odd glances in the relatively full bar. Man, so many drunkards wanted to drink the day away already, but Cale was not someone who could judge them, since he was currently in the bar with Bud too.
“What are we doing in here?”
Cale frowned as he looked around. There was no gift in here, so why did Bud lead him here? Did the swordsmaster prepare something else and just got lost in Rain City since he wasn’t here very often? No, that couldn’t be it. Bud was a mercenary and while Raon always called him stupid, he was pretty smart. So there was no way he would get lost with directions, not ever.
“This is your birthday present hahaha!”
Bud looked incredibly proud of himself. Cale did not understand why he looked that way. What did he mean with ‘this’? Was it the whole bar? No, that was impossible. So what was it then?
But quickly noticed that Cale did not understand where he was coming from and sighed. He put his hands on his sides and shook his head.
“Oi kiddo, you’re fifteen now, ain’t ya?”
Cale frowned. What did his age have to do with anything? Him not answering seemed to be answer enough to Bud.
“Fifteen! You’re fifteen and still didn’t have a taste of liquor! Do you even know what booze or wine is? How about tequila?”
Cale’s whole attitude changed on spot and he looked at the Mercenaries King disinterestedly. Was that man really proposing to get alcohol to a fifteen year old teen? Was he in the right state of mind? If so, Cale truly wondered how Ron still hadn’t beat Bud’s ass.
“Oi Cale, don’t look at me like that! This is the perfect birthday present, you will see!”
And with that, Bud dragged Cale to the bar and ordered two beers. What started out with the weakest booze, turned to wine rather quickly. While Cale had been reluctant to finish his glasses before, he quickly just accepted his fate and did as he was told. It was because he relied on his alcohol tolerance that he had built up back as Kim Rok Soo. And even if it wasn’t for that, he strongly believed that the Vitality of the Heart wouldn’t let him get drunk.
He was wrong. It took him exactly one beer and half a wine glass, then his composed and stoic self was gone, replaced by a funny Cale who laughed about anything. Bud smirked at that. If Cale got drunk this easily, he had needed this special birthday present more than the swordsmaster anticipated.
Building up an alcohol tolerance was important, after all. And after two other wine glasses, the whole bar was cheering for the young redhead who was going around, speaking to anyone about all kinds of stuff. He made listening to the Roan Kingdom’s history sound interesting and talked about his ‘hyung’ whom he cherished very much. Bud listened very thoroughly to Cale’s words. A drunkard was the kind of person that was the most honest, after all.
Whenever Cale’s glass was empty, someone refilled. Most of the people in here didn’t recognize him as the Count’s son, which was for the better probably. They treated him like one of their kind, laughed with him, cheered for his little standing on the table and jumping down stunts. Whenever Cale said that the next round was on him, everyone declined, paying for themselves.
“Yo birthday kid, happy birthday!”
The mood in the bar was cheerful, happy and just positive. Everyone was laughing, smiling and having a good time. Bud nodded to himself. He now knew that bringing Cale here had been the right decision, and he wasn’t the only one who thought that way. In the future, the crown prince would come to thank him many times.
While Bud and Cale were out, having a good time, Alberu and Ron went down into the cellar of the Henituse Estate. The upper floors of Count Henituse’s villa may be fancy, but his basement was cold and everything other than welcoming. Glenn stayed behind, standing guard so that no one could possibly enter and disturb them in what they were planning to do.
[T]
It was a good decision, really.
Ron and Alberu stopped in front of a dark room. It was a cell, a cell that reeked of blood, a cell from which loud and pained cries originated – none of which really mattered to the two of them. And without an ounce of hesitation, they opened the heavy door and entered the vast room.
It was dark with the only light being a torch hanging besides the chained up monstrosity. It was bold, since all of its hair had been ripped out half an hour ago. His face was distorted, his nose almost as nonexistent. It also had very few teeth, since most of them had been pulled up very slowly one by one. His eyes were hidden behind a blindfold. Not being able to see usually frightened people, more than when they weren’t able to hear or feel.
Next to the man who was still pretty much, considered what the people in this room had in store for him, stood three tables. All of them were filled with all kinds of different things; though they had only one reason to be there, which was to torture the thing that was chained up next to the torch.
Simon van Augustus would die today.
Beacrox Molan, a torture expert, wore currently five layers of his white gloves, all so that his hands wouldn’t get dirty.
“Your highness, father, you are here.”
Ron simply nodded while the crown prince didn’t react at all. The only thing he did was to stare at the excuse of a human being. His shirt was ripped up, revealing the man’s hideous body. Alberu was incredibly tempted to just take one of the many knifes and stab it into the man’s body, and in the end he did just that. It didn’t matter where he stabbed that monster as long as it didn’t kill him, which it didn’t. Alberu then spat on the whining, crying and screaming man.
“Shut the fuck up, trash.”
None of the three remaining adults inside the cell had ever heard Alberu talk in such a cold and even cruel manner, no; they hadn’t ever seen him in such a state. He seemed calm, incredibly calm, but then again, he seemed furious. It was crazy how he could be two things at the same time. That almost twenty year old kid that seemed to be Alberu Crossman, the firstborn prince of the Roan Kingdom, was definitely not Alberu, Cale’s best friend.
It was a change in character so extreme, Ron wondered whether the punk had finally gone crazy and had now two personalities or something.
But that wasn’t actually the case. Alberu was just Alberu, he was just so damn angry, sad and disappointed – naturally the disappointment was because of himself; he had seen Cale’s casual reaction, and that was enough for him to understand that today wasn’t the first time his best and only friend, the most important person in his life, was mistreated.
Alberu did not remember when Cale had become the most important person in his life. Perhaps it was during the week he thought Cale would die; perhaps it happened even before that. Fact remained that to Alberu, Cale was the most important, even more than the crown. And yet, someone, some imbecile – some pedestrian – dared to harm the one person the crown prince wouldn’t be able to survive without?
Forget death! That was a crime even worse than trying to assassin the king (naturally it was like that not just for Alberu, but also for the people who loved Cale to no ends).
The young Raon, who had stayed in the back of the room, came forward and sat down on Alberu’s shoulder casually. This quarter dark elf was his weak human’s best friend, perhaps that was why he could sit down so carelessly.
“Good cook Beacrox let’s stab him in the leg with a fountain pen!”
At that, Beacrox’ eyes lit up and he nodded, quickly bringing a fountain pen, one that was by far heavier than the one van Augustus stabbed Cale with. But it didn’t matter. The pen was thrown, a pain filled scream followed. Naturally, the sound didn’t leave this room since the ancient dragon put up a sound barrier, yet the servants working in the Henituse Estate still got the chills. The other three adults in the room acted as if the young dragon’s vicious words were the norm.
The use of a healing potion followed, then the same place was stabbed by a thrown fountain pen again. It was Ron who threw it this time. Quick and precise, it hit its target perfectly. Screams and whines followed, after which van Augustus’s body was stabbed with another knife. After some time of playing dart with fountain pens as arrows and van Augustus as the target, another healing potion was used, but this one was a bit different than a normal healing potion: while it did heal the wounds, it was also a poison. It wouldn’t kill that thing, but it would make him feel pain, more than he had ever felt before.
The torture continued for three full hours, and it certainly wouldn’t stop after that. But three hours were enough for Alberu. It was already afternoon and it was still Cale’s birthday. It didn’t feel right to spend the day with such a thing. Furthermore, Alberu was feeling a lot better than before, since van Augustus had already gotten punished, even if he deserved to feel even more pain.
[T]
Without a word, the crown prince exited the cell. He wanted to take the young Raon with him, but Raon did not want to tag along and preferred to stay with the ancient dragon, the former assassin and the torture expert. The reason behind his actions was simple: he wanted to see the thing suffer more.
Alberu walked up the stairs and soon met Glenn. The highest grade mage was, just as he was told, standing in front of the stairs to the basement, guarding it so that no one could enter. It wasn’t really necessary since Eruhaben had put up another barrier that prevented anyone he didn’t allow to enter. But it was kind of strange if a servant would go into the basement by accident and then hit an invisible wall out of nowhere.
“Are you done already?”
Alberu, with his perfect smile on his lips, shook his head. His eyes were cold as he approached Glenn. Now that he was done with the instructor, he needed to ask Cale a lot of questions. He didn’t up til now because Cale was someone who would stand up for himself – at least he seemed that way. No, he didn’t just seem that way, he was that way. That was why Alberu didn’t understand why the redhead didn’t tell anyone about that fucking bitch van Augustus to begin with! Why keep it a secret if he could have gotten rid of him in the very beginning without getting hurt at all? Even seven years back, Alberu could have done that much for Cale.
“No, but I am. Tell me, where’re Cale and Bud?”
Glenn furrowed his brows as he shrugged. He really didn’t know since Bud didn’t tell him. He only knew that the Mercenaries King was incredibly excited to give Cale that so called gift that had no form.
“I wouldn’t know.”
Alberu raised his brow, but quickly realized that Glenn was speaking the truth. He left quickly, recalling that Bud planned to go out with Cale. The crown prince didn’t know much about the blue haired swordsmaster, but what he knew was that Bud loved liquor. It was the only thing that could get him excited. He and Cale still weren't back, because else, Eruhaben would have noticed and said something. Being out three hours – Bud probably took Cale to some pub or something.
“Damn it.”
Alberu cussed as soon as he exited the Henituse Estate. Because he had been so angry before, he wasn’t able to think properly at all! Why did he let Cale go? He should have forced the boy to stay! Ah damn Simon van Augustus! Alberu desperately hoped that he would rot in hell for the rest of eternity!
Rain City wasn’t too far away from the Henituse Estate and since Alberu was in a hurry, it took him only five minutes to reach the town’s center. There, he started to look for all sorts of establishments that served liquor. It was pretty many, actually. And after visiting ten different ones without finding a certain redhead, he found his best friend standing on top of a table, doing some movements with his body, almost staggering, approximately dancing, in the eleventh bar called ‘Tom’s diner’.
On its sign stood diner, but it was a bar only. Sure, there were menu cards, but this establishment didn’t look like the kind people were visiting for food. Everyone was cheerful and had a cup of booze in their hands. They were cheering for Cale and the redhead-
Alberu’s eyes widened as he saw how cheerful Cale was. He seemed…free of any burdens. His expression wasn’t stoic and he was smiling with all his might. That smile, it was wider than any smile Alberu ever had on his lips, be it a genuine or fake one. Alberu doubted he could physically smile that wide. But Cale did. And he seemed incredibly happy, dancing on the table like that.
His face was flushed and he was certainly drunk, Alberu just knew. And it was precisely because of that that Alberu couldn’t remain standing next to the entrance to the pub while watching his best friend. He finally fully entered the pub, his eyes scanning the people inside for a certain blue haired man with glasses. And it didn’t take long, then he found the man he had been looking for.
With fast steps, Alberu approached Bud Illis, the man he entrusted Cale (even if he hadn’t been in his right state of mind) to. There would never, never ever, come a time, no matter what state of mind Alberu would be in, that he would allow Bud to depart with Cale.
“Hahaha, look at who’s here! Tommy, look who’s here, bow ya head, it’s da crown prince~”
Alberu rolled his eyes, not putting up with Bud Illis’ bullshit for long. He could tell that Bud was still not drunk, despite his red cheeks. It was because his eyes were clear; his gaze was cold and calculative. Because of that, he could properly talk with that man.
“Bud Illis.”
Bud’s smile almost immediately disappeared and he slowly turned around to face the smiling crown prince. Tommy, one of the baristas that served this evening, approached Bud with another cup of wine and rolled his eyes. He looked incredibly apologetic at Alberu and bowed down as if to say sorry for Bud’s words. Obviously, Tommy did not believe that Alberu was the crown prince. Alberu just raised his brows and looked back at Bud.
“How old are you?”
It was a rhetorical question and did not require Bud’s answer, which was precisely why the man did not answer and only listen.
“Older than eighteen, right? And how old is Cale? Under eighteen, right? And what do you call it when someone who’s clearly under the age of eighteen drinks alcohol? Wouldn’t that be considered underage drinking? And did you know that in the Roan Kingdom, children under the age of eighteen are still not responsible for themselves? In the Roan Kingdom’s law, paragraph 709 section two-b, the person that took the underage child and handed him alcohol would have to face a trial and eventually a jail time of a couple months up to two years.”
Alberu smiled the whole time he talked, making his incredibly terrifying speech seem less brutal. But it was a cold smile, one that showed Bud how displeased the crown prince was.
“Eh…”
The Mercenaries King could not answer the crown prince as Alberu continued speaking.
“And in this case, the culprit wouldn’t be you, but this establishment’s owner, no? Since he didn’t check a customer’s ID before handing him alcohol, wouldn’t that be right? And did you know, the Roan’s kingdom law prefers nobles? In paragraph 709 section two-c, it states that if the child is of noble blood, the culprit’s punishment will be even more extreme. Naturally, such a law is often disregarded by everyone, but I know it. And if I take it to trial-“
“Yes! I understood! No more alcohol for the kiddo! Fine, fine, fine! Just don’t do anything, yeah? Tommy is a good guy, he’s got family.”
Alberu smiled his usual princy smile. It was easier to scare Bud than imagined. But oh well, it wasn’t such a bad thing, especially since it would save him a lot of time to find other things to scare the swordsmaster with. Naturally, such a law did indeed exist, but it was on the verge of being abandoned since no one cared for it either. There were a lot of noble children that drank before turning eighteen, and it was out of their free will as well. Well, yet, the law wasn’t abandoned.
“Good. Don’t do such a thing again, and we won’t have a problem with each other, alright?”
Bud nodded as he finally got up from the bar stool, pulling out some silver coins to pay for the booze. The barista, Timmy, naturally accepted the money with a bright smile on his face as soon as he saw it. He waved at Bud, hoping such a good paying guest would visit him again soon.
And while Bud exited ‘Tom’s diner’, Alberu went to the table on which Cale was dancing. At first, the redhead didn’t notice him, but as soon as he did, and after he recognized him, his happy and cheerful expression turned even brighter than before.
“Hyung, hic~”
Cale walked towards Alberu and almost fell over, wasn’t it for the crown prince catching him on time. Cale chuckled, even though he could have broken his neck by pulling a stunt like that.
“Yep, it’s your hyung. Let’s go back now.”
At that, Cale quickly shook his head, almost furiously.
“Naaaaaaaah~ don’t wanna~!”
Alberu sneered. When Cale was drunk, he sure acted like the kid he actually was. It was sad, now that Alberu thought about it. Weren't people the most honest when drunk?
“Alright, where does my dear dongsaeng want to go then?”
Cale stopped moving around so much so that Alberu could properly grab him this time. Without much thinking, the crown prince managed to get his best friend on his back, giving him a second piggyback ride for the day. Thinking about piggyback rides, he didn’t give Cale any of those when he was younger and much cuter – though he was still undeniably cute!
“Anywhere but hooooome~”
Cale wrapped his arms around Alberu’s neck as he leaned his head on the almost twenty year old’s shoulder. Alberu sighed. ‘Anywhere but home’, what a sentence…At home, there were people waiting for the redhead, Alberu was certain. There was Eruhaben-nim, the old butler, Beacrox and the young Raon. There was also Glenn. Today was Cale’s birthday, and while it was technically the now fifteen year old’s day to spend the way he’d like, today was a holiday for the people around him too.
Beacrox prepared food, Ron had been pretty excited, the ancient dragon had been looking forward today for such a long time, just like the young Raon…
Then again, they were busy torturing that hideous monstrosity…
“Hyung~ Gooooooooo~”
“Haaa…”
Alberu sighed. Well, it was fine as long as it was Cale’s wish, no? After all, it was the redhead’s birthday today, so he was the one whose opinion counted the most, no matter how Alberu looked at it. And the day was probably already ruined for Beacrox and his father, just like his father’s best friend Eruhaben. It really wouldn’t be that big of a deal to just take Cale and get him away from here, would it? It was the crown prince’s best friend’s wish too, after all, and there was no way he could disregard it and shrug it off as if Cale didn’t say anything, especially on such a day as today.
“Gooooooooo!”
Alberu started walking, just like Cale ordered him to. He had made his decision even before he gave it too much thought. With fast steps, Alberu left ‘Tom’s diner’ and entered one of the many buildings he had noticed while spending half an hour looking for Cale.
‘Gabrielle’s Inn’.
There was no way Cale’s word was less than like an order to Alberu.
Notes:
Hi!
I must say, I have a streak or something going on! I swear, I don't even have to force myself to sit down and write, I do it out of my own free will omg! And this feels so satisfying!As you may (or not may) have noticed, this chapter is a bit shorter than my usual chapters, and I have to aplologize for that. It's just that part three of 'Time to get rid of trash' doesnt really fit less than perhaps 4k words, so I decided to keep this chapter shorter and not shorten the story. I hope you don't mind haha. Look at it from the bright side, I managed to update two chapters today!
And don't worry about me, I may run low on sleep, but I run high on sugar and energy! And let me tell you, alcohol free champangier or whatever that is that I'm drinking is keeping me awake~ And I'm also doing this because I still can and I ain't forcing myself to do anything! And yes, I have plenty of free time, even if it sounds crazy hahaha
（●´∀｀）ノ♡I really hope this chapter wasnt too bad. Since it was kind of a filler chapter for the real big deal that's about to come next chapter, I thought it would be fine. I tried to make Alberu a bit of a badass who can't show that side to his beloved dongsaeng, but probably I described him shittily or something, so ignore it.
(^Д＾)Next chapter will be awesome again, I promise!
I have so many things in mind for it, so stay tuned! I promise it will be a real surprise for you, since I didnt hint it or anything (hopefully)!
(ʃƪ˘ﻬ˘)AH! Before I forget it! Thank you so much for all of your positive comments! They're always so nice and I'm always loving them, no matter if it's a thanks or an emoji or a 500 words review! I love all of them! So thanks!
(honestly, I think it's them that are my real energy source haha)
ƪ(♥ﻬ♥)ʃTil next chapter then!
（*´▽｀*）
Chapter 29: 27. Getting rid of it (3)
Summary:
Time to get rid of trash (part 3) FiNaLe~
Notes:
I don't think that there's any triggering stuff this time, so I didn't put up any trigger signs, but please read with care since it mentions a panic attack and stressful behavior. Read safely!
（*´▽｀*）
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Alberu sighed as he looked outside the window. It was already dark outside and it was raining heavily. The weather really suited this fucked up situation he noted. He looked at the sleeping fifteen year old. As soon as he booked this room in the inn he accidentally passed while looking for Cale, and entered, Cale fell asleep. Well, it was better than him throwing up, Alberu guessed.
Still, during the time Cale was out, Alberu was unable to ask him any questions. While he had been determined to do so at first, he was now kind of wavering, uncertain about whether it was really such a good idea. He knew that he trusted Cale more than he trusted any other person in the whole universe. He also knew that he was willing to do anything for that kid. To Alberu, Cale was the best that could have happened to him – like ever. He didn’t need anything else, really. Of course, he wanted to be king, but for Cale, he could even give up that.
But was it the same for Cale?
Did the redhead trust him as much as he trusted him?
Naturally, it didn’t really matter. Alberu didn’t need Cale’s trust (even though he really wanted to have it). As long as Cale was comfortable with him, everything was fine. The crown prince didn’t need his best friend to share everything with him, he really wasn’t that clingy.
But topics like ‘domestic abuse’ were something different. If Cale was getting hurt – abused – by some creepy old shit, of course Alberu would want to know! No, he needed to know! There were so many questions swirling around in the almost twenty year old prince’s head. He was supposed to be an adult, yet he felt more like a child than he had ever before. The shock from seeing that fucked up situation in the library was gone by now, but it didn’t ease the picture in Alberu’s mind. He also recalled a conversation the two of them had a very long time ago, shortly before Raon had been born.
The two best friends had been in Alberu’s palace back then, it was when Cale had been twelve years old and didn’t want to leave and go back to the Henituse Estate. This had lead Alberu to believe a certain thing.
‘I´m just asking, you don´t have any plans on going back soon, do you?’
Cale hadn’t answered Alberu’s question, which led the crown prince’s suspicions to get stronger.
‘Alright, tell me or I´ll investigate the Henituse servants. Everyone; the maids, the head butler, the new Countess, her son, and your instructor. Then I will display some authority through an official royal document, firing everyone and demoting your father to a Viscount or Baron.’
‘It´s because I think that you´re getting bullied or feel uncomfortable at the Henituse Estate.’
‘What?’
‘Wait, you´re really getting bullied?’
Now that Alberu was recalling their conversation, Cale had never given a concrete answer. How stupid he actually was. Sure, Alberu was smart in many different ways, yet such a dumbass when faced with a serious problem like this! How could he have forgotten something this important? No, that wasn’t the truth. He didn’t forget it. He just dropped it, thinking that he was too overprotective over his one and only best friend.
It seems he shouldn’t have let Cale off the hook back then. Perhaps the boy wouldn’t have to suffer as much as he did then. Alberu buried his face in his hands. Lightning struck the earth, scaring many crows sitting in a tree next to the window. It was the perfect setting for a horror movie, truly. But Alberu did not notice the things that were going on outside of this room. He looked at Cale. Truly, whenever the boy was asleep, he looked like the most peaceful person on earth.
Perhaps it was because of that reason that Alberu didn’t wake him up and let him sleep. Or maybe it was because Alberu was actually scared.
What would happen if what he was thinking of turned out to be the truth? What if Cale had been abused by that fucking imbecile for many years without anyone – without him – noticing? What would happen if it turned out that he was the biggest fool on earth? What would happen if his thoughts would turn out as reality?
Alberu wasn’t afraid of many things. There was really as good as nothing on his list: He didn’t like snakes and eels, yes, he even feared them. He would jump up any time he saw a spider bigger than his little finger. And he was afraid – terrified – of being all alone again, which was the same with the fear of Cale dying. But what he feared on par of that was him failing Cale. Not just as a friend, but as a family member. And if that fucking imbecile excuse of a human being posing as an instructor turned out to terrorize Cale for longer than just this one time…then Alberu had failed his one and only, incredibly treasured best friend.
The crown prince wanted to know the truth, he really did, but then, he just couldn’t know!
“Fuck!”
The firstborn prince of the royal family got up from the armchair he was sitting on and threw the book lying on the coffee table across the room. He was furious and the only thing he could take it out on was this bundle of paper. After he threw it, Alberu fell back onto the armchair, burying his face in his hands again.
He didn’t know what he should do.
He didn’t know what he was supposed to do.
The ever so tall standing crown prince felt very little.
Why was it his best friend that had to suffer through all of this? Couldn’t it be him instead? Why did all people try to target Cale? Was it because he was cute, innocent and weak – weak and small, without big family backing and seemingly an easy target? Did none of these fucking stupid people realize that Cale had the biggest backing in the whole fucking world?
But what use was that fucking backing if it wasn’t informed about any fucking thread in Cale’s life? What use was it, ah!? What was it good for if not to protect Cale, ah!? Alberu’s heart was beating faster than it had ever done before. He felt helpless, small and like the biggest loser alive. Now that he was alone… He broke down, he showed his weak side.
The strong may look strong on the outside, but truth to be told, no one was really strong. Everyone had periods of being strong, after, they would return to being weak again. The ones that seemed strong didn’t want to return to their weak self again because they only knew pain and had been constantly hurt. The ones that seemed weak and somewhat foolish were the happiest of people.
Alberu, he was the same. He had been strong for too long. All the emotions he didn’t want anyone to see…they finally left his body. The young adult’s body trembled. It was normal. He had witnessed his best friend get stabbed with a fucking pen by some no name imbecile. He had also witnessed that fucking fool’s smirk – that pleased expression, in that split second that Eruhaben had looked away from that scum.
Deep inside his mind, the crown prince already knew exactly what was going on. He just didn’t want to accept it. Why was he so little? Why couldn’t he stand tall like he always did? Why was he-
Before Alberu could continue thinking that way, he suddenly felt a soft hand touching his left shoulder. Almost immediately he looked up, forgetting the tears that had built up in the corners of his eyes. Due to the fast motion and gravity (which were both excuses), the tears rolled down. It was just two tears, but to the person who was making eye contact with the crying young adult they meant the world. It was over.
Two fools were staring at each other in shock.
Perhaps it was an hour or just a few seconds that passed by, but it felt like eternity until Alberu’s eyes widened in shock and he quickly wiped away his tears with his sleeve. Immediately after, he turned away, too embarrassed to face the kid that should actually be crying since he had been fucking stabbed.
“…Hyung?”
Cale’s voice sounded incredibly hesitant and reluctant for once. Ah, it seemed like Alberu had made the situation embarrassing for him as well. Just as the crown prince was about to get up, mostly to turn away from his best friend completely, he was pushed down by a sudden force. It wasn’t a strong force at all, and truth to be told, it didn’t really push Alberu down in itself, it just happened that way due to the surprise factor behind that force.
Almost immediately, Alberu turned his head to face a frowning Cale. The redhead was leaning over Alberu while furrowing his brows, unable to hide his worry this time. Ah, Alberu’s tears must have shocked him more than the crown prince thought they would. This was getting more and more embarrassing the longer Cale was staring at him, dammit.
“Ah? What is it?”
Cale stopped hovering over his best friend and just sat down on the coffee table, his frown deepening even more. Alberu acted ‘normal’ but not normal at the same time. But one thing Cale knew, and it was that Alberu was anything else but fine. The person who didn’t even cry when he was about to die was crying right now over seemingly nothing.
“What is it? Why are you crying?”
Alberu tried to put up his best smile, but naturally that didn’t bring him much with Cale being the person he tried to fool. Thus he just shrugged in the end.
“Dunno, just felt like crying I guess.”
Cale raised his brows. Both he and Alberu knew that this was probably the most ridiculous lie anyone could ever tell, but the redhead didn’t say anything, just locked eyes with his best friend and stared at him. Well, his gaze said more than hundreds of thousands of words could. It gave Alberu the chills and in the end, he had to turn his face away. Helplessly, he shrugged.
“Let’s drop this. How are you feeling? Are you hungover?”
Cale did not answer at first; still looking at the person he called ‘hyung’ and considered as his best and only friend, one of the very few people he could freely rely on. He was assessing whether Alberu crying was okay of a topic to leave alone. In the end, he was convinced that Alberu would end up revealing his reason for crying either way whenever he felt comfortable, so Cale finally answered.
“I’m fine.”
Alberu shook his head in disbelief, and finally turned his head back to face Cale. That action made it possible for the redhead to lock eyes with his best friend again, and this time, Alberu didn’t look away. It relieved Cale, especially since Alberu seemed to be less hurt now, slowly turning back to his usual, calm self.
“Of course you are fine, why do I even bother asking you?”
The crown prince was only mumbling to himself, but it was asked loud enough to receive two raised brows from Cale. He sighed and shook his head, a slight smile on his lips, then turned serious again. With Cale awake…
“Cale, do you remember our conversation three years ago, before Raon was born?”
Cale frowned. Of course, re recalled all of their conversations perfectly fine. They were something his ‘Record’ ability recorded, unbeknownst to him – not that he’d mind. He searched for the exact record for a bit, then remembered what it was about. He frowned, but before he could say anything, Alberu continued.
“You were not getting bullied back then, were you? You were getting abused, weren’t you?”
Cale stayed silent. He knew if he was to answer honestly, something bad would happen. He could tell by the way Alberu was looking at him. His eyes were pleading – begging – him to say no, and Cale could tell that Alberu wouldn’t be fine if he was to tell the truth. But there was no way he could lie to Alberu. Cale would never be able to lie to him.
So he stayed silent.
He stayed silent for a long while, until he simply shrugged.
“It’s not a big deal, nothing I can’t deal with, hyung.”
At that, Alberu couldn’t help but sneer in disbelief. There was a big, sarcastic smile on his lips as he shook his head in disbelief. He was angry. But to Cale, Alberu showing that rage was way better than him being sad and crying.
“’Nothing you can’t deal with’!? Did you honestly just say that or did I misunderstand something? Cale, that fucking man stabbed you when you fired him! Tell me, and be honest this time, this wasn’t the first and only time, was it?!”
A long silence followed Alberu’s angry monologue in which only Alberu’s fast breaths were heard. It took quite some time for Cale to finally answer his best friend’s question as he finally shook his head.
And with that, Alberu’s worst fears have come true. The crown prince laughed when he actually wanted to cry. No, it was unreal how bad he wanted to cry right now. Perhaps that was why he was laughing, yet it didn’t stop the urge to cry. Soon enough, the crown prince had stopped laughing like a lunatic and buried his face in his hands. He…he was so small, so useless, so helpless. He didn’t help Cale at all. What did that excuse of a human do to his one and only cherished person? What trauma did that thing cause Cale? What did it do all the time it was with Cale?
Alberu did not know.
What use was it being the crown prince if his fancy title didn’t bring his best friend shit?
It was silent once again. Cale didn’t dare to say anything. It was because he did not understand much, but he knew that it was better to give Alberu a little space rather than to pester him with something. And he had enough patience to do just that, to wait.
“…How long has this been going on?”
Alberu did not lift his head from his hands as he asked the question. Cale did not want to answer it. He had the feeling that it would devastate Alberu even more, but then again, he had no other choice but to answer. It was because he could tell that while his best friend didn’t want to know, he also needed to know.
“About six years?”
Alberu didn’t answer for a long while, then finally looked up and made eye contact with Cale. Perhaps the redhead was still a bit drunk and hence was answering all of his questions without much protest. If that was the case, it was honestly a good thing.
“And…what did he do?”
Cale shook his head at that, almost as if to defy Alberu’s thoughts.
“Hyung, it’s better if you sleep now. I think you’re exhausted. You-“
“I’m not exhausted Cale! I’m…I’m stressed, alright? I’m stressed and I don’t know what I’m feeling myself? My heart is beating way too fast and the only thing I can think about is how useless I actually am! That man, he fucking abused you for SIX WHOLE FUCKING years! How do you expect me to react? Honestly, tell me! What am I supposed to do? Huh?”
At that, Alberu’s breathing quickened and the young adult grabbed the part of his shirt above his heart. He couldn’t talk any longer and it was getting difficult to breathe properly. Cale immediately knew what was happening to Alberu: It was a panic attack. He recalled how some of the rookie employees had come back in similar states from the battlefield, and he also recalled how they calmed themselves – or rather how the people close to them did.
Cale quickly grabbed the next best object that Alberu could breathe in – which was an empty glass – and handed it to the young adult. Then, he calmly gave instructions to his best friend so that he could calm down. He also touched his shoulder again to show him that he was there.
Seeing Alberu like this, hyperventilating, not getting any air in his lungs, in a state of shock, probably also because of suppressed stress-
Cale knew he had to come clean to at least Alberu.
It was a decision he had contemplated many years, actually, ever since he was twelve, even before he found out about Alberu’s little secret. Alberu was the only person he actually trusted, as much as the crown prince trusted him. He was also the only person who would understand and accept him, he had no doubts.
But that wasn’t important right now, what was, was getting Alberu to calm down again. And after a few seconds, it worked. Quickly, Alberu pushed the glass away from his mouth and put it down on the table driving his hand through his hair, feeling incredibly exhausted, but not tired enough that he wanted to go to sleep. He leaned back on the armchair and momentarily closed his eyes.
He didn’t properly look at Cale, but he knew that him being in such a state – him having a panic attack – must have caused the redhead to feel something, which was naturally a bad emotion without question.
“Hyung, do you really want to know it that badly?”
Alberu almost immediately looked up, staring at his best friend who was incredibly discreet with things like these. But judging by the boy’s solemn reaction, he was serious about this. Alberu not answering seemed to count as a yes as Cale took a deep breath.
“Fine, I’ll tell you. But before, hyung, I have to tell you something else. It’s really, really serious.”
Alberu frowned and sat up straight after hearing Cale’s serious voice and seeing his urgent expression. The crown prince was certain that this was the first time Cale had that kind of urgent expression on his face. His body was also unnaturally tense – which meant that what Cale was about to say was of utmost importance to him. And whatever was important to Cale, no matter how ridiculous it may be, it was also important to Alberu.
Perhaps it wasn’t just because of Alberu having a panic attack that Cale was about to share something he didn’t feel comfortable in sharing at all, perhaps it was because the alcohol really hadn’t left his body completely, but it really didn’t matter. He, for the first time in years, felt ready to tell Alberu.
“Hyung, I’m not from this world.”
Alberu blinked once. Then he blinked twice, then thrice. It was because he did not understand what Cale meant with him ‘not being from this world’. Was he not Cale Henituse, his best friend, but rather someone completely else who acted just like him? If so, Alberu would kill this bastard who dared impersonate his best friend right now! The exchange must have happened in the bar when Bud didn’t watch out for Cale! Damn bastard, Alberu-
“Hyung, are you listening? Say something.”
The crown prince stopped his train of thoughts. There was no way the boy in front of him was someone other than the Cale Henituse he always knew and cherished. If he was someone else, Alberu would have immediately noticed, he was certain.
“…What do you mean?”
Cale sighed and intervened his slightly shaking hands. Ah, sharing his story felt scarier than he had anticipated.
“Um, well, actually, I’m, well, from, uh, a planet called, eh, earth, well, uh, and from, uh, South Korea.”
Alberu frowned as he gave a slow nod for Cale to continue. For some reason, he was feeling at ease and a lot more calmer than in the past few months.
“Uh well, then, uh, I kind of, eh, read, well, this one novel, uh, that, eh, that’s not important, well, um, what I mean is that, well, uh, I read the novel, and eh, um, it’s about this, eh world, and then um, I kind of, well I fell asleep and uh, eh, well, the next thing I know is, uh, I wake up in, eh this body uh and eh, yes…uh, that’s it, uh well, I don’t really uh know how this, eh, happened either uh-“
Suddenly, Alberu lifted his hand, a sign for Cale to stop talking. It was only Alberu trying to make his best friend less nervous. While it had only been his hands that had been shaking before, it was now his whole body. Alberu sighed. There was no way that his boy wasn’t his best friend. Cale Henituse was Cale Henituse to him – at least he hoped so.
“You’re the person I met that day, aren’t you?”
He only needed this confirmation. That was all.
Cale nodded his head.
“Yeah, that was me, not the, uh original Cale.”
Alberu sighed as he shrugged.
“Fine by me, then be from another world, what do I care? Fact remains that you’re my dongsaeng, the one person I rely on, understood?”
As soon as Alberu has said that, Cale’s eyes widened in shock, then he calmed down and stopped trembling. Alberu immediately noticed that he was back to normal by the way the redhead sighed and shook his head, almost as if he was in disbelief.
“You don’t care about what happened to the previous Cale?”
Alberu scoffed.
“Did I know him? Nope, so it’s none of my business.”
(If Alberu would ever find out that the original Cale Henituse was the one responsible for the soul-swap, he would endlessly thank him for bringing his ******* into his life.)
Cale raised his brow and just sighed. But honestly, he felt relieved by Alberu’s answer. The crown prince scoffed as he shook his head.
“Damn, my dongsaeng can truly keep secrets. I suppose I’m the only one that knows.”
The redhead just nodded, his usual stoic expression was back on his face. He yawned and was just about to get up to go back to sleep, as Alberu held him down.
“Now that your big secret is out, we’ll come back to it right away, but first, let’s finis talking about our previous topic. Now tell me exactly how that imbecile hurt you.”
Cale sighed. Wow, how Alberu-like to just push such a big bomb of a secret aside as if it that big of a deal and come back to something like abuse. But honestly, it just showed that Cale was that important to Alberu. Well, the redhead promised, and if he promised, he would naturally do as he said.
“Alright, but it’s really not that big of a deal, you know. I’ve had it worse than with van Augustus.”
Ups.
It was out before Cale could have stopped it. The look of shock and regret on Cale’s face the very next second was something Alberu would never forget. He furrowed his brows, suspicion growing.
“What do you mean with ‘you’ve had it worse than with that trash’? Wait, don’t tell me the Count did something!?”
Cale shook his head and let out a deep sigh. He shook his head. Well, he should have gotten ready to reveal his whole life to Alberu as he told him the big secret.
“Is it enough for you if I say that my life in South Korea hadn’t been the best?”
The look of disapproval on Alberu’s face was more than enough of an answer. He clearly was not okay with that. It made Cale sigh as he simply shrugged. He thought about his life as Kim Rok Soo, or rather his childhood, back then when he still didn’t have his ‘Record’ ability. Strangely enough, he recalled all of those events as clearly as all of his recorded memories.
“My parents died when I was about four, and my uncle had been the only relative I’ve had left, so the Korean law kind of forced him to take me, since else I would have ended up in an orphanage.”
Alberu frowned. Losing both parents at four – Cale’s life sounded miserable already. Personally, Alberu didn’t understand something like that. He had lost his mother at a very young age as well, but he had been six. Still, with his mother gone, he had lost his father to some extent as well. But that didn’t matter. Six was not four.
“Well, he took me in, else society would have shut him down, kinda, you know? Haaa, well, let’s just say the first year was fine, the second and the following weren’t. Do you need more details or is that enough?”
Alberu frowned as he sat up straight. Cale wasn’t able to see his own reflection properly most probably, that was why he most certainly did not know that he had a very bitter expression on his face. But Alberu knew. And he also understood that it really wasn’t something he could just push. The topic of abuse, with Cale’s history, Alberu finally understood why he didn’t say anything and acted as if nothing had happened.
It was because to Cale, it truly was like that. And if even getting stabbed in the leg was considered nothing…
Alberu was scared of the things, the abuse, that happened to Cale. But he wouldn’t ask. He would be there when Cale was ready to open up. Yes, that’s right. He didn’t need to know for now. He was fine with finding out about Cale’s real history. That was enough.
“No, it’s fine. But you know, you can tell me anything, right?”
Upon hearing that, Cale’s expression turned from grim to a relieved and happy one instantly. Seeing that expression on Cale’s face, it was definitely worth it.
“Yeah, I know.”
Alberu couldn’t help but chuckle at that and leaned back in his chair more comfortably.
“Alright, tell me more. You said you read a novel about this world?”
Cale smirked as he nodded.
“Pretty much, but don’t worry, it’s bullshit. The character descriptions were all off from the truth, though I strongly believe the events described there will happen.”
Alberu raised his brows, as if to ask Cale to tell him more, but the fifteen year old just grinned mischievously and shrugged.
“Na-uh, ain’t telling you.”
Alberu scoffed at that, but a smile appeared on his lips nonetheless. It was because the crown prince knew that if things got serious, Cale would tell him immediately.
“Alright fine, then tell me, how was I described in the novel? Wait, was I even mentioned?”
Cale shrugged, he was back to his usual and casual self again, a slight smirk on his lips.
“Do you really want to know?”
“You tell me, how do I look?”
The quarter dark elf pretended to make a serious face, but failed in the end because of his bright and genuine smile that somehow didn’t want to go away to matter what.
“Well, first of all, you’re very sneaky. You’re selfish and only look out for yourself and the citizen. Furthermore, you use people like chess pieces.”
Alberu raised his brows and shook his head. How far off was that shitty description from him?! Please, he would literally die for Cale! And use people like chess pieces? That was simply not his style. (Little did both young adults know, Alberu would have turned out that way if he hadn’t become friends with the redhead.)
“Wow, I feel insulted.”
Cale nodded his head.
“I know, the author really did a miserable job with your character, ah, Beacrox’ and Ron’s are off too. The only person that really stood out was the main character.”
Alberu couldn’t help but laugh after seeing the displeased expression on Cale’s face. Well, the redhead really was angry on behalf of his new family.
“Alright, now I just have to know, how were they described?”
Cale shrugged and recalled the lines describing his two most loyal servants’ personalities.
“Let’s see, Ron’s supposed to be vicious and heartless. He only loves his son, is unable to make as much as a single friend and is incredibly cruel. And Beacrox, he doesn’t care for anything other than food and his father, Ron, and hates me more than anything on the entire planet.”
“Pfft! What a dumbass wrote the book, honestly? Please tell me? They couldn’t be more off character!”
Naturally, this time again, the two of them didn’t notice that they were talking about the original progress of the story where Cale Henituse wasn’t Kim Rok Soo. But oh well, perhaps that was for the better.
“I know. That’s why I’m dissatisfied with it.”
Alberu nodded in understanding.
“Alright, and tell me more about South Korea then. How was it like? Was it a world similar to this one?”
Cale shook his head.
“Not at all, we were in a, more modern era, I’d say, though we didn’t have any magic. And we also didn’t really have a king but rather a democratic system where the folk was viewed as the king and could vote for their ruler who’s called president.”
Alberu frowned upon hearing such a foreign and uncommon concept, but listened to Cale’s soothing voice nonetheless. He was eager to find out more about his best friend, even if it was about the world he came from.
And Cale did tell him everything about it, including the monster apocalypse and humans developing so called abilities. While doing so, Cale also revealed his ‘Record’ and ‘Instant’ abilities, and also shortly explained them.
Alberu continued to ask all kinds of different questions. What started out as something casual turned into something very personal like what Cale’s favorite food there had been like, what he had liked the best. Alberu even asked him out about his friends. That was where their conversation stopped and Cale turned more serious again.
Cale was not ready to talk about either Lee Soo Hyuk or Choi Jung Soo yet, and Alberu could tell immediately. That was why he just changed the topic and shrugged it off as if nothing happed, which Cale gladly accepted.
And while the two of them talked things out in ‘Gabrielle’s Inn’, the cries of a certain non-human tore apart a certain cell in a certain basement in which a certain torture expert with another layer of now six pairs of gloves stood, together with a young black dragon.
The other two people who had once been in that room were currently outside, on their way to a certain Count. Shit was about to go down once again.
But that was not important to either the crown prince, or the young noble child. It was past midnight, after the rain stopped, that Cale was too tired to keep his eyes open and fell asleep. Alberu, with a slight smile on his face, lifted the fifteen years old and carried him back to the bed.
Carefully, he removed the boy’s crimson hair from his beautiful face and continued to observe him. He slept and was peaceful, more so than when he was awake. What a shocker that someone with Cale’s history could have such a peaceful face when he was sleeping.
Cale’s past certainly wasn’t something good, hell no. Alberu did not know – no, he couldn’t imagine – how much trauma was buried behind that stoic expression, that gentle smile and that teasing attitude. He did not know how much pain was hidden behind those quick witted words, how many bad memories were buried deep within his casual actions.
And while all of that undeniably mattered, very much even, it wasn’t something he could change. It was something he could slowly start working on with time, but not something he could just push away.
Cale Henituse, that person was the strongest the crown prince knew. That brat, he always stood strong. He would have never guessed that someone with a smile that carefree could have had such a terrifying and traumatizing past. That was why today’s events had been so shocking to Alberu.
But it didn’t matter anymore. He now knew more about his best friend, and could handle him accordingly. Don’t get him wrong, he would never change his attitude towards that redhead, but that way, he could react in a better way in certain situations.
Alberu nodded to himself as he stroke his best friend’s face.
He was an even more incredible person than Alberu had though. He was more amazing than anyone could ever be. He was also the most beautiful, even when he was standing next to someone like Eruhaben. He was cute but also incredibly sexy-
Alberu immediately stopped his movement and stared at Cale’s peaceful face in shock.
What on earth did he just think!?
Notes:
Hi!
Yes I got enough sleep, thank you very much!
And no, I didn't consume any coffeine today (yet that is)! It's morning, well, noon, but I just woke up so I ain't promising anything!
(´∀｀)♡Either way, I hope you liked this chapter cuz I sure did! I absolutely loved it because it made me so emotional! When I wrote the middle part with Alberu being incredibly anxious and stressed, I almost cried. I'm not heartless, ok?
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щWell, I plan to finish "Nathan the Wise" today, because that drama is literally driving me nuts and I want to get rid of it finally. I have a relatively good (hopefully) memory, so I really hope that it'll be fine like my teacher said. Haaa, when I'm finally finished with it, I'll have to start with my Englisj presentation outline
(ಥ◡ಥ)
I just wanted to have a carefree time!BUT I'll visit my grandparents soon, and then I won't do anything (but what I want), so it's fine
(´∀｀)♡Then, I hope you liked this chapter!
Til next time!
(ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
Chapter 30: 28. Getting rid of it (4)
Summary:
Ron has had enough, he's done
(ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
Notes:
No trigger warning here, a relatively fluffy chapter, hehe (with suprises, hopefully)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
There were many mistakes Count Deruth Henituse had made in his life up til now, most of which had something to do with his firstborn son. For example, he had neglected his son, spread bad rumors around him – not just to Violan and Basen, but also to noble society – and he had hired Simon van Augustus with the intention of hurting the boy. And that wasn’t even everything. In Cale’s early childhood, before Jour died and left them, Deruth had never really spend much time with his son, not even when he was free. He didn’t buy him toys, he didn’t even try to get to know him.
Back then, though, he never realized that what he was doing was wrong. Then Jour left him and he felt like the world came to a stop. His first wife had been his everything, and then he saw that emotionless boy standing around, resembling her so much, it was painful to look at him. But not only that, because of his emotionless face, he became Deruth’s object of hate. The Count knew it was wrong to do so, he knew it very well even, yet there was nothing he could do. He hadn’t been in control of his emotions – no, that was a lie. He knew exactly what he was doing back then too. It was just…he had come back to his senses a while back.
And as soon as he did, he told van Augustus to stop torturing Cale and give him real lessons. Deruth did not know why he didn’t kick van Augustus out, perhaps it was because, despite everything, he thought it would be fine. Well, he couldn’t think. You shouldn’t have thought! He should have kicked that man out and hired someone new, somebody fresh!
Hence, he was the one responsible for this mess.
Count Deruth hid his face in his hands, looking down on some documents he had to sign since he was the territory lord. That was, most probably, why he didn’t notice the two men entering his office relatively silently. No, that wasn’t really true. They weren’t silent at all; they simply didn’t knock before entering.
After one of them cleared his throat, the Count finally looked up – only to almost fall from his chair.
The two men standing in the Count’s office were men he wasn’t unfamiliar with; it was his son’s servants. His personal butler Ron, whom his late wife Jour hired and his guardian knight Haben, whom he came across himself. What shocked Deruth weren’t their faces, but rather the dried liquid on their clothes.
It had a dark brownish-red color, but Deruth didn’t need to play a guessing game to know what that dried liquid was. It was blood, without question. He was familiar with it, very much even, after all his late wife had always either coughed or spit it out in her younger years when he first got to know her.
Deruth immediately got up from his chair, unable to hide his shock. There was no way it could be Cale’s blood, was there?
“My Lord,”
Ron had a very benign smile on his lips, one that made it clear to Deruth that things were about to get serious. His eyes were cold and he was looking at his supposed employer with sharp eyes. But Ron wasn’t the reason for the Count’s shock, not at all. The reason behind the man being so terrified was his son’s guardian knight, Haben. The gorgeous man’s pupils were slits and the aura around him didn’t seem to be human. Before, Deruth didn’t think hiring Haben as a guardian knight had been a good idea since he seemed to have nothing but a handsome face. Right now he was proved wrong. The Count gulped.
“I strongly believe the three of us need to talk.”
The open door suddenly closed by itself, no, forget closed. It was shut closed by a strong wind coming out of nowhere. Naturally, that wind was the ancient dragon’s doing. He didn’t just close the door, he put up a second barrier inside this room, one that was the very same like in the basement and prevented anyone from coming in and a sound barrier. Naturally, it was not something Deruth noticed.
“Usually, you have to knock-“
“Shut up, human. You only speak when you were asked a question, understood?”
‘Haben’, Cale’s normal guardian knight, gave off an incredible strong presence, so Deruth did not manage to say anything against his words. Hence, the Count just nodded, eyes widening a little bit more. The room seemed to be getting a couple degrees colder, but it was not something that was in Deruth’s control. He had the feeling that Cale’s guardian knight was the one responsible.
“My Lord, first things first, you were behind the young master-nim’s instructor, weren’t you? You were the one who hired him with the intention of hurting the young master-nim, right?”
Deruth remained silent and only stared at the old butler in shock. All that he said was true; all three of them, Deruth, Ron and Eruhaben knew that. There was no use in lying, or staying silent for that matter. But still, they needed Deruth’s confirmation, they just did.
As the Count didn’t bother answering, even after a full minute passed, he was faced with Eruhaben’s – or Haben’s – wrath, also known as dragon fear. The Count gasped in fear as his body started to tremble. He had never felt such fear in his life, not even once. He tried to calm his breath, but it only got faster.
“Should I drag him downstairs?”
Eruhaben exchanged a look with Ron. The old man’s benign smile was nowhere to be found as he shook his head.
“That won’t be necessary – for now.”
Ron was probably the only person Eruhaben would have listened to in this kind of situation, thus he stopped his dragon fear and watched the old man do what the old man could do best. Needless to say, that the Count confessed his deeds in less than a minute, but the questioning wasn’t over just yet. Eruhaben and Ron looked at the man who was responsible for many bad things in Cale’s life, then proceeded with what they had originally planned.
“My Lord, what else did you do?”
Ron slowly, very slowly approached the man that was now kneeing on the floor. He didn’t look like a noble man at all, let alone a Count who was responsible for a whole territory and its people. He looked like a beggar in noblemen’s clothes, if anything.
The old butler stopped right in front of the on the floor kneeing man. Deruth did not look up, it was because he didn’t dare to. He knew that Ron was a bit special compared to his other servants, yet he would have never suspected him to have such a cruel and vicious side to him. But what shocked him even more than Ron would be the guardian knight ‘Haben’. There was no way a normal person would emit such a terrifying aura.
“My Lord, it’d be best if you answer – that is if you don’t want to be dragged downstairs and tortures.”
When the Count finally looked up in shock, he was met with Ron’s ever so benign smile, yet his eyes seemed to be colder than the Paerun Kingdom in the North. Every so little inch of his face seemed to be controlled perfectly by him and no other, it was a perfect poker face.
For the first time in fifteen years, Deruth felt actual fear when looking at Ron. He had always been a bit uncomfortable around him; he had always known that something about that old man couldn’t be quite right, but right now, for the very first time, his suspicions had been confirmed. There was no way Ron was a normal person.
It was at that moment that Deruth Henituse noticed.
Cale, the only thing Jour had left him, was not someone he should have pushed away.
Cale, the only thing Jour asked him to take care of, was someone who had been taken care of by anyone else but him.
Cale, his firstborn son by the love of his life, was someone he had long lost.
The gazes with which these two men looked down on him – these cold yet fierce and vicious gazes – were gazes people had, when the person closest to them was hurt. It was a gaze Deruth didn’t have, not even once in his life.
Such love – how could strangers have that kind of gaze when he didn’t have it?
He lost something he had never truly cared about until it was out of his reach.
Realizing that…
Was it too late?
It was, wasn’t it?
“Tsk, he doesn’t answer. I’ve had enough, let’s drag him downstairs.”
Ron shook his head once more, preventing the ancient dragon from stepping closer to the on the floor kneeing man. It wasn’t that he was keen on protecting him, but then again, he was a Count.
The old man’s benign smile was gone now, almost as if it had never been on his lips to begin with. He then browsed around in his chest pocket and pulled out three white envelopes. There was no writing whatsoever on them.
“Count-nim, since you don’t answer any of our questions, it shows us that you’re unwilling to cooperate. That leaves us no other choice.”
Ron preceded to hand those white envelopes to Count Deruth Henituse – his now former employer.
“W-what are these?”
Deruth didn’t need to ask. A white envelope with nothing on it – it was obviously a resignation letter.
“Count Henituse, we hereby resign.”
Almost immediately, Deruth jumped up from his kneeing position, ignoring all of his senses that were telling him that it would be better for him to remain in the kneeing position. It wasn’t like he cherished Ron as his employee, it was just that if Ron was to go, the Ron who never left Cale out of sight, what about Cale?
Was he going to-?
“What is going on? Ron, you want to resign?”
It was the Countess that passed through the door all of a sudden. It seemed like the ancient dragon deactivated his barrier so she could enter. Ron had felt her presence too, so it was no surprise to him. The Count though, to him Violan entering the room was something he would have never thought of.
There she stood, frowning while wearing one of her most luxurious dresses. It was already past midnight and Deruth couldn’t help but wonder how she wasn’t asleep yet – and why she wore that kind of dress.
Ron bowed down, showing her the respect he usually also showed to the Count.
“I greet the Lady.”
Violan didn’t fail to notice how he now used ‘the Lady’ instead of ‘my Lady’. This answered her question. Ron, that old butler who didn’t leave Cale’s side for long if he didn’t absolutely have to, had resigned.
“Ron, how come you’re resigning? Dear, did you demote him? Did you separate him from Cale?”
Deruth looked up from the white enveloped in his hands to his wife. Almost immediately, she understood that this time, her husband had as much of a clue as her. He did not know why Ron was resigning.
“Countess-nim, it is natural for servants to follow their master.”
Violan frowned. She did not understand what Ron was talking about. His master; he could only be talking about Cale Henituse. The boy was the only one that Ron followed, no matter what. But he was here…so what was Ron talking about?
“It seems the Lady still doesn’t understand.”
Eruhaben snorted and crossed his arms, stepping closer. Neither Ron nor he cared about this household, but Ron did not hate the Countess or his children. Eruhaben, on the other hand, didn’t care for them too. The only people he cared about were Cale and his people, hence he felt nothing whatsoever towards the woman standing in the room.
“We’re leaving. And we’re leaving because this household cannot protect the young master any longer. If you wish to know the details, why not ask your great husband?”
With those words, Eruhaben turned around and exited the room. Ron could feel that he was waiting for him behind the doors though. The old man put on one last benign smile as he turned to Deruth once again. The look on his eyes – Deruth got the chills.
“Count Deruth Henituse, do not mistake this as us letting you off the hook. Your evil deeds will not be forgotten and I guarantee you, you will pay for it eventually.”
Ron’s expression and his vicious words did not match in any way. But his gaze did. It was cold and in it laid a silent promise – one that Deruth understood without context.
‘I will come for you too.’
After, the old man who had worked for the Henituse Family for a little over fifteen years left the room as if he didn’t just resign from a job he worked for over a decade. No, that’s not quite right. He didn’t work for the Henituse Family; he solely worked for Cale Henituse. And he did not leave his job behind, just the people that harmed the person that was one of the dearest to him.
Perhaps that was why he left with a light heart.
As soon as he and the ancient dragon left, naturally they picked up Glenn, Beacrox and the young Raon before, Violan turned around hectically to Deruth. She stared at him in a mixture of fury but also sadness. Such a gaze – Deruth had never seen it on his wife’s look before.
She approached him and before the man could even react, he was slapped. Ah, he remembered how his wife’s strong slaps hit him a long while back, it seemed like it was time for that again.
“What on earth is happening!? Deruth, tell me, what did you do that pushed Ron to resign? No, before that, answer me! Where is Cale!? Why didn’t he come home? No, when did he even go? Deruth, do you even know what a day today, or rather yesterday was?”
The Count put down the white envelopes and took a deep breath.
“Violan, beloved, now is not the time for this. I have different, more important things to take care of-“
Slap.
“Deruth Henituse, tell me which ‘things’ could be more important than your own son and his butler. Tell me what ‘things you deem as more urgent than finding out where he is? Tell me if you dare.”
Violan was calm, which was never a good thing. The Count let out another sigh. He quickly went back around his desk and sat down on his chair. Once he was sitting properly again, he looked up at his stoic wife again. He did not know why Violan was reacting this strongly. Honestly, Cale was his child, so what was it to Violan?
“Violan, I have to take care of these resignation letters. There’s nothing I can change now, is there? The boy is already gone, if he wasn’t home today. He’s fourteen let him do whatever he wants. He should be old enough by now. You’ll see how he’ll come back crawling in a month or two, when he realizes that life is more difficult than anticipated. You- Why are you looking at me like that?”
Deruth interrupted his own monolog as soon as he noticed his wife looking at him like he wasn’t a sane person. He frowned and furrowed his brows, not understanding where the problem was. After all, all that he had said was true. Cale was fourteen, he was old enough to not be babied around and while Deruth had been extremely protective of him because he realized that he had been in the wrong all this time, perhaps it was time to slowly let go so that Cale would come back.
“…He’s fifteen.”
Deruth frowned and snorted as soon as he heard that.
“Pfft, he’s fourteen beloved. He’s not fifteen yet.”
Violan’s expression turned paler and paler with every second that passed. She shook her head and scoffed in disbelief.
“You think so? What day is his birthday then?”
At that, Deruth did not know an answer. As he realized that, his eyes widened in realization, then in panic. How could he have forgotten the birthday of the one thing that Jour left behind?
“Ha! You’re back to being stupid, Deruth. I thought you changed. Didn’t you promise me to at least try to better your relationship with Cale? Didn’t you tell me that you were sorry for all of these years you neglected him like that? If we’re already here, do tell me what Haben meant when he went. He is always a bit mean, but why did he speak like that? Tell me, what did he mean with our household cannot protect Cale any longer? Answer me immediately!”
Deruth sighed and tried to calm his “hysteric” wife down. Needless to say, he failed. Oh, and just how he failed.
“If you won’t answer me, fine, I don’t mind, not at all! Then I want a divorce.”
“W-What!?”
Violan scoffed as she crossed her hands in front of her chest again. She pressed her hand against her hip and looked down on Deruth who had jumped up as soon as she mentioned a divorce.
“In your marriage vow, you promised to always tell me everything, to love and honor me. You aren’t doing any of that. Since you failed me as my husband, I can ask you for a divorce, can’t I?”
Deruth’s panic turned into anger now. How often should he cower down in front of other people? How often did he have to tell everyone his reasons for doing things? How often did he have to tell everyone everything? How often should people bully him for who he was?
The extremely arrogant Count had already justified his actions – the very ones that couldn’t and shouldn’t be justified. Because truth to be told, right now, the only thing that he was doing was abandoning his child once more. He probably didn’t notice because while he seemed to care, he didn’t care for Cale before and how on earth should he start caring for him now?
“Why is it any of your concern what I do with my son!? He’s not your son, now is he!? Why do I need to explain every single thing I do!? Why am I threatened for my mistakes?! What can I do if Cale’s instructor misbehaves and hurts him, huh?!”
Violan’s anger suddenly flooded away as if it hadn’t ever been there to begin with. She stared at Deruth in shock and clenched her heart upon hearing this new kind of information.
“H-He was hurt? H-How did that happen? When d-did this happen? Why didn’t y-you tell me?”
Deruth sneered.
“Why should I tell you? He is not your son! Violan, you are the mother of two children who are not Cale. He is none of your concern, nor does it matter to you how I raise that boy. So stay out of it. You can’t threaten me with divorce. You would never let Lily grow up without a stable father – so that she won’t have the same childhood as Basen.”
Violan stopped breathing for a split second and her heart skipped a beat. Deruth’s words…they hurt. Violan’s first boyfriend died before Basen was born, leaving her no other choice but to raise him on her own. The memory of his gentle touch still hurt her – especially since he seemed to be gone for forever. Deruth knew about him, it was because she told him. He had once reminded him of her former husband’s gentle personality, his sensitive approach, his cute character. But looking at Deruth now… He was nothing like Basen’s father. She had made a mistake, and a huge one at that.
Nevertheless-
Violan swallowed her pride just this once, raised her head and straightened her back, appearing way more dignified that the mad man in front of her. He straightened her midnight blue dress and took a deep breath.
-Deruth was right.
She would never leave him. Be it for Lily, whom she didn’t want to grow up without a father, or for Basen, who loved Deruth like a father and had grown extremely attached to him. Perhaps it was also for that redheaded boy whom she still saw as a child. What would happen to him if she left him with this psychopath alone? He was mad, crazy, very much insane – seriously not in his right state of mind!
There was no way Violan could, as a responsible adult, leave Cale with someone like that. Given that Ron just resigned (Haben and Beacrox probably too, since it were three white envelopes), it was very likely that Cale left the Henituse Estate (for good). But still, if he should ever come back – she was here.
“Deruth Henituse, from today onward, you can find another room for you to sleep in. I won’t divorce you, but I certainly will not sleep in the same room as someone like you. I hope Cale never comes back here, to such a father like you, who doesn’t even know when his son’s birthday is.”
With those words, Violan exited the room as well, returning to her bed chambers. The ever so strong woman – for once – felt like crying. Never on earth could she have imagines that the man she thought resembled her late husband so much would turn out to be such a crazy lunatic bastard who threatened her like that.
Needless to say, Deruth did not know what he had done that was so wrong, that it made his wife yell at him in such a manner.
Nor did he know that his “happy marriage” had stopped at that very moment, turning it more into something akin to a forced marriage – which it actually was, from now on at least.
~
Lazily, Cale yawned and got up from bed. He expected to be met with a somewhat hard and uncomfortable rug as well as a cold floor, but instead was met with the most comfortable carpet in existence. It was sort, fluffy, warm and familiar. The carpet didn’t just feel expensive, it was expensive. How Cale knew that? He was the one that suggested this one.
Almost immediately, the redhead opened his eyes. He didn’t really need to do so just so he could find out where he was, he already knew that very well.
It would also explain how it had been such a difficult task for him to get out of bed. The cozy matrass that seemed to be pulling the redhead in, not letting him get out since it was so fluffy and just heavenly; the fluffy pillows that were unlike any others and resembled clouds more than even the matrass did and a blanket that felt like the most heavenly out of the whole set – no questions asked, this was his *cough, cough, Alberu’s* bed in Alberu’s palace.
How odd, he didn’t remember coming here at all. Was this just a dream? Because if so, he’d get incredibly pissed.
Unfortunately – or fortunately, it wasn’t. Cale looked around the room and immediately noticed his at the desk sitting best friend. The crown prince was already working on his assigned documents, signing them after looking at them and approving or disapproving whatever was written on them. With a royal seal, he finished them off and put them on the paper stack next to him – the one that was huge, but tiny compared to the paper stack with his unfinished documents.
Honestly, Cale pitied him a bit.
The redhead yawned and stretched. The very next moment, he was approached by Raon who had been sitting on the crown prince’s comfortable couch while eating cookies.
“Human! You’re finally awake!”
Raon’s loud yell made Alberu look up from his papers, nod in acknowledgement, then go back to signing the current document before putting a royal seal on it and putting it on the finished paper stack.
Well, that was what he always did, since he was incredibly busy right now, it was only natural for him to do so.
“Good morning. Did I miss something? How did we come here, or rather when?”
Cale didn’t see either Ron or the ancient dragon with him, even though the two of them were always attached to him when he was visiting his best friend. Well, perhaps Raon had brought him here by himself…which was very unlikely. Well, it didn’t matter since he was with Alberu.
“Weak human, this is our new home!”
Cale ignored the young Raon’s excited comment as he hugged him while getting up and patting him. He slowly walked towards his best friend. The two of them behaved just like usual, as if nothing had happened last night – which was actually pretty normal for both of them.
“So, who took us here?”
Raon let out a hurt puff and buried his head in Cale’s chest. He left the conversation to Alberu, knowing he would take care of it anyways.
“Ask that great butler of yours.”
For the first time in years, Alberu didn’t mean that sarcastic. Cale frowned, not really knowing what he was supposed to say. Since when did Alberu like Ron? The redhead squinted his eyes in suspicion and stood still in front of Alberu’s desk. The crown prince’s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly cleared his throat.
That again was a bit unusual for Alberu to do, but Cale just shrugged it off, blaming it on the crown prince’s work. While doing so, he failed to notice the crown prince’s slightly pink ears.
“But Ron isn’t here right now, so why don’t you tell me, hyung?”
Alberu looked up at Cale’s pleading expression. There was no way anyone could have said no to that kind of expression, and if so, they were heartless – at least that was how the crown prince reasoned himself and justified what he was about to do, which was to tell Cale. It was something both the old butler and the ancient dragon told him to do after they’ve returned with Cale’s clothes – something that wouldn’t come sooner than an hour at least.
“Well, from today onwards you’re going to live here it seems.”
Cale just raised his eyebrows and let go of Raon, who almost immediately flew up and sat down on the redhead’s shoulder. The young dragon was incredibly cheerful.
“Isn’t that amazing human? No one will be able to hurt you now!”
Raon smiled very brightly, which made it impossible for Cale to say anything against it. Hence, the redhead just sighed. He looked at Alberu who tried to avoid eye-contact at all costs.
“It ‘seems’ that way?”
The crown prince with his ever so glib tongue did not find any fitting words that he could speak. He cleared his throat once again and shrugged.
“What did you expect? You got stabbed, okay? That old butler of yours seems to be very sensitive, and honestly, I think it’s better for you to stay here.”
Alberu really didn’t think Cale would have a problem with staying here – honestly, he thought that the redhead would be joyous and happy that he could stay with Alberu and wouldn’t have to return. But Cale just frowned.
“My poor money…”
And after the incredibly rich crown prince of the Roan Kingdom listened to Cale’s mumbles, he also understood why the redhead was so down. He scoffed and simply went back to work, paying the stupid words of his best friends no mind.
Honestly, how can someone be so materialistic? Forget materialistic, Cale was money-obsessed!
Needless to say that, in the end, Alberu turned around and handed Cale a golden plaque to cheer him up.
Notes:
Hi!
I managed to update again! These past few days were crazy! I almost lost my fic because my computer shut down (omg I had such a panic when I thought that everything would be gone) but thankfully, my computer programm saved my writing progress, so everything's fine! Also, I visited my grandma, and I can't really write when I'm with her, so it turned out like this.
But it's good this way. On monday, I'll have to go to school again, and January is a relatively busy month, so let me apologize in advance if I won't be able to update as much (this was why I tried to push these daily updates so much). But worry not, I'll try to update once to twice a week (perhaps I even manage to do so trice)! I'm just saying, if I don't update in a week, I'm not dead, I'm just stu-dying.
ಥ_ಥEither way, this chapter was pretty flat, I'd say. It's just, I was incredibly eager to update before school starts, so...I think it's better than some other chapters though, so... idk, just judge for yourself
（*´▽｀*）I hope you liked this. Some of the comments suggested Violan finding out and even though I planned to let her find out much later, this is it hehe
（●´∀｀）ノ♡Then, until next time! I hope you liked it! ♡
Chapter 31: 29. Taking care of it (1)
Summary:
"I've got hit with the feels" Part 1
♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
Notes:
No trigger warning here, just read and enjoy the ride
\(^o^)/ *.*.* \(^o^)/
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Hyung.”
“Hyung~”
“Your highness.”
“Your highness~”
Annoyed, Alberu looked up from his important documents, looking at the redhead who was already sitting on his desk and occupying over half of it since he wasn’t just sitting, no; he was lying on the fucking desk. Alberu had no idea how he, as the crown prince, owned such a small desk. He should buy a bigger one sometime soon.
Honestly, this wasn’t the first time this was happening. During the boy’s four month stay in his new home, he had pulled such a stunt twice already. This was the third time. And every single time Alberu had had the same thoughts. Undeniably, Cale was bored.
Raon was sleeping, Ron was helping Beacrox in the kitchen and Eruhaben was out, saying he had something to do.
“What?”
Cale rolled on the table in such a strange manner, Alberu wondered how he didn’t fall down or hit his paper stack. In some ways, that redheaded boy was not human.
“Hyung~”
Alberu rolled his eyes and put down his pen, knowing he wouldn’t get to finish what he had been doing all this time.
“Say it already, or I’ll go in another room where you won’t be able to annoy me.”
The moment Alberu said that, Cale sat up normally, but was now completely sitting on the desk in a lotus position. For somebody who said that he wanted to be a slacker and that his greatest wish was to do absolutely nothing, Cale sure got bored rather easily.
“Let’s go to the library.”
Alberu couldn’t help but sigh in disbelief. There was an extremely vast library in his palace with all sorts of books, be it intellectual ones or novels, which Cale preferred. The crown prince’s collection of books was by far bigger and more diverse than the city library could ever hope to be, it was something he had actually put a lot of mind into after he became the crown prince and got an endless amount of money (which wasn’t endless at all but sure seemed like that). It was because he knew that Cale liked books, and having books was never something bad. And now, after years of Alberu tasking his aunt with filling his huge library with all sorts of books, Cale got bored of it after two months, instead asking to go to the city library?
“No. We have a library here, you can go read there. Now let me work. Contrary to you, I still have things to do.”
Instead of listening to his best friend’s words, Cale just lay down on the desk again, rolling around like a cat, not letting Alberu work. The crown prince let out a deep sigh and rested his head on his hand, not really knowing what he should do with this fifteen year old kid rolling around on his desk. Actually, it was really funny and quite ironical too. But when Alberu really needed to get things done, it didn’t seem like that at all anymore.
“Damn it Cale, what do you want? If you want to go to the library, go there. But leave me alone.”
At that, Cale stopped rolling around, sat up again and stared at Alberu with a stoic and emotionless expression. It gave the quarter dark elf the chills, honestly.
“I’d go alone, that is if there weren’t so many people in the streets.”
Alberu raised his brow, for his best friend to give a proper explanation. Cale sighed as he pointed at his best friend’s calendar that was standing on the twenty year old’s desk.
“It’s the first day of spring, so people are crowding the streets. There ain’t no way I’m going alone.”
Alberu scoffed in disbelief. Cale and crowds was something that never really matched well, the quarter dark elf was very well aware. But the thing was that Cale simply hated crowds because it was so difficult to get through them. What he wanted from Alberu was for the crown prince to act as some sort of bodyguard.
“You can’t be serious.”
Cale looked at Alberu with such an honest expression that Alberu would have loved to hit his head against something. Damn and he thought he was over letting Cale get his way. It seemed like he really wasn’t.
“Please hyung?”
Ah fuck it! Who could say no to those reddish-brown eyes and that cute-ass expression, huh? Whoever could was certainly heartless!
“…Fine! Dammit, but let me work in peace after, alright?”
Cale simply smiled that cunning smile of his, the one to which Raon would have responded with ‘Human, are we going to scam someone?’, and the moment he did, Alberu knew that the productive part of his day was over. He sighed in defeat and took off his princy coat, looking a bit less like royalty now – though those sapphire blue eyes that seemed brighter than the clear blue sky and that shining, golden hair were undeniably giving his not so secret existence away.
“Let’s go then, if you want to go so bad. But are you sure that it’s a good idea to leave Raon alone like this?”
Cale simply shrugged.
“He’ll probably sleep for a while longer, and if not, I’m certain he’ll figure things out. You know, he’s pretty smart.”
Alberu scoffed while shaking his head. The longer he lived with that redhead he cherished so much, the crazier he got – though it was a good kind of crazy, one which he would miss if it was to disappear someday, without question so.
And just like this, Cale had once again gotten Alberu to do something he usually wouldn’t do. Eruhaben cussed, handing the benignly smiling butler ten gold coins.
“I told you, that punk would never say no to the precious young master-nim.”
The ancient dragon, who didn’t actually have anything to do and just used an excuse to hide with the old butler, who was a good friend of his, in order to see how their bet played out, had a displeased expression on his face. He knew that the blonde punk couldn’t say no to that redheaded brat, but he really thought today would be the day! It turned out, it wasn’t. And now he was ten gold coins poorer.
“Tsk, I hate it when you’re right.”
Ron just smiled as he shrugged. The two of them quickly disappeared behind the closed doors, just in case the quarter dark elf would notice the dragon’s invisibility spell, though that wasn’t that likely.
~
Alberu frowned the moment his palace’s gates fell closed behind him and his best friend. Cale had a scowl on his face and pulled the hood deeper in his face. He couldn’t risk getting noticed by people. It was all because of his crimson hair; it was incredibly noticeable, making people turn around twice to look at him. While others had oddly colored hair too (like blue hair, purple hair, grey hair and even neon colored ones), Cale’s crimson somehow got the most attention out of everything.
And he knew that.
How he did? That’s really simple: He had once made the mistake and gone out with Ron. If it weren't for that old man, things would have turned out a lot more different than they actually did. The very death glare stare that Cale had covered before a few years back was now becoming one of the young noble’s mightiest weapons against people (he would especially welcome that kind of gaze in the not so far away future).
The way to the library, as always, led through the 24/7 market. It was a market that was, by now, very familiar to both Cale and Alberu. Their first time here had been quite a hassle. The memory of it put a smile on Alberu’s smile. He recalled how Ron had spoiled the young noble who had been only eight years old back then, knowing no bounds. Money truly didn’t seem like a problem for the old man as he bought Cale whatever he glanced at, ignoring the mostly cheap and sometimes expensive prices. It had been a quite shocking experience to Alberu, who had just gotten to know Cale. Now, he fully understood the old butler’s engagement. He too would love to buy Cale whatever he wanted without any bounds – at least the crown prince had that thought until Cale actually wanted something.
Alberu simply smiled his usual, princy smile.
“Yes?”
Cale pouted and crossed his arms before his chest. The two best friends were currently standing in front of the cake stand with all kinds of different cakes. And not just that, this stand also had a chocolate fountain! The redhead’s big and innocent seeming eyes looked up to his best friend’s, silently pleading him to buy him something. Alberu simply raised his brow, unfaced by Cale’s actions. After keeping that begging act up for another minute, Cale sighed in defeat and pulled out a couple coins to pay for his cake himself.
The downside of not paying for that was naturally him not getting any of Cale’s cake. It was all because that crazy redhead was a dumbass! And he never got over a thing (at least not until the other party apologized in terms of money or food).
“Haaa, you’re not just driving me nuts, it seems like you’re determined to drive me poor as well.”
Cale raised his brow as he stopped in his quick walk to turn around and look at Alberu. The crown prince was shaking his head at the smaller redhead. Cale’s pouting expression was truly the cutest.
“But you didn’t pay for the food, though?”
Alberu smirked as he pointed at the many golden plaques Cale held hidden in his spacial pocket which he always had on him, no matter the situation.
“I kind of did, didn’t I?”
It was the truth, obviously. Cale’s money, which he got from looting the Mercenaries Guild’s building when the former Mercenaries King was still in a position of power, was kept safely by his side and not a single penny had been spend over all of these years, even though it was more money than a golden plaque, perhaps even more than three of them together. Though then again, the money the redhead got from his best friend was by far a lot more…And it was indeed used for paying for things like these.
Yet, Cale didn’t seem to agree with Alberu and shook his head sternly.
Ever since the crown prince handed over the golden plaque, it was Cale’s, so was the money that came with it. Hence, everything Cale paid for (with Alberu’s money) was paid for by him and his own money.
“No.”
After giving that cold and short answer, Cale continued on their way to the library, happily enjoying the strawberry shortcake he had bought for very little money. It tasted fabulous – which he reminded Alberu of as good as every minute, mostly to make him regret his decision of not immediately saying yes to what Cale wanted. Alberu sighed, not understanding how this lazy boy could make him feel…things.
Alberu, while he may not be the most experienced in such areas, knew very well what he was feeling. That racing heart whenever Cale was with him, whenever he smiled that mischievous smile, whenever he laughed – Alberu could go on for forever – it was more than clear that the crown prince had something akin to feelings for this stupid redhead! Sure, it (theoretically) could be feelings of best friendship, which was why Alberu would have to do some research on that l-o-v-e subject.
“Hyung, is it hot?”
The quarter dark elf was snapped out of his thoughts by Cale’s question. Embarrassed, he shook his head. It seems that he had been slightly blushing. Ugh, still, this was better than if Ron or Eruhaben were with them, judging his every single glance at Cale with that murderous glare.
“Really? Are you cold, then? Wait-“
Cale got up on his tiptoes, holding his balance by grabbing his best friend’s arm. The redhead touched Alberu’s forehead with the palm of his hand, feeling his temperature. And while Cale did something very casual – really, Alberu had done something like that countless times in the past, and probably will continue to do so in the future – Alberu felt himself stop moving altogether. It was as if he froze the moment Cale’s body started leaning against his. Touches had never really been a problem for the almighty crown prince, not even when he noticed his little crush on his best friend. Still, their faces bodies being so close to each other – the intimacy…it was a bit too much for Alberu to handle properly.
As Cale finally let go of him, releasing Alberu from his frozen state, the crown prince was met with a dismayed expression. The redhead was frowning while looking up to Alberu with a judging look in his reddish-brown eyes. Usually, Alberu would have raised his brows and scoffed, yet Alberu felt himself unable to do so, hence he just stood there, kind of like a deer in front of headlights.
The redhead just sighed and shook his head.
“Tsk, you wanted to work in that state?”
Cale’s voice that always – and Alberu knew that for a fact – sounded calm and relaxed, composed and wavered only in really stressful situations, was currently wavering. But it was nothing like in the past. Right now, the always calm and somewhat uncaring redhead sounded…angry? Was it a mixture of both worry and anger, perhaps?
Pfft, how amusing.
The very boy, who didn’t care for his health at all, was angry at Alberu because his forehead seemed to be hot. Alberu knew that he didn’t have a fever; his forehead was probably so hot because of him blushing. It could also be because of him simultaneously thinking about his feelings, a possible relationship, his crown prince business and not letting Cale out of his sight. Really, it wasn’t a big deal. Contrary to ‘someone’, Alberu did not disregard his health. He had monthly checkups – to which he went, contrary to a certain boy – and while being the crown prince was important and all, it wasn’t to such an extent, that he would sacrifice his health for it.
Truly, before he met Cale, he may have disregarded his health in order to become king as well. No, if he knew Cale a bit less than he did, he may have acted foolishly, but he didn’t. Still, it didn’t seem like anything Alberu would say would make Cale feel less angry – or worried.
Alberu let out a deep sigh, having something in mind already.
I mean, going home early wouldn’t be too bad, would it?
“Dunno, maybe I wanted to show you how it feels?”
For some reason, Cale got angry at that, but Alberu could tell that the boy hiding something else behind that anger – something Alberu couldn’t figure out just yet though. The redhead’s fists were shaking and he immediately turned on his heels, holding and pulling on the crown prince’s sleeve without replying to the blonde’s thoughtless teases.
Alberu had no other choice but to follow his best friend back to his palace, even though Cale really had zero strength and theoretically wasn’t pulling him at all. Still, Alberu had a slight smile on his face, certain that this little plan of his would give him some peace and quiet, and maybe (but hopefully) some time with Cale.
~
Fuck no.
“Eat up, your highness~”
Ron was benignly smiling while holding the medicine spoon in front of Alberu’s mouth, for the crown prince to finally open his mouth and eat it. Honestly, Alberu felt like a baby for some reason. He could eat on his own, thank you very much. Yet, every time he had tried to take over the spoon, Cale had given him a glare from his own table, making all of his ‘rebellious thoughts’ die down instantly.
Reluctantly, Alberu even opened his mouth. He could tell that the old man feeding him had as much pleasure as he had – which was none. The young dragon who was sitting on his lap and watching him from close up cheered as Alberu finally ate the spoon of medicine, encouraging him to eat the soup Beacrox had specially prepared for him with lots of love – and poison if he was unlucky.
“Let’s make the cookie prince feel better!”
Alberu frowned. He wasn’t even unwell, for fuck’s sake! And he could tell that this old man sitting on the chair next to his bed could tell that this was the case very well! So why didn’t he get up, exclaim that he was magically healed because the medicine was so developed and went on with his day?! And what about the mighty ancient dragon, huh?! He could just go ahead and say that Alberu had lied about feeling bad, so why didn’t he do so?
A couple hours ago (which was actually only thirty minutes ago), Alberu and Cale had arrived back at the crown prince’s palace. But contrary to what the quarter dark elf had expected; Cale dragged him to the kitchen where he knew he would find Ron and Beacrox. Surprisingly, Eruhaben had been there as well, and all three of them were looking at Cale with questioning gazes, everyone wanted to know what he wanted.
‘Hyung is sick. I believe he has a fever. He needs medicine. Ron, can you help?’
After Cale said those words, Beacrox had immediately started to prepare a soup – the one in Ron’s hands – while Ron and Eruhaben went to accompany Cale and Alberu to the crown prince’s and now also Cale’s room. And the very moment Alberu set foot inside, he was pushed into his bed, restrained by his own blanket being wrapped around him (hell, he was no present, okay!? What was this sick patient treatment? When Cale was sick, everyone was so gentle with him, argh!). Sure, he should be happy that he got to lie down in his bed again, after such a long time, but he was not. Especially as Ron sat down next to him, smiling that creepy, benign smile, and started to feed him!
And every single time he looked at his supposed best friend with a helpless gaze, asking him to say something, he was met with a stoic expression and raised brows. Though the redhead did do something for him after he was met with that gaze for the first time, which was working on the paper stack of important, ‘royal’ documents.
Alberu didn’t mind, especially since Cale worked faster than he ever did, and Alberu also had enough trust for him that he knew that lazy noble wouldn’t mess up something like this, but it still felt frustrating. Originally, his plan had been to get back here, spend some lovely and especially calm time with Cale, then saying he was feeling better and returning to that very paper stack! Argh!
“Cookie prince, do you want to eat an apple pie? I can give you an apple pie! They’re very special! The weak human says that apple pie tastes the best! Here, have an apple pie!”
Alberu had no other choice but to open his mouth as Raon pushed the sugary pastry against his cheek for the third time (leaving it sticky). If being sick would cause him an experience like that, Alberu hoped that he would never get sick for real.
“Open your mouth, your highness~ the sick must eat, after all~”
The mighty crown prince shuddered in discomfort as soon as he was met with that incredibly gentle sounding voice. It had some sort of undertone to it, which Alberu gladly ignored before things could get worse. He looked up at the old and benignly smiling man. Ron was feeding him in an extremely professional manner, but Alberu still felt incredibly uncomfortable! Hell, he wanted to get out of this cursed furniture piece!
“Your highness, you don’t want to make the young master-nim sad, do you? Or is it that you want to stay sick forever? Haaa, young people these days~”
It was obvious that the old man was lying. Judging by his gaze, he knew exactly what was happening – and which reaction his words would receive. From Alberu’s desk came a loud sigh, then a heavy sounding chair (that wasn’t heavy at all) was pushed back. Light but steady steps could be heard, then Cale appeared next to Ron. The redhead was frowning and had his arms crossed in front of his chest, almost as if he was looking at a disobedient child.
“Eat your medicine and get well soon. We have to take care of Taylor Stan’s legs, remember? It’ll be tomorrow, so if you stay sick, I’ll do it on my own with Eruhaben and Raon.”
At his exclamation, not just Alberu’s eyes widened. Ron seemed surprised by his puppy like young master-nim’s words too, which amused Alberu.
“But your hyung is totally fine now, isn’t that right, Ron?”
Alberu really did think the old man would agree. After all, he loved this redhead over anything and there was no way he would let Cale go anywhere without him, would there?
“Your highness, there’s no need to pretend to be strong in front of your friend. It is okay to be weak sometimes.”
“Argh! But I’m fine!”
“Shhht, if you shout like this, you could make it worse.”
Alberu let out a frustrated noise and looked up at his best friend for help, hoping Cale would notice that he was actually fine. That redheaded lazy bastard was so quick witted and noticed as good as any scam, so how could he didn’t see through this one, especially since it was such a bad act?!
“Alberu, you punk, stop resisting the treatment. If you continue like this, you’ll stay sick all week.”
AND WHY WAS ERUHABEN CHIMING IN RIGHT NOW?!
“But I ain’t sick!?”
Alberu somehow managed to free one of his arms from the blanket-roll he was in and grabbed his best friend’s hand, putting it on his forehead – which was a grave mistake since it was still hot from all his gobbled up anger.
“See? I’m fine goddamn it!”
Cale’s expression turned even colder if possible.
“Tsk, cookie prince, you need to listen to goldie gramps and human’s grandpa! They always take care of the weak human, so they know best!”
‘Not Raon too…’
Alberu was suffering in silence as Cale sneered at his best friend trying to play tough. He failed to see that Alberu was indeed fine, which had its own reason, one all of the people around him were unaware of. Cale shook his head.
“Nope hyung, you’re not healthy and certainly not fine. Since you want to tag alone so much and since it’s stressing you out, let me say this right now: I ain’t taking you with me anymore. So don’t rebel and eat the medicine and food. Try to sleep too.”
With those words, Cale returned to his best friend’s work and did the crown prince’s work. What a crazy thing to do for someone who always said that his greatest and only dream was to be a rich slacker.
Keke.
Alberu looked up to his side where the old man was sitting with an even creepier expression on his face compared to before. His eyes had turned to crescent moons and his benign smile was even wider than before. Goddamn it, his snicker was even scarier than that mad expression! Alberu got the chills once again. He was certain that that old man had planned for all of this to happen! Fucking old geezer who was too overprotective over C-
Alberu got pulled out of his thoughts as another sticky apple pie with a sugar icing was pressed against his cheek once again while another spoon of chicken broth attempted to enter his closed mouth. This time though, the old man handily managed to open the crown prince’s mouth before Alberu even realized. Fuck!
~
In the end, Cale did as he said on the day before. He departed with the young Raon and the ancient dragon while leaving his best friend and reliable grandfather-butler. Naturally, he wouldn’t get involved in some ruckus today (Alberu really hoped that he wouldn’t attract trouble as he always did) and thus today’s mission seemed relatively boring. He would just have to spend some time with Taylor Stan, the firstborn of the Stan March, or perhaps just observe him from afar to make sure he wouldn’t get crippled while teaching Venion a lesson or two as well.
A couple days ago, Cale had thoroughly explained this situation to Alberu. Since he had this regeneration power of his, which he had taken from the future Taylor Stan, he now needed to help him. Sure, he did mention that it wouldn’t have helped the crippled Taylor since him losing his legs had happened before he obtained the healing ancient power, but as soon as Alberu proposed to just leave things be, Cale had stared at him as if he was a madman.
Well, Alberu supposed that Cale was just a person with too good of a personality. Sure, he loved scamming and looting, but only the bad guys. He also seemed like a bad person at first glance (with all of those vicious gazes he gave to the people around him), which he really wasn’t!
Alberu let out a tired sigh, and regretted it the very next second as he was now faced with the old man benignly smiling at him. Yet, that benign expression changed after just a moment, revealing a cold face staring at him. Uh…Alberu knew he had complained a lot about that benign smile and way too gentle expression of that old man, but could he please have it back? This one was way more creepy than the benign one!
“You punk, what did you tell to my precious young master-nim? You weren’t even sick.”
Alberu scoffed as he sat up in his heavenly and incredibly comfortable bed.
“Tsk, why didn’t you say that yesterday? Why pretending like I was sick and make Cale go alone, huh?”
Ron snorted, showing his true emotions now that Cale was gone. And truth to be told, he did not like Alberu. It wasn’t something personal, really, because personality wise, Alberu was someone Ron simply couldn’t dislike. He was calm but also serious when it was needed. He could be funny, honest and knew how to act in certain situations. He didn’t let things get through him, had an incredibly thick skin and most importantly, he was Cale’s best friend. So how on earth could Ron hate or even dislike him because of that? No, the old butler’s reason to dislike the crown prince was something else, something that happened just recently, or rather something Ron just noticed recently.
It was the young prince’s feelings for his precious young master-nim whom he regarded as his grandson! Did Alberu really think he was hiding it? He wasn’t hiding shit, for god’s sake! Cale may be obvious, but neither Ron, nor his son, nor the old man’s friend were! The red ears, that slight blush, that sheepish smile – all of those were things that Alberu hadn’t had in the past when talking to Cale! It was natural for friends to develop feelings for each other over time, but for god’s sake, not for his precious young master-nim! He was just fifteen (alright, he’d be sixteen soon, but that didn’t really matter since sixteen was not really better than fifteen) and definitely not ready for dating!
Which was exactly why…
“Listen here, you little punk.”
…he played along with Alberu being sick.
“I know exactly what’s going on in your tiny little brain. You think you can hide anything from me? Think twice next time.”
Alberu frowned, not getting what exactly he was currently getting lectured about. Ron scoffed, not really paying it any mind as he simply continued to say what he wanted to say.
“You punk better keep your dirty hands to yourself.”
And he was now defaming nobles. Alberu couldn’t help but think how all of Cale’s people, including Cale, were actively ignoring the lèse-majesté law. But oh well, it’s not like he could say anything to Ron, especially not right now after seeing how serious the old man’s face was and how angry he sounded.
“Tsk, don’t play dumb with me, stupid punk! You like my precious young master-nim!”
Alberu couldn’t help but let out a surprised noise in shock. Ah, was it that obvious that he was in love with Cale already? He managed to keep it not obvious for four months, and how he was caught red handed? And by the cruel Ron nonetheless?
Just great, abso-fucking-lutely great.
Naturally, Alberu didn’t think he would manage to survive for the next few hours – well, judging by the old man’s emotionless face.
At the same time, at another place, Eruhaben was cussing while he was trying to catch a rat – literally. How on earth did he get stuck in such a ridiculous situation?!
Notes:
Hi!
If you ask me, I have no idea how I managed to update this so fast (sure, for you it may have been my normal pace, but I'm serious, I didnt have any time on Sunday, no time on monday and my school ended at 5:20pm today, I still had homework and hell, before I knew it I was finished, decided to sit on my desk and write. And the 5k mark came so soon like pls, are these even 5k?!
Alright, enough with that! I like this chapter cuz Cale gets so cutely worried for Alberu and its just so awww (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
And I too love Ron's and Eruhaben's friendship, like pls they belong with each other (friendship wise haha)Anyways, I told y'all about the German test my teacher planned to write with us right after the holidays, right? And I told you that, because of that damned test, I had to read that drama 'Nathan the Wise', right? And do you know what?
He came in, smugly smiling (as he always does), holding the test. Then he talks the first 10 minutes about why he didnt have the class test with him (we'll probably get it tomorrow tho, so it's fine). Then we wrote that shitty test (not really shitty, it was mutliple choice and I knew most of it, just missed two questions which I didnt recall because it was a fucking 173 page drama and I dont recall each single fucking detail, ok?!) and before he could take it to grade it, with that fatass smile he said and I quote "This test is from the internet. I gave it to you to test your knowlegde. I won't grade this test."
(ʃ_⌣̀ )/|| щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щEXCUSE ME BUT WTF I STUDIED FOR THIS SHITTY TEST; IT COULD CHANGE MY GRADE (POSITIVELY) AND YOU RUINED MY HOLIDAYS CUZ I STRESSED SO MUCH ABOUT IT AND I WOULD HAVE NEEDED THE FUCKING TIME FOR MY ENGLISH PRESENTATION LIKE PLS BITCH WTF?!?!?!
Sure, it may be great for some of my classmates, the ones who didnt read the book at all, but for me it was like a slap in the face. I studied for it. Like he told us to read the drama. I also worked with it since he told us there would be a test, and now there wasn't?! I spend so much time on it and It's upsetting and it ruined my day, thank you very much,
Sry about that, I didnt want to take up too much of your time, but it's just so ugh!
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щEither way, I have to study for ethic now, since I'll write an exam on friday!
Until then, don't expect another update since I have to pay attention to that, hehe ;)Then, take care and til next time!
（*´▽｀*）
(As always, I hope you liked the chapter and that it wasnt too bullshitty)
（●´∀｀）ノ♡
Chapter 32: 30. Taking care of it (2)
Summary:
Rescuing people, bringing them together and meeting cringe people, the usual stuff someone who's trash, but not on Venion Stan's level, does
（●´∀｀）ノ♡
Notes:
No trigger warning, well, a VENION trigger warning here. Watch out, this chapter contains VENION THE TRASH. Read with care. VENION is here!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
There was a very strange expression on the fifteen year old noble’s face as he was currently sitting down with the twenty-four year old firstborn master of the Stan March and his younger brother, Venion Stan. It was akin to disgusted, but it was well hidden so that only Eruhaben, the ancient dragon standing behind Cale, noticed it. He frowned, not understanding why Cale was making that kind of expression. Was it because the crown prince wasn’t with them?
Just thinking about that stupid punk made the ancient dragon tremble in fury. How dare he develop feelings for someone as innocent as Cale? How dare he try to take that kid all for himself, huh?! How tactless!
“…Um…young master C-“
“Young master Cale, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Taylor Stan was disrupted by his younger brother’s overly friendly and smug greeting, which finally broke Eurhaben out of his many thoughts. It was probably because of the man who was a year older than the crown prince had this odd appeal around him, one that made it clear that he was not your average adult. It signalized to be extremely careful around the twenty-one year old.
“I suppose that’s nice.”
Cale wasn’t even looking at Venion, resulting in Eruhaben having to suppress the proud smile that was about to show. Raon, on the other hand, was giving his remarks about how unfriendly and stupid Venion behaved, even shameless.
Well, not that it beat Cale’s behavior, but that was something that neither one of Cale’s people cared about.
Taylor and Venion, who didn’t know much about Cale, were both confused by the teen’s very casual behavior with them – someone of a higher status. Since Cale wasn’t much but a Count’s son and they were the sons of the Marquis, shouldn’t he treat them with much more respect than them him?
Nevertheless, it wasn’t long until Venion ignored Cale’s casual behavior and simply carried on.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say it’s very nice, young master Cale, heh.”
-Human! That ugly prick scoffed so stupidly! I’m sure he’s someone very bad!
While Cale’s face remained stoic and unchanged, he was working hard to not smile. In the end, he managed to do so and shrugged to respond to the second young master of the Stan March. He was the actual reason Cale was having that oddly disgusted look in his eyes.
Venion Stan was not someone Cale had met before in this world, but he was someone that was thoroughly described in the novel ‘The Birth of a Hero’. And while Cale had long learnt that whatever was described in the novel didn’t have to match the actual people, it did state that Venion had tortured the black dragon as soon as he was born until the very end of the little creature’s life. Raon was currently three years old. He was so young, so cute and incredibly precious. In the novel, three fourths of his life would have been over by now. It was something that angered Cale so incredibly much.
“Hahaha, don’t listen to my younger brother, young master Cale! He isn’t doing well in his studies these days-“
“Tsk, you don’t have to apologize for me, elder brother.”
Cale sighed and picked up the tea cup that a servant had served like five minutes ago, as soon as the three of them sat down. It was already much cooler – and it tasted incredibly bad. Cale couldn’t hide his sour expression and quickly put the teacup back down; thankful none of the two were currently looking. Naturally, the same didn’t apply for the young Raon and the ancient dragon standing behind him.
-Human, does the tea taste bad! Of course it does! That stupid prick is bad so everything he has is bad! Human, do we need to loot his money? But you can’t fall down this time!
Cale frowned upon hearing Raon’s rumblings. He wondered where he got that from (oblivious to the little detail that he was actually the very same and the young dragon had only learned from him). Eruhaben, who didn’t hear any of what Raon had to say, soon spoke to Cale through telepathy too.
-Tsk, let’s get this over with quickly.
Then, noticing that Cale didn’t seem to be willing to do so (even though Cale wanted to get this over with as fast as possible too), the ancient and wise dragon decided that it’d be better to give the teen some sort of incentive.
-That punk is still sick alone, after all.
Naturally, Eruhaben knew he wasn’t sick, not at all, but if Alberu could pretend to be sick, why couldn’t he play along? And as expected, Cale’s body stiffened up and he nodded; yet he still waited. It was because Cale knew that Alberu was in good hands.
Taylor cleared his throat after a while and smiled at Cale cheerfully. He was the person that would have lost his ability to walk properly today. It was sad, if you looked at it this way. The very moment Cale entered the Marquis’ Estate, Taylor had not once left him alone. He was tagging along with him every single step and reminded the redhead of a lost puppy quite a bit. He seemed shy, a bit clueless but also incredibly cunning. He was someone Cale not just needed, but also wanted to safe from becoming crippled.
“My apologies, young master Cale. The famous rumors around you seem to be distressing my brother.”
Cale raised his eyebrow, as if to ask which rumor it was that turned Venion in such a prick. Obviously, it wasn’t a real question, since Cale was certain Venion behaved like this if not worse every day, but Taylor seemed to have taken it very seriously.
“Well, it is rumored that young master Cale is very close to his Royal Highness the crown prince and has moved out of Count Henituse’s Estate to live with his Royal Highness.”
Venion clicked his tongue, almost as if to say that this rumor was absurd. Cale simply shrugged as it was neither a secret nor a big deal.
“Is it true?!”
Taylor, on the contrary to his younger brother and Cale was very excited after seeing Cale be so nonchalant about it and neither confirm nor reject his words. In noble society, Cale’s behavior meant very much yes!
“Young master Taylor, if that’s all that’s interesting for you, I’d like to move on now…”
Taylor’s cheeks turned into a light pink color as he shook his head, embarrassed that he wasn’t done just yet. Venion clicked his tongue and fidgeted with his hands. That’s right, he had plans for today – plans that involved his brother and him departing to Neo Tolz, a family friend, being robbed by bandits who also ‘accidentally’ cripple Taylor.
“To be honest, young master Cale, I’d like to ask more. You see, you’re a very mysterious person to me, and since I don’t get to meet you very often, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to know more.”
Cale just nodded, for Taylor to move on. His character, too, was very different from his self in the novel. Taylor Stan was said to have a very cruel side to him, showing that he was actually of Marquis Stan’s lineage. While his body was cripples, his mind was not. He was described to have a lot of self-confidence – something the adult in front of Cale did not have.
“Well, is it true that, if you live with his Royal Highness, that something is happening at the Henituse Estate? I’ve heard rumors about your instructor disappearing.”
Cale shrugged. He was just about to answer this very casually as well, especially since it wasn’t that big of a deal to him, Eruhaben cleared his throat, gaining the three noble’s attention immediately.
“He fell off a cliff; it was a tragic carriage accident. It has nothing to do with the Henituse Estate.”
“Ah.”
Taylor nodded naively, immediately believing Cale’s guardian’s words. Venion, on the other hand, raised a brow upon seeing how blank and somewhat emotionlessly Eruhaben informed his elder brother and how untouched Cale seemed. A somewhat devilish smirk appeared on his face.
“He fell off a cliff? In the Henituse Territory at that? I wonder how that didn’t make the news, huh?”
The stupid second eldest son of Marquis Stan ignored Cale’s cold but somewhat scary stare and Eruhaben’s threatening expression.
“Hahaha, Venion, please don’t ask such mindless questions, hahaha. Please forgive him, young master Cale. He doesn’t mean it…It’s just that he’s…a very curious person!”
Cale shrugged, accepting but not believing Taylor’s apology. He obviously had to, to calm the man down and make him less worried and anxious about this meeting.
“Venion, apologize too!”
Venion just clicked his tongue, shrugging his older brother’s hand off his shoulder. Instead, he turned to Cale, tilting his head a bit. He resembled a snake, very much even.
“Young master Cale. I think we’ve chatted for long enough. You see, since your instructor died so early, I suppose he didn’t teach you much about manners yet.”
Eruhaben was about to punch that prick while Raon was ready to blow his head off while Cale just shrugged mindlessly. Venion trying to get on his nerve was cute at best. Back in his life as Kim Rok Soo, Cale had to deal with people much worse than Venion, after all. And it was also true, Simon van Augustus (may he never rest in peace) didn’t teach him a thing about manners, besides addressing him with ‘sir’, that is.
“…So allow me to teach you a bit. It’s usually better to ask the person you wish to visit in advance, or at least send them a letter. Since you came in so suddenly, you ruined my plans with my older brother, you see?”
Cale raised his brows. Sure, he ruined his plans to cripple Taylor – which had been Cale’s plan all along. Nevertheless, the boy put on a somewhat sorry expression (that wasn’t any different from his expression right now).
“I see. That’s unfortunate I suppose. I hope you can do what you wanted to another time.”
Cale smiled his scammer smile, making Raon ask him whether they were going to scam someone while the ancient dragon just sighed and shook his head. Cale was behaving extremely rude, even shameless to nobles of higher standing than him. To be honest, Venion would have killed him off right now – wasn’t it for the crown prince backing him.
Instead, the second eldest of the March put on a strained smile and tilted his head even more than before, giving his best to hide his annoyance (which he failed at miserably). Oh well, even the noble stated that he had very little patience for people under him.
“We cannot. I’m asking you to leave, young master Cale.”
At that, Taylor shook his head, bowing his head in front of Cale while apologizing yet again.
“I’m sorry! Young master Cale; please stay for as long as you want! My younger brother didn’t mean it like that!”
Cale just shrugged as he got up, smiling brightly.
“Well, I suppose it would be terrible if I wouldn’t listen to the successor of the Stan March. Thanks for the invitation, young master Taylor. I’m certain you’ll make a perfect Marquis in the future.”
The redhead was naturally only rubbing salt in Venion’s wound that was caused by insecurities because he was born second and not first. And Cale knew that – he was doing this because he knew that. After all, he had a plan. And his plan worked perfectly, just like always. It wasn’t long, before Venion exploded, of course it happened while he was smiling brightly and nodding.
“Ah! That’s not decided yet! You see, my siblings and I are competing for the successor’s position and-“
“Young master Cale. I really don’t want to call the guards, so please listen to me right now and leave.”
Cale looked away from the shy Taylor and smiled at Venion cheerfully for a while; Venion was certain that this annoying kid would finally leave! But then, almost as if to trample Venion over…
“Nope.”
…Cale said that while letting the ‘p’ pop.
Venion’s expression immediately distorted, he stared at Cale in shock while Venion laughed awkwardly, not truly understanding what was going on. Cale shrugged as he pointed at the sitting Venion.
“Young master Taylor has officially invited me. As the oldest, doesn’t he have a certain advantage to overtaking the successor’s position; hence he has the biggest chance of becoming the future Marquis and has the most authority here?”
That was a drop too much.
The glass called Venion was overflowing.
No, forget overflowing, he was flooding, breaking, whatever. Even his face turned into a red color, he looked very much like a very angry balloon.
-Human! That prick is being even more stupid than the nice one!
Cale silently nodded his head. And just when Venion was about to use violence to kick Cale out, he heard a peeping sound, one that one didn’t need to be familiar with to recognize it. It was a white rat.
And as fate seemed to love irony, Venion was scared of rats, mice and small animals all together. It didn’t even take him half a minute, then he sprinted out of the room, away from Taylor and Cale.
It really was funny, how someone as arrogant as Venion could be afraid of something as small and harmless as mice.
Taylor laughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.
“I-I’m really sorry for my brother’s behavior. He’s someone very…impulsive, you see? Hahaha that of course doesn’t mean that how he behaved around you was right…”
Peep.
The mouse was running around in the room, making Cale frown and pull up his legs. He wasn’t afraid of mice (who besides Venion was?), but he did not need it to bite his feet. Hence he pulled up his legs – an action that made the ancient dragon behind him frown. He looked around the room, looking for the small creature, then stepped away from Cale, attempting to catch it. Naturally, the redhead ignored the ancient dragon, who was playing tag with a little but small and quick mouse.
Eruhaben would have caught it long ago if he could use his mana and dragon abilities, but he was currently posing as a normal guardian knight.
Ignoring the beautiful man’s presence completely, both Taylor and Cale continued their conversation.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about, young master Taylor. To be honest with you, I intended to anger your younger brother. Naturally, I didn’t expect him to leave us so soon.”
Taylor frowned at that, furrowing his brows while thinking about what reasons Cale might have to send Venion away like that. The only thing he could think of was so that the redhead was able to speak with him alone.
“Is there something young master Cale has to say to me?”
Cale smirked, glad that Taylor was quick on the uptake. Raon too praised the still young adult, which Cale ignored.
“I do. Young master Taylor, I suppose you and your family knows best of the rumors around the successor’s position of the Stan March?”
Taylor nodded. All of his innocence from before was gone and he turned more serious, resembling the Taylor Stan that was described in the novel from Nelan Barrow much more.
“Of course I do. Is it of any interest for you, young master Cale?”
Cale shook his head. He did not care for such stupid things. The only reason for him to be here was him rescuing Taylor’s legs because he took the Vitality of the Heart in the past. Cale was trash, he knew that much, but he was not utter trash like Venion.
“Actually, it isn’t. I am here to warn you about it. You should know best, but you can never know about it well enough.”
Taylor squinted his eyes as he didn’t understand the meaning hidden in Cale’s words. Of course Taylor knew about the ‘fight over the successor’s position’, who in his family, or rather the whole kingdom didn’t? And since he was a family member, why should he be warned by an outsider?
-Human! He’s stupid for not accepting what you said! You’re no liar!
Cale sighed and shook his head.
“Young master Taylor, you were about to spend the day with your younger brother today, weren't you?”
Taylor nodded his head, his distrust was written all over his face. It seemed like he still hadn’t mastered the art of the poker face just yet.
“You were about to visit someone or travel somewhere, weren't you?”
Taylor’s eyes widened in surprise and he sat up straighter.
“How did you know?”
Well, Cale couldn’t tell him that he knew because he was technically (more or less) and outsider who had read about this world and knew of many events; hence he just shrugged and pointed outside the window to the carriage standing there.
“Ah!”
Taylor immediately nodded in understanding.
“Well, I’ve heard that it’s not really safe to travel around here these days since there are a lot of lose bandits. There are cases of people being robbed and killed – or crippled.”
Naturally, that last part was utter bullshit, but Taylor nodded with a very serious expression on his face, believing every single word that was coming out of Cale’s mouth, almost as if it was the word of someone of a higher status rather than the son of a Count.
“I see. Perhaps, is young master Cale worried about me?”
Cale shrugged. He wasn’t particularly interested in Taylor Stan. His only task was to ensure he wouldn’t get crippled today. What came after, really didn’t concern him. The only people that actually worried Cale were that stupid crown prince (he worried about Alberu so much more than he cared to admit), the young Raon, the ancient dragon, his reliable butler Ron who was so much more of a parent figure than anyone had ever been, and Beacrox, who was pretty much like an older brother to Cale. He really didn’t care for Taylor, he just did what he had to in order to make things right.
“His highness sends me, young master Taylor. Since you’re one of his people, he’s incredibly concerned. He’s very distressed, especially since he has heard rumors about Venion’s cruel nature.”
“Ah.”
All of Taylor’s excitement disappeared and he seemed disappointed.
“I see.”
Cale ignored it as he continued to say what needed to be said.
“I’ve heard that there’s an underground cave in Viscount Tolz’ territory and that it is used by your younger brother as a torture chamber. His highness advices young master Taylor to be more careful. Naturally, he would have come by himself, but unfortunately someone needed him.”
Taylor frowned and nodded. He was thinking about what Cale said and recalled how Venion wanted to visit the Tolz territory with him. Naturally, that had been Cale’s intention all along and it was also the reason why he mentioned the torture chamber in the first place. But it was also the truth.
“I’ll have to thank his Royal Highness then. Thank you for the message, I’ll be more careful from now on, hahaha.”
Cale sighed and shook his head.
“Young master Taylor, I’d advise you to sleep more carefully as well. You see, there’s a temple nearby – it’s the temple of the God of Death-“
“Young master Cale doesn’t want me to kill my brother, does he?!”
Cale let out a deep breath and ignored both the ancient dragon’s cranky cusses and Taylor’s stupid question. The redhead didn’t believe in a god, and if there was one, he would do nothing but show him the middle finger. The reason Cale was saying this…
“It’s not for that, young master Taylor. It’s a safe place.”
Yes, a safe place Taylor had visited right after he got crippled, a safe place where he met Cage and befriended her – his best friend that didn’t leave his side, not even once. And since Cale wouldn’t get crippled, he theoretically wouldn’t meet Cage. But who was Cale to rob this man of his best friend who was like a soulmate to Taylor?
“A safe place?”
Cale nodded his head as he played with his chin long hair.
“Yes, a safe place. You can go there whenever you feel uncertain. There’s a priestess that’d love to listen to everything you have to say – so the rumors say. I’d advise you to visit her the day after tomorrow.”
Taylor frowned, yet he nodded nevertheless.
“Alright, I’ll do so. Uh, how does she look?”
Cale smiled as he shrugged.
“She’s a bit crazy, young master Taylor. I’m certain you’ll find her right away.”
“Finally I got you!”
Both nobles ignored Eruhaben’s loud and happy yell as he finally managed to catch the white mouse. The two held eye contact for a while, until Taylor nodded.
“Okay.”
After hearing that confirmation, Cale smiled as he nodded his head. He got up, said his goodbyes and was just about to walk away and return to his best friend, as he heard Taylor’s shout for him to stop. The redhead turned around, only to see the slightly smiling and incredibly happy seeming adult stand up, looking at him.
“Young master Cale, even if you were ordered by his Royal Highness to do this, I’m still glad to see you. I’ve last seen you when you were eight, and it doesn’t seem like you’ve grown too much. Let’s meet each other again soon, I promise I’ll make better tea!”
Cale frowned and simply nodded, not planning to meet this man ever again. After all, his job with Taylor was done now, wasn’t it? He stopped him from getting crippled and connected him with Cage, the crazy priestess. His job was done. He turned around to leave, not seeing how Taylor’s whole expression brightened up so much more.
Cale sure had a strange influence on people.
~
“What a strange kid.”
A very old man who didn’t look to be over his late twenties smiled brightly as he watched the redheaded fifteen year old noble enter the first prince’s palace that looked incredibly beautiful on both the outside and the outside. It practically screamed wealth in capital letters.
The man then got up and fixed his lose, white shirt. Currently he looked like your normal Raon Kingdom’s citizen, which he naturally was not. His long, white hair was tried up in a high ponytail and he was observing the redheaded kid through his violet eyes. He had actually been watching him for a very long time, and he had not just watched but observed and studied him.
Others may think strangely of him – which was a natural thing to do. But truth to be told, observing this redheaded kid was nothing more but a job, at least it had been nothing more than a job. The man with the white hair and purple eyes smirked and finally jumped down from one of the roofs of the first prince’s palace. That’s right; it was time to do what he had been contemplating for a very long time.
The man landed softly and soundlessly in the middle of the crown prince’s beautiful garden. It was filled with exotic flowers, black and royal blue roses, which were known to be the rarest out of all of them, as well as Juliet Roses, which were famous for being the world’s most expensive ones. There were also Kadupul Flowers which were also known as the Queen of the Night in large quantities and Middlemist’s red Camellia.
All in all, it was a garden that was beautiful yet extremely priceless and expensive looking at the same time. The white haired man grinned upon seeing the rare, exotic and more importantly expensive plants that were growing in the crown prince’s garden. He was floating his wealth to whoever exited the golden gates. Oh well, it wasn’t bad at all.
The man didn’t pay much attention to the rare and beautiful flowers as he walked down the paved porcelain path with golden accents in it. But he didn’t pay much attention to that; or the fancy interior of the crown prince’s castle as he opened the heavy and formerly closed doors. He ignored the many servants working in the castle and continued to walk the very path he had watched Cale Henituse, the person he had watched for the past two years, walk down countless times.
Then, he arrived in front of a wooden door, the one that lead into the room where the crown prince was currently playing sick, with the old man sitting beside him. The white haired man smirked, didn’t waste any more time and finally pushed the incredibly light (all because Alberu wanted Cale to be able to open the door) open.
“Bonjour~”
The very next moment, there was a knife on his throat, and the ancient dragon in this room was giving his best to use his dragon fear to pressure this fearless and arrogant intruder – something that had no effect on the man, nor had the knife.
The white haired man smiled as he simply pushed the sharp blade away from his throat, fully ignoring his bleeding fingers – which healed the very next moment. He smirked upon seeing the surprised faces and waved.
“I’m no enemy, you know~ No need to look at me like that~ Your highness, aren’t you feeling better, why not get out of bed~? And my poor baby, why are these people making you work so hard~?”
Cale cringed immediately after listening to the man speak and the very next moment, the man’s hand was pressed down into the floor, forcing him to knee down. Obviously, the man could have remained standing and overpowered the strong, old man, but he simply didn’t want to. Instead, he looked up from the floor, smiling.
“Oh please, let’s do this like civilized people~”
Alberu finally got out of bed and frowned. He walked over to his best friend, not letting the man who had called Cale his ‘poor baby’ out of sight even once.
“How did you enter? This is private property; you aren’t allowed to enter here. Who are you? And what do you want? Did Count Henituse send you?”
The man shook his head and sighed.
“Listen-“
Ron pushed his head down even more with more force than before. Naturally, the white haired man complied, only because he wanted to solve this without destroying the palace, not after the young crown prince had spent so much money on it to flaunt his wealth.
“Answer his questions, then we may listen.”
As always, Cale was composed. He didn’t even stand up from his chair, no, forget standing up, he didn’t even move an inch ever since the white haired intruder entered the room. The man smirked and finally stood up, ignoring the old man’s attempts to push him down again – and the shock in Ron’s eyes as he noticed that it wasn’t possible. Eruhaben’s dragon fear was useless against him as well, which shook the ancient dragon and old butler to their cores. Beacrox who had returned from the kitchen and pulled out his greatsword swallowed and got ready to attack, but didn’t as soon as he saw Cale raise his hand for him to stop.
The young Raon turned visible too, sitting down on his guardian’s left shoulder. He looked at the whitehaired man and frowned, exchanging glances with Cale before snorting.
“Weak human, it’s another prick again!”
Cale nodded his head, ignoring everyone’s eyes that turned to him and Raon.
“Indeed, it seems today is a troublesome day.”
“Human! Let’s blow him up like goldie gramps tried to do with the rat!”
Cale shook his head, ignoring the silent and stunned people in the room.
“I doubt we can do that, Raon.”
“Oh…”
Alberu sighed as he chimed in on the conservation after he managed to finally calm down and recover from the shock. Out of everyone inside the room, he was already used to this. And if Cale conversed this casually in the midst of this situation, there was no way this situation was as serious as it seemed. Alberu was certain; his best friend was anything but stupid (if it wasn’t in regards of himself). Furthermore, it really didn’t seem to be that serious. After all, the intruder didn’t fight them or anything.
“Don’t worry Raon; you can blow up something else.”
After listening to the blonde punk stay calm, Ron and his dragon best friend [aka bestie] as well as Beacrox calmed down too. That’s right; they had nothing to worry about. And even if this man was dangerous, what would happen? There were two dragons in this room, and the whitehaired man didn’t exactly look like he wanted to attack them either.
“Alright cookie prince! Oi whitey, who are you! You still didn’t answer the cookie prince’s questions!”
The intruder smiled as he shrugged.
“No problem. I am Fredo, and I entered through the front door – by the way, you have a very special and expensive garden, I’ve noticed it – and no, I’m not affiliated with my baby boy’s father.”
Upon hearing that stranger call Cale ‘baby boy’, not only the three men over thirty frowned, but so did Alberu and Cale. That man, Cale had never seen him even once in his life, so how come he was called ‘baby boy’ by him?
“…Then what do you want?”
As professionally as always, Alberu (who was still in his pajamas) asked the important questions while Cale was out of it. Fredo smirked as he shrugged.
“I’m here to propose a deal. You see, I’ve been tasked to observe my poor baby boy for the past two years – not the most beautiful of sights, I must say. How on earth did you let that man hit you, and why did you tease him so much? – anyways, I’ve noticed that you could be someone of help to me, so here I am, to propose a deal.”
Cale frowned. Before Alberu could say anything, the redhead did first.
“You observed me? Are you with them?”
Cale didn’t need to specify who ‘them’ were. If this man, Fredo, observed him for the past two years; that could only leave the men from the slave auction in the Gyerre territory. Fredo smirked as he nodded.
“Yes I am. But I don’t like them. So I need your help to get rid of them. It’s a very simple job – and I also have lots of things to offer in exchange. So, what do you say?”
Fredo smirked. And so did Cale.
While everyone inside the room broke out into a loud discussion, the purple eyes of the white haired man not once left Cale. And as the boy nodded while holding eye contact, that was enough of a confirmation Fredo needed. He smiled brightly, which stopped the discussion immediately.
“What do I need to do?”
Fredo smirked brightly.
“You need to be my son~”
Notes:
Hi!
I planned to update on Friday, but it didn't work because I had too much stuff going on before (the ethic exam) and I was too lazy to write. I also couldn't update earlier because I have a biology exam coming up on Monday and I need to study for it (my whole Sunday will be wasted
(ʃ_⌣̀ )/|| щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щAnyways, back to the ethic exam: I'm like 96 percent sure I failed.
It wasnt because I studied too little, my confindence just hit a new low because my bff who's like the best in that subject had a C+ sooo.... I ain't sure anymore. And it was nothing but blood, sweat and tears haaa щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
I guess that's life.Anyways, my English presentation is slowly (BUT SURELY) going forward. I already made my outline, and I'm confident that i'll manage everything before it's due (which is good, right?). So, at least something in my life is somwhat going the way I want it to!
It's currently past midnight, so forgive any grammar mistakes or other kinds of mistakes, and feel free to point them out, I'll correct them as soon as I see I've done the mistake!
Also: FREDO IS HERE! YAY! Also: CALE WILL BE A CHILD AGAIN! YAY!
Well, i don't think it was a spoiler and if it was, I ain't sorry at all! I miss smoll Cale
(╯3╰)
He's so precious and innocent and cute!Also, ain't no way Cale stays so small, so enjoy him being short while he's still short (tho I'll make him at least a head smaller than his ******* ;)
Then, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, until next time!
(ˆˇˆ)-c<˘ˑ˘)
Chapter 33: 31. A slacker's talent (1)
Summary:
Welcome to Endable~
Notes:
No trigger warning again, have fun while reading! (´ ▽｀)ｏ♥♡
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cale frowned as he looked up at the very old man in front of him who didn’t seem to be older than thirty. The redhead couldn’t believe that this creepy smiling person was supposed to be a well over five-hundred year old Duke. But then again, in this world all kinds of people were put in a leader’s position.
Duke Fredo was calmly drinking his tea while sitting opposite of Cale and Alberu. He seemed unbothered by the old butler standing behind him while sharpening his knife, nor the ancient dragon and his piercing stares. He also didn’t appear to notice the head chef’s vicious side eyes, or the crown prince’s strange looks. Oh well, it just seemed that way, after all.
Silently, Fredo put the tea cup down and smiled at Cale. The redhead immediately frowned and looked at the young dragon sitting on his lap. The young Raon was the only one who was calm in a situation like this – perhaps it was because he understood that this situation was truly something that didn’t require him to be cautious.
“So, what do you say, my dear son~?”
Before the redhead could talk for himself, it was Alberu who clicked his tongue and clicked his head in annoyance.
“Don’t call him that, you don’t even know him, you freak.”
Given that Fredo was a very powerful vampire – yes, not just an old duke who didn’t age a day past his late twenties, but a whole ass vampire – who was even on par with the ancient dragon inside this room, Alberu’s way of speaking to him was incredibly rude, yet Fredo ignored it. The reason behind him doing so was rather simple: First of all, Cale was even ruder and second of all, this crown prince was someone Cale really cherished.
“Oh my, but I certainly do~”
Alberu was about to jump up and do something – anything – yet was held back by his best friend putting a hand on his arm. Alberu leaned back and sighed in annoyance, waiting for his best friend to do something since the three adults (well, technically it were four with Alberu, but we’ll give him the credit of the doubt) inside this room were all too busy viscously glaring at the vampire Duke.
“But I don’t want to do it tho?”
Fredo simply raised his brows and no one else seemed to be surprised by Cale’s answer either. It was because the young noble’s people didn’t expect him to agree and help out Fredo; they knew him that well at least. And while Fredo couldn’t say that he didn’t expect that kind of response from Cale, he still kind of hoped for him to say yes by himself. He really didn’t want to pull out the big guns…
“Are you sure-sure?”
Cale frowned, seemingly considering his answer. Truth to be told, he was not. He simply thought about how troublesome this new person he just met was. Not only had he been stalking him for the past two years, he was also crazy and wanted to call him son. There was no way in hell Cale would help this kind of person. Furthermore, he was busy with pushing Alberu up a bit before resting until the civil war hit – in which he would take his people and hide in some faraway corner until it would get over.
Helping out this vampire duke, as desperate as he may seem (which wasn’t desperate at all), would just be troublesome, bothersome, annoying and pointless. While Cale didn’t know much about this deal’s details, he knew that he would be forced to spend time with this annoying man who constantly called him his son. Furthermore, it didn’t seem like he would get to take his people along in the first place, which would be even more annoying.
And just the thought of him pretending to be Fredo’s son-
“Before you say no, I’d advise you to think again~”
There was a strange smile on the vampire’s face, one that Cale immediately understood. He couldn’t help but frown upon seeing it as it reminded him of the smirk Lee Soo Hyuk always had on his lips whenever Kim Se Jung, his coworker that died even before he did, missed a major detail, leaving him a loophole. Cale did not like the thought of missing something major, even if it was about something as unimportant as this.
The edges of the man’s lips rose, leaving him brightly grinning. He calmly leaned back, making Ron and Eruhaben quite anxious. It was Alberu who broke Fredo and Cale’s stare contest as he turned all attention to him.
“He already said no. No need to think twice on this one. Nothing you could possibly offer would be of use to us anyways.”
There it was, Fredo’s lips’ edges rose even farther, almost as if he was mocking Alberu without using any words. Needless to say that the crown prince responded correspondingly annoyed.
“If you’re so certain that whatever you’re offering will be needed and used by us, why not say it?”
In the end, it was the ancient dragon that stopped being anxious first and returned to his usual, calm and composed state. He crossed his arms as he stopped leaning on the wall and stepped next to Ron, behind the young redhead. He knew Cale for a year now, and he would never let anything happen to him. And since Fredo really didn’t seem to be willing to hurt Cale, he could be at ease – for now that is.
The vampire duke leaned forward again and nodded slowly, almost as if he was thinking about Eruhaben’s words – which he obviously was not.
“Oh my, you’re totally right~”
This man’s way of speech was provoking and maddening. It was a wonder how Ron didn’t pull out his dagger and at least attempted to kill the man here and now. Well, at least Beacrox responded normally. He let out a dark growl and was about to get up, but in the end, he didn’t get the chance to.
“Whatcha got?”
Fredo chuckled at the crown prince’s sudden casual way of speaking, but didn’t comment on it any further. He turned serious for once, his smirk finally leaving his lips. Still, his violet eyes showed that he wasn’t wholly serious and still a bit…playful.
“I’ve got information about this continent’s future~”
While Ron and Eruhaben were deeply shocked and even Raon looked up from his seemingly sleeping position, it was only Beacrox and Alberu who remained calm. The one was still composed because he simply didn’t care; the other because he was amused for the very first time ever since Fredo entered his room.
“Well, I don’t need that.”
Right, why would Alberu need that if he got Cale, someone who knew of the future of this continent and world all together? Someone with a memory sharper than a video recording device, someone who didn’t even miss the smallest of details? Whatever information Duke Fredo had to offer, they didn’t need it. There was no way Cale would listen to Fredo now…
“It seems you do, though? Let me tell you a little tale, then.”
…was what the crown prince thought.
Instead, the redhead’s brows wandered up, showing he was intrigued or even slightly interested. Whatever it was, it showed that he would at least listen to Fredo. The redhead leaned forward, for Fredo to continue talking, ignoring what Alberu had to say. Perhaps Cale was still a child after all. Damn, he didn’t even tell him a tale not once when he was younger. Perhaps he should have!
The vampire chuckled a bit, but then quickly continued upon seeing Ron’s vicious stare. He cleared his throat, then quickly started talking.
“I give this continent ten years.”
All of a sudden, the room went all silent. Cale was frowning, Alberu had a very dubious expression on his face while Eruhaben raised his brows in disbelief. Ron and Beacrox exchanged glances and shook their heads, certain that the vampire duke words couldn’t – simply mustn’t – be true.
“What is that dude talking about, human? Why will he give this continent ten years?”
It was the young Raon alone that didn’t fully understand the weight of Fredo’s words. But in all honesty, that was a good thing. Children didn’t need to understand such things.
Cale shook his head and patted the three year old child in his lap.
“Don’t worry about it, Raon. It’s not something important. Why don’t you get cookies with Beacrox?”
Ron smiled as he smiled his usual, benign smile. He exchanged a glance with the ancient dragon and his son, then took the young dragon with whom he had a very special bond, and exited the room, accompanied by his son, naturally. It was a bit strange that Ron left Cale all by himself, but that was probably because he was finally fine with Alberu being there. And in case of emergencies, there was still Eruhaben, so…
After Raon finally left, Alberu hit the desk with his fists and got up from the chair, furious even. He glared at the calm man in front of Cale and shook his head, scoffing in amusement.
“You call that a prediction? Fucking maniac, get out of here!”
The Duke shrugged and turned his attention to Cale. Contrary to Alberu, he was frowning and actually thinking about such a possibility happening. ‘The Birth of a Hero’ told the tale of an overpowered protagonist, too strong for this world. He had some challenges, but got over each one rather easily. It would actually make sense for a big event with a big villain to appear in the future – it would explain the popularity the novel had. But could that really be…?
“Cale, it can’t be that you’re actually considering that douchebag’s words?!”
Cale looked up from Fredo and turned his head to Alberu. The young crown prince was breathing heavily – most probably because he too knew that the vampire’s words didn’t have to have a possibility of 0%. They could be true. But they could also be wrong.
There had been not a single indication of a war happening. There was zero political tension between the kingdoms, and while the northern kingdoms did occasionally voice a couple complaints, it was mandatory to ignore them and since they didn’t have any military strength, there was nothing they could do about it.
There was also the Mongoru Empire that was a bit unstable these past few years, but it was on the Eastern Continent and not all too close to the Roan Kingdom. Between them were the Breck Kingdom and the Whipper Kingdom – not to forget the vast jungle, thrice the size of both the Mongoru Empire and Roan Kingdom together.
If it wasn’t a war that was to suddenly break out in ten years what else could it be?!
Was it a large scale fire or something man-made like corruption?
Was it-
“Tsk, you punk, sit back down. And you, give us more information.”
There was nothing Alberu could do against the ancient dragon’s words, thus he complied. And for a change, Fredo did too. With a bright smile on his face, he said what he needed to say to convince Cale.
“The person that resides in the Endable Kingdom, the kingdom in which I am a Duke, is going to overtake this continent after he’s done with the Eastern Continent. But before he does that, he’s trying to take control over my kingdom.”
Before Alberu could blurt out some nonsense again (the boy wasn’t logically thinking right now, instead incredibly anxious and angry), Cale raised his hand. He tilted his head, a slight smirk on his face. He had made up his mind just now.
“And you want my help to get rid of him why…?”
Fredo smirked. He knew Cale would understand quickly.
“Well, I think you know why.”
Alberu’s mind finally cleared and he let out a loud and exhausted sigh, finally looking at the situation at hand rationally.
“You want to become the king.”
The duke nodded his head, his smile brightening up a bit more upon hearing Alberu’s words.
“Correct~”
Alberu shook his head and the ancient dragon behind him snorted while crossing his arms.
“If you want to become king so badly, why don’t you just overthrow everything? There ain’t no way you came to a kid for help. Wouldn’t you rather need me or someone powerful?”
At that, Fredo smirked. This smirk was worlds apart from his usual one. It gave Cale the chills and all of a sudden he had a bad feeling in his stomach. He got nervous out of nowhere. The look in Fredo’s eyes turned a bit amused, but also somewhat respectful.
“Because this kid is smart, is likable and can do something none of you can.”
Eruhaben furrowed his brows as Alberu asked the important question.
“…which is?”
Duke Fredo smirked as he finally got up and patted Cale on the head, ignoring the ancient dragon’s threatening look and Alberu’s venomous glare.
“He can ~act~”
Alberu’s jaw dropped while Alberu’s brows almost touched his hairline.
~
Cale cussed inside his head as he was handed a bracelet which would change his appearance into that of the vampire duke’s son. In all honesty, he did not want to take this ‘request’. He had talked to Alberu in private shortly after their meeting while Eruhaben had started inspecting Fredo. They had come to a couple terms.
For example, Fredo had to assure Cale’s safety at all times. He had to feed him three meals per day, ensure Cale wouldn’t get into a dangerous situation, had time to sleep all he wanted and wouldn’t meet any dangerous people.
It was completely unclear why the vampire wanted Cale to come with him (alone at that) but these terms should guarantee Cale’s safety. And strangely enough, the vampire agreed immediately – almost as if he wasn’t serious. But Cale was…so…
In case of emergency, Alberu had handed Cale a secret teleportation scroll and two golden plaques (“Just in case you need money [and one billion gallons aren’t enough]”). And with that, he was all set to go with that creepily smiling vampire – without even Raon.
“Then, au revoir~”
Fredo smirked as he bit his finger and painted some sort of sign on the floor below him. It looked incredibly…scary. Cale exchanged a look with Alberu, clearly not wanting to go. The crown prince sighed and drove his hand through his thick hair. He didn’t know how on earth he allowed this. He didn’t even trust Fredo, let alone that the man would truly fulfill these conditions.
So how come he let Cale go?
Did he put his kingdom – and information – before Cale?
No, there was no way. Alberu would literally kill every single citizen, destroy every square of this kingdom or even assassinate the king himself for Cale (hell knows how he’d manage to do that, but he certainly would).
So why was he just letting go? Without even pressing to accompany Cale?
Was it because perhaps, he trusted Cale enough to do this all on his own?
No, no way it was this. Cale was an idiot in regards of himself.
So what was the reason that he didn’t feel the need to stop Cale, to pull him back, to keep him here?
Ah, Alberu knew the answer immediately after making eye contact with Cale one last time as the child got in the circle Fredo drew. While he was frowning, there was this resolved look in his eyes. Alberu had only rarely seen that kind of look in Cale’s eyes, he only got to see it whenever the redhead had a certain goal in mind – and a plan on how to get to it as well.
The crown prince did not manage to hold Cale back this one time. Not when he saw that kind of expression on the boy’s face. Well, it also had something to do with how much he trusted Cale, but that came second. While it wasn’t the same for Eruhaben, Beacrox and Ron, they reluctantly let the fifteen year old go in the end.
“Hey Cale, you know you have to come back in less than a month, yeah?”
Alberu couldn’t help but say that. Cale smirked and simply shrugged while Raon yelled at him to be back quickly. But Cale didn’t look at the young dragon and instead kept looking Alberu in the eyes. He then shrugged; a grin on his face. For the first time in a very long time, Alberu saw just how big Cale had gotten. The boy was a lot taller than in the past too, though there should be some grow spurt sometime soon. He was no kid no more, huh? Heh, it was nothing new to Alberu though.
“I won’t promise anything, hyung.”
Cale shrugged but Alberu took it as a guarantee.
“I’ll take it as one, though.”
Cale’s grin grew a bit wider and he couldn’t help but shrug.
“Fine, but don’t expect anything.”
Alberu shook his head in disbelief, an amused smile on his lips. Raon flew next to him and sat down on his shoulder. The young dragon sure grew bigger quickly – and was accordingly heavy. Alberu didn’t know how the weak redhead didn’t even flinch when Raon sat down on his shoulder. Oh well, Cale was something else.
“Bye, have fun.”
Alberu waved at Cale and the redhead pouted playfully.
“I won’t, thanks.”
Ron sighed and turned around, taking his son and the ancient dragon with him. This room had gotten so little all of a sudden, it seemed. Oh well, there was nothing to worry about. He…trusted Alberu now.
“Oh really? You sure look like you will.”
“Weak human! Don’t have any fun without the great and mighty Raon Miru!”
Cale smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, I won’t Raon, don’t worry.”
The young dragon sniffed and quickly turned his head away from Cale, instead burying it in Alberu’s neck. Cale sighed and was about to turn around.
“One last thing.”
Cale raised his brows and looked at Alberu.
The crown prince had a very mysterious expression on his face; for the first time in years Cale was unable to exactly put a meaning behind his best friend’s expression. It was very…strange and it made him feel iffy.
“If that douchebags breaks the conditions, no matter what, come back, alright?”
Cale smiled, waved at Alberu one last time, then both he and Fredo disappeared into thin air. But Alberu was not left with no answer. He knew Cale well enough to know that he would. Naturally he would.
He was Cale, after all.
~
In a split second, the scenery in front of Cale’s eyes changed. Instead of seeing his family and his best friend’s castle, he was now faced with a vast yet cold room. Everything was dark in here. The walls had a marine, almost black color and the floor was dark as well. It looked cold and like the scenery of a horror movie. There were many strange portraits of pale men hanging around, one scarier and stranger than the other. Cale shuddered upon seeing them. Quickly, he turned around, now faced with the incredibly tall vampire. When did Fredo get taller?
No, the vampire didn’t get taller; it was that he himself shrunk!
Immediately, Cale sighed and looked down on his right arm, where the bracelet Fredo had handed to him was supposed to be. But it wasn’t there anymore. And his usual, white shirt wasn’t too. Instead, he was now wearing a purple jacket with golden sleeves, together with plum diamond manchettes.
“Haaa-“
Cale let out a loud sigh, looking up at the vampire smiling brightly at him. He didn’t see himself in the mirror yet, but he knew he looked just like the mini version of this man. But there was a slight (or not so slight) difference: He looked by far much cuter.
Cale’s reddish-brown eyes turned into a light plum-purple color while his hair turned a lot lighter in color, and not just lighter, but completely white. Not a single strand of his usual, crimson hair was left. Furthermore, his usually chin long hair had also gotten a lot shorter, not to start with his body. He returned to the same size he had transmigrated in seven years ago.
The young noble who had an even higher status than before now, clicked his tongue in annoyance. He sighed and then pulled on Fredo’s sleeve, pulling him forward even though he didn’t know where he was going to. Luckily, it was truly the right direction, which was why Fredo didn’t say anything against it.
“Naru~ my good boy~”
Cale ignored the vampire and simply approached the stairs, then went up. And after two steps, he also let go of Fredo’s sleep, realizing how he had come back to old habits as soon as he returned to such a small body. Good thing he noticed it quickly this time.
“Ow, this really hurt~”
The young noble ascended the stairs and stopped as soon as he reached the second floor. He looked down and noticed that the room he had teleported in at first wasn’t just a large room, but a large entrance area, very similar to the king palace’s ball room or even the crown prince’s, though this one was even larger. Well, duke was well over five-hundred years old so…Cale turned around to face the old duke, a serious expression on his face. Fredo understood his expression immediately, and without any delay, he guided Cale to the closest room to them. They didn’t have much time, after all.
Silently, Cale sat down on the ruby couch and after closing the door, Fredo followed. The vampire sighed, finally breaking the silence. He had turned very serious, just like the originally redheaded person in front of him.
“Quit the lies and tell me everything if you don’t want me to go right back to where I came from.”
Cale’s threat was clear. The redhead had been aware that the vampire had been hiding some of the information; most probably the weightiest one that would make Alberu and Eruhaben immediately say no to him taking Cale with him. And while they didn’t notice, Cale sure did.
“Haaa, call me father from now on, it’s better for your cover.”
Cale rolled his eyes and waited for the vampire to speak. It took him a couple seconds, but in the end he indeed did start to talk.
“What do you wanna know?”
The redhead raised his brows, which was answer enough for Fredo. The vampire sighed and leaned back.
“You’re a really cranky teen, you know? I mean, you looked like you were behaving, but right now you’re definitely not. Are all teens like that?”
The young noble rolled his eyes and crossed his hands. He had no intention of answering Fredo’s strange question. In all honesty, not all teens were like that. Back when Kim Rok Soo was a teen and still in high school, he was anything other than cranky. I mean, taking whatever he got without asking anything, accepting anything was definitely not petty or anything like that. But no one needed to know.
“That really hurts right now, you know?”
Cale’s glare got only colder, his expression even more stoically and he raised his brows, waiting for Fredo to finally answer properly. The vampire let out a deep sigh, then finally complied.
“Alright, alright, I’m giving up. You know, what I said before wasn’t wrong. You have to act like my son and-“
“That’s not what I’m asking for.”
Fredo stopped in his tracks for a moment, then leaned forward, his usual grin on his face. He shrugged and pointed at himself.
“You’re gonna have to meet some really annoying people with me.”
The look in the vampire’s eyes did not match the grin on his smile at all. Cale knew by his eyes that while he was smiling, he was also serious about this. Maybe, just maybe he wasn’t as stupid and as much of a douchebag as he seemed at first glance.
“You’ll also have to be alone with him, and you’ll have to find a way to get rid of him for me. I suppose it’ll be easy if you get to know him, right?”
Cale frowned but didn’t contradict the vampire duke’s statement. He probably would really manage to find a way to get this vampire to overtake this stupid kingdom, probably even in no time. But that was not the main point right now.
“That’s not it either. Who is that guy, how strong is he, what’s his baking like – answer these questions.”
Almost immediately after Cale finished speaking, there was a very odd grin on Duke Fredo’s face. It was very intriguing and unsettled Cale.
“Well, I would suggest you find that out for yourself. Just let me tell you that he’s no joke, my dear Naru~”
And just like that, all of the vampire’s playfulness reappeared. Cale knew that, even though the man behaved like that, he meant what he had said.
In the meantime, Alberu got a very odd feeling. It was akin to regret, almost as if he knew that something bad was about to happen. He looked up from the children’s book he was currently reading to Raon and made eye contact with Ron the very moment the old butler made eye contact with him. Well, out of everyone (excluding Beacrox who was frowning in the kitchen right now too), the two of them knew Cale the longest (one better than the other). They had unimaginable senses when it came to that boy. And those special senses were telling them that something was about to go wrong, and big time at that.
“Cale will be fine, right?”
Ron smiled benignly and nodded.
“Naturally he will.”
Truth to be told, while the old butler did say that, he wasn’t that sure himself.
“What are you talking about, cookie prince?! Of course the weak human will be fine!”
Alberu slightly smiled and patted the young dragon’s head in Cale’s stead. He knew that his best friend would have done that. It also calmed Raon down a bit.
“Yes, he will be fine.”
‘At least I hope so.’
Alberu did not speak his mind out loud.
Notes:
Hi!
I'm so sorry it took me so long to answer, and then this chapter turned out so short too! (I swear to god, I'll make up for this in the next chapters, they won't be as boring as this one and so much longer, really, I promise!)! I simply had to focus on my English presentation and studies, so I had very little time. This weekend for example, I've woken up and studied the whole day besides when I was eating lunch and dinner! I swear to god, if I could have posted anything, I would have! But I was so tired and then I simply went to bed (to ao3 actually, but you can't judge me!).This chapter must be really disappointing, especially since it turned out so dragged. Truth to be told, I wrote little by little every single day this week, so if anything doesnt make any sense, blame it on the me from monday, tuesday or wednesday. I swear to you, the next chapters will be really good! I just needed one that will be a bridge and lead to them, so this is my bridge.
Now, I really know it turned out bad, so I'm sorry for that too.
Either way, at least my stu-dying paid off. I got a 1-2 (around 90~95 percen) in my biology test and I'll get my ethic exam back tomorrow (I'm really nervous about that, hahaha) Like what if I failed after all my stu-dying?
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щAnyways, I hope you could find a way to get through this terrible chapter (I DO KNOW IT'S BAD), I hope you'll have higher expectations for the next one (sorry to disappoint you today (ʃ_⌣̀ ))
Then, until next time! Thanks for reading this crappy thing after all!
(´ ▽｀)ｏ♥♡
(I REALLY APPRECIATE IT; NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE BETTER; PROMISE!!!!)
Chapter 34: 32. A slacker's talent (2)
Summary:
Bye, bye White Radish~ have fun coming back home~
Notes:
Small scammer warning ;)
There's scamming in this chapter, hehe
(No trigger warning tho, not yet, hihi)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Zed Crossman was a very busy man. As the king of the Roan Kingdom, he had many meetings to attend, many documents to sign and many things to approve or disapprove (mostly suggestions from his people) – not to forget his tiring personal meetings with the dissatisfied Duke Orsena, who was bewailing about anything.
As such, there was very little free time the man had. If he wasn’t in the meeting hall, his office or with the persistent Duke, he was sitting in his personal bedroom chambers and recalling old memories, not to forget them. But truth to be told, he was solely waiting for his guardian knight and best friend, Lucas, to come bring new information about all kinds of things the king needed to keep an eye on. Next to him, there stood a hooded individual that didn’t even belong to this room, yet still remained by Zed Crossman’s side.
“How’s the situation in the northeast?”
Zed looked up from the bracelet in his hands and made eye contact with his left hand man. The hooded individual’s golden eyes were piercing his soul – at least it felt like that a lot. Zed shrugged, already used to his friend after spending such a long time together.
“I think Deruth finally lost it. It’s a good thing we didn’t tell him.”
The hooded man scoffed, put his hands on his hips before shaking his head and crossing them. He took a deep breath, then left out a deep sigh, finally letting down the hood and revealing his ashen colored hair. For him being the same age as Zed, which was almost fifty, he looked no older than his mid-twenties. Well, it probably all came from him being above a highest grade magician, probably even on par with a powerful dragon.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve got nothing to do with him no more.”
The magician continued to shake his head until he finally sat down on the couch opposite of Zed.
“If you told him, that would have been a lot better, you know?”
Zed shook his head.
“It wouldn’t have been. You don’t know anything about Deruth. The man might have been righteous once, but ever since meeting Jour and getting obsessed over her, he’s gotten corrupted.”
At that, the magician knew no response. In the end, there was no way Zed was lying as he was right. Deruth had changed a long time ago from their friend to something…crazy.
But there was still this little hope he had, the hope that Deruth would somehow come around. That he would realize his mistakes and admit all of his sins – though most probably, the man had forgotten all about the magician and Sir Lucas.
“Haaa, I hate it when you’re right.”
The magician drove his hand through his fluffy hair. If he had had a wife, she would have to be extremely jealous of other women because of the man’s incredibly handsome features. Truth to be told, Sir Lucas was handsome as well, but both he and the king couldn’t do anything against their aging process.
“Anyways, what about your kid? I didn’t hear anything from him for the past month. Is he plotting somethin’?”
There was no need to specify which kid. Zed had three children, three boys. Out of all of them, there was only one he accepted as his ‘child’. It was the first prince that was rumored to have the worst relationship with the king. It was quite the irony how Zed didn’t manage to show any affection for that child in public, not even in private openly. But he did care. After all, Alberu was all he had left now.
Contrary than some other man, he intended to protect what his love left him.
“I doubt that. Jour’s kid’s now living with him, so I suppose they’re having cookie and tea time.”
The magician snorted upon hearing Zed mention Jour’s child, aka Cale.
“What shit did Deruth do now?”
Zed shook his head and got up, putting down the bracelet he had held on to a while ago on the nightstand.
“It doesn’t matter what he did or what he didn’t do. His child is a very…special one, so it’s for the better if he’s with Alberu.”
The magician scoffed and got up from his seat as well. He patted off his clothes (as if the king’s chambers would have been dirty), a slight smirk on his lips.
“Don’t let Lucas hear you. I swear, for Jour’s kid, he’ll ruthlessly kill you off, then kill me and then your kiddo.”
Zed shrugged.
“He can’t kill you.”
At that, the magician couldn’t help but chuckle. While that was the truth…
“But he will.”
…Sir Lucas would manage to find some way to achieve his goal, be it the righteous way or a crazy ass “evil” one. He wasn’t by the king’s side for nothing, after all.
“Let’s not talk about this right now. I’m just saying that he’s busy with that child.”
The magician smirked as he watched the king walk forward to the window, his hands entangled behind his back. Looking out of this very window, it was not difficult to spot the crown prince’s bedroom chambers which he also utilized as his office. It had been the magician’s work, since the two palaces were in complete difficult directions.
Thinking about his own creation, the magician followed the king and stood next to him. Honestly, Zed Crossman’s life was a sad one. No, not just his, everyone he knew had a sad ending; his cherished wife, his cherished wife’s friend and his close friends. The magician and Sir Lucas would have a bad ending too; it wasn’t that they were unaware of it.
“You sure about that? They didn’t go out in three weeks.”
Zed shrugged, trying to spot the two old men and the young one that were constantly in his child’s room. He spotted the benign old butler, but there was no sign of the elf or the young, redheaded child that elf was practically glued to. Hm, how strange. He didn’t spot the redhead a couple days now.
Could it be that Cale returned to the Henituse territory?
Shaking his head, Zed immediately dismissed that possibility. There was no chance of something like this happening.
“Hey Zed,”
The king hummed and waited for the magician next to him to speak.
“I think he’s gone.”
Almost immediately, the graceful king’s head spun around and he stared at the magician next to him with wide eyes.
“What do you mean ‘he’s gone’?”
The powerful magician shrugged and pointed at the imaginary scenery in front of the window.
“See? Your son’s sitting while doing nothing. When did that kid ever do nothing? He was always doing something.”
This time, Zed Crossman’s eyes grew larger in realization. How come he didn’t notice?! Of course something had happened, something went wrong! Wait…was Cale kidnapped?! No, no, no, no, there was no way of something like that happening. His son wouldn’t let that happen.
But what was it then?
It’s already been a month since his son had started to act much calmer, and three weeks since he didn’t leave his room.
Was it something serious?
Should he send Lucas to check it out?
At the same time, while the king was worrying about his son and while Alberu was worrying about a certain redhead, a small child was mindlessly eating one cookie after the other while sitting on a wine red couch. Neither he, nor the person sitting opposite to him, minded the cookie crumbs that were falling down from him eating the cookies.
Stretching out his hand to get yet another, a large and scarred hand stopped him from doing so. The man sitting opposite from him that was not his supposed father smiled benignly. Contrary to a certain old butler’s smile, it did not look friendly or nice – it didn’t portray any other emotion or feeling either. It was just an empty smile with nothing behind it. The whitehaired child sighed as he sat up straight, fixing his curled up, white sleeves.
The man with half of his face hidden behind a mask sighed. His dark, raven hair was of heavy contrast to the clear and spotless white of the mask. This man, Cale knew him – and not only because of his past meetings with him in the last month. It was the very same man that had been at the slave auction two years ago, the one that left in the very beginning.
“Naru, you should eat more healthily. You get sick so often. Do you not want to see me as often?”
Naru, who was actually Cale, would have loved to roll his eyes at that very moment. Truth to be told; yes! Yes, he did not want to see this man who called himself ‘White Star’ as often as he was ‘forced’ to by Fredo and his ‘job’. There was nothing he wanted to do more than to play sick every now and then to let Solena, Duke Fredo’s right-arm, butler and whatever else she was handle the visiting White Star. Really, Cale didn’t care.
Over the course of the past month, he had met the White Star twelve times already. That guy, he was crazy! He always talked about such stupid and idiotic things while handing out cookies and lots of presents – the only good thing about him. Every now and then, another person was accompanying him, one of the other three nobles of the Endable Kingdom.
Naru sighed as he shook his head.
“Eldest uncle, how could I dare think that?”
The White Star laughed and immediately patted the child he believed to be Naru on the head. He was smiling, but his eyes were cold and distant – a real menace. Cale would have loved to stab this man in the chest right now and run away; sadly it was impossible to do so since this very man seemed to be an immortal regressor. How he came to be one though was something Duke Fredo didn’t know – or didn’t want to tell him.
Cale was not stupid. He knew that there was no way he could trust some vampire that had been observing or rather stalking him for the past two years, even if it was the order of the White Star. Probably that was exactly why Cale didn’t trust Fredo. He had seen that old and sly vampire converse with the White Star. There was no sign whatsoever that showed that he was currently betraying the White Star, overthrowing his plans or doing anything that would be of threat to him.
And while Cale did stay with that very vampire, there was no need to rely on him.
“Eldest uncle, I heard you’ll be gone for a while? Will it take long?”
Cale would have loved to spit out anything he had had in his mouth after he had said that. He hated to speak so cute and childishly in front of the White Star. Sure, the masked man pretended to like and cherish him, but his eyes told a whole different tale. The seemingly immortal man chuckled and patted Naru’s head once more.
“Does someone miss me already?”
‘No, not one bit you fucker. Have a good, long trip. When you’ll come back, you’ll bail your eyes out for not having a place to return to.’
“I do. Eldest uncle, I already see you so few times. Must you go?”
The White Star chuckled more and more while shaking his head. He let out a deep sigh as he nodded.
“Unfortunately I really have to. But don’t worry, Naru, I’ll get it over with as quickly as possible to return to you.”
What was coming out of the White Star’s mouth was naturally utter bullshit. His eyes were telling Cale that he wouldn’t hurry up, not even a bit. He would take as much time as he needed to get whatever he was planning on doing done before he would return here. And that was exactly what Cale had hoped for. The White Star being gone for as much time as possible would give him the opportunity to overthrow this kingdom, kick out all the nobles besides Fredo.
“Will the Marquis-nim go with you?”
Cale made his most innocent and clueless expression he could. As Naru, he had a good and even relative-like relationship with Marquis Gersey. Marquis Gersey was the noble that was closest to the White Star if one disregarded Fredo. He was always by his side like a small dog following its owner since it didn’t know what to do. Ever since Fredo gave this information to Cale, the redhead immediately went to the demonic church to build a close relationship with Marquis Gersey for such cases.
Marquis Gersey, while being the White Star’s dog, was also the highest priest of the demonic church, controlling all church activities. While Cale didn’t know why the White Star was so intervened with the demonic church, it didn’t matter. Fact is, for Cale to do anything; the White Star’s puppy had to get out of the way. Especially if that puppy wasn’t just a small dog but a real hunting beast with large power.
The White Star, unaware of Cale’s hidden intentions, put on a bitter smile, one that once again didn’t reach his eyes, as he nodded his head.
“He will. I’m sorry Naru, I know you’re trying to build up your relationship with the Marquis, which makes him very happy, but I have to take him with me this time. You can play with him next time.”
‘It makes him happy my ass. He spends time with me since you seemingly cherish me, you fucking dipshit.’
While having such thoughts on the inside, Naru was smiling on the outside and nodded his head in understanding.
“If eldest uncle says so it must be true. I wish you a good trip. Please come back soon.”
Behind this room, a certain man was rolling on the floor while dying of laughter.
The White Star, who had no idea of what was happening in the soundproof room next to him, only nodded with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes once again. He patted Naru’s head once more (the guy really had an addiction problem at this point) and got up. Then he did the one thing Cale actually liked about him.
Pulling out a golden check with a one and countless zeros behind it.
“Be good while I’m gone. I know your father always gives you much allowance, but what else are elder uncles for other than another money source? Go buy something nice with this. Also, I gave all of your presents to your servants, so they should be in your room.”
The White Star then handed over the check to a brightly smiling Cale. He chuckled, thinking all children were like that, while not being the least bit amused. He then proceeded to walk out, yet stopped before exiting the room, turning around one last time. Seeing that, Cale got his act together one more time, putting in the most clueless, innocent and cutest expression he could muster up.
“Don’t miss me too much, Naru. I’ll come visit you as soon as I get back. It won’t take longer than a week or a week and a half at most, alright?”
Cale nodded and with that confirmation, the White Star finally exited the room.
‘Don’t worry, fucking bastard. In a week, you won’t have anything to come back to either way. Let the shitshow commence.’
The smirk that appeared on Cale’s lips while the boy was holding onto the White Star’s money check with one hand, and onto one of the White Star’s cookies (that were better than Alberu’s cookies) with the other, could only be described as devilish.
The vampire in the other room, who had been cracking up, laughing like a maniac until his stomach hurt a few minutes ago, now got the chills after seeing the boy with that kind of expression. Nevertheless, he somehow managed to get out of the safety of those four walls and entered the room Cale had conversed with the White Star just now through the hidden room.
“Naru~ my son~”
Cale rolled his eyes, finishing the cookie and putting away the money check he got into his spacial beg. The money he got from the White Star in the past twelve meetings (now thirteen) was the same amount he got from Alberu in the course of the last three years – which was probably thrice the amount any noble would have ever had (excluding the royal family and the Henituse County).
“Stop this. You don’t have to pretend any longer since it’s just the two of us.”
Fredo smiled a very mysterious smile that seemed to have a second meaning to it, yet Cale managed to ignore it elegantly. There was no need to try to understand something from a person he would never meet again after this.
“But Naru~ this really hurts your father, you know that~?”
Cale ignored Fredo completely now and took another cookie. Damn, he really loved the White Star’s cookie. Those tasting better than his best friend’s cookies was truly bothersome to him. He’d have to tell Alberu to do something for his cookies.
“Naru~ my son~ don’t ignore your father~”
Fredo’s whining was annoying and ignored. Instead, Cale started to think what he would have to do in the next week while the White Star would be gone with Marquis Gersey.
The Endable Kingdom was a very new kingdom. It was only fifteen years old and hence pretty little in comparison to the Roan Kingdom for example. It was divided into three large floors and three sections. The first section that was the deepest floor was the floor the nobles and the White Star resided in. The second section, that was the middle floor, was the demonic church floor. And the third section, the highest floor, was the floor normal civilians resided in. It a stupid infrastructure for an underground kingdom, but there was nothing Cale could do against it – other than to force a reform by blowing up stuff.
It being a new kingdom, it also had corresponding little stability. It had one leader, one king, which was the White Star, and four nobles to which Duke Fredo and Marquis Gersey counted. Those two were taken care of, since Fredo was on Cale’s side and Gersey wouldn’t be here. This would leave Count Mock and Countess Hubesha, though Cale had a rough idea how to take care of one of the two of them.
While the infrastructure of the Endable Kingdom was incredibly stupid, it was advantageous to Cale right now. Since the first and second sections were below the first, he wouldn’t have to worry about the third section – the civilians – being in danger while creating a shitshow. And when he was done with that, they would put the blame on the White Star. Since the man only arrived here fifteen years ago and only stopped by occasionally, never being here longer than one month per year (okay, sometimes it were two), this lie would be fine and most importantly believable to the citizen (other than the nobles, but that was another issue Cale would take care of).
Nodding to himself, a scammer like smirk appeared on Cale’s face.
During the shitshow on the first and second section, everyone would escape and thus leave the gold and money as well as jewelry – treasures – behind. Cale would be able to become even richer now! Just the thought of him looting Count Mock’s money made the boy grin like a lunatic, body filled with anticipation and excitement.
Fredo and Cale needed to take care of the political stuff. For that, they would have five days. After, Cale would create a shitshow on the sixth or seventh (or both) days and secretly (which meant without Duke Fredo and without his knowledge) loot the Endable Kingdom’s money. They weren't the bad guys, not at all, but Count Mock was annoying as hell, Fredo was a lunatic and Countess Hubesha was very unpleasant. And Count Gersey, well Cale could never stand him in the first place.
Just by watching Cale grin like that, Fredo got chills. He looked around the room. It seemed to have gotten a lot colder all of a sudden.
~
Count Mock, he was known as the most hated, or at least unappreciated, nobles of the Endable Kingdom. He had a mean personality and he was incredibly selfish and unpleasant to be with. He being ugly didn’t exactly matter much, but it was nothing positive about him either. Count Mock was known to be greedy. No one really understood how he got promoted to Count, especially since there were ninety-six citizens that were awaiting their noble title from the White Star. How on earth did someone like Count Mock get it, was the big, million dollar question.
The answer for that was really easy, honestly. While most nobles in waiting kept dreaming about them being noble and all that shit, Mock had a very simple motto: Give me money and I’ll do as I am told.
Since the White Star seemed to have a lot of money lying around, it wouldn’t exactly matter to use it to feed a stray dog and then make him dependent on that sort of feeding method. Mock’s loyalty was bought, and while usually it wouldn’t be considered real loyalty, Count Mock’s love for money turned it into real loyalty. He being greedy for power as well strengthened his bonds with the White Star even more, turning him one into one of his guardian puppies.
But that only worked as long as Count Mock received money and power from the White Star. This was pretty similar to an auction. The highest bid won.
With a bright smile that was hiding Cale’s true intentions, Cale in the body of Naru von Ejellan, let go of a sack twice the size of him and let it fall onto Count Mock’s desk in front of the man’s eyes. Mock’s eyes widened in disbelief as soon as he heard the clicking sound of coins hitting coins. He gulped and only hardly managed to look up from the big sack to Naru. It was an incredibly hard challenge to him, especially since he was aware of what was inside the sack. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to guess it.
“N-Naru, D-Duke?”
The stuttering of the usually over-confident man kind of satisfied Duke Fredo, who was standing behind Cale with his arms crossed. Cale didn’t tell him about this plan in detail – actually, he didn’t tell him about this plan at all. Fredo knew the reason for the kid doing so, which was mostly distrust, and he also didn’t really mind enjoying a good show.
“Count Mock.”
Mock gulped once more. His hands were trembling, be it in fear or excitement or even anticipation, perhaps it was even a mixture of all three. He was clearly hit off guard, wondering what this situation in front of him was supposed to mean.
“Y-Yes?”
But there was one thing Count Mock knew with certainty…
Cale smiled an innocent smile as he pushed the heavy gold sack towards Count Mock.
…which was that inside this sack that Naru van Ejellan and Duke Fredo had brought here, was much more money than he had ever received from the White Star.
“If I were you, I’d take the money and leave.”
The amount of money was probably even larger than what he would receive in two or three years. Count Mock gulped down, his hand started to tremble even more and even stronger. He was excited, his fear of this situation slowly vanished.
While Count Mock was greedy and loved money, he was incredibly stupid too. He wasn’t the least bit futuristic, which made him take the money and leave his own office in the end. He didn’t ask question, he didn’t say anything, he just straight up took the money, tore a teleportation scroll and vanished into thin air.
In all honesty, this was much easier than Cale had expected – but that was a good thing.
He’d rather have things easy than complicated.
The redhead’s smirk brightened. He had to get rid of one more noble, and a couple higher positioned priests, then he could wrap this up and return to Alberu and Raon. He missed the two of them, just like Ron, Beacrox and naturally Eruhaben very dearly.
“I suppose things go the way my son wants them to~?”
And just one sentence managed to completely ruin the boy’s mood. Clicking his tongue, Cale rolled his eyes and turned on his heels, walking out of the former Count’s office room, ignoring the vampire Duke following him and calling him son every second blatantly.
Ignorance was bliss in cases like this, after all.
No, that’s not quite true. Ignorance was bliss at all times, no matter the situation.
With fast steps that didn’t really match the small body and short legs of Naru van Ejellan’s small body, Cale exited Count Mock’s residence and instead walked out on the street, ignoring the quick vampire following his every step. Truth to be told, while Cale may have perceived his pace as quick, he wasn’t very fast in his steps. He really got quite tall in his original body…
In Cale’s original body…
Huh, how strange. Cale did think of Cale’s body as his. So by now, was it really his original body?
Shaking his head, Cale stopped thinking about bothersome things and returned to his temporary residence, aka Fredo’s Duchy. The vampire sighed as he watched Solena smile and serve the boy with all her heart. She really liked him a lot better than she liked her supposed master, and she only spent a bit more than a month with him!
While Fredo pretended to be angry or at least hurt, he was actually smiling. It was because, even though Cale thought he was having ill intentions, the vampire Duke did not. He really, really liked this boy. Actually, he wanted to have him over for more than just a mere month. In the past two years he kept observing him, he had really taken a liking to Cale. He didn’t call him son just because he had a big mouth with nothing behind it.
In the meantime, while Fredo kept smiling so carelessly, a certain ancient dragon punched the wall, groaning as he put it back together before the building could crumble. His body was tense and he was nervous – extremely nervous even. The past week, he had gone around with either Beacrox or Ron and naturally Raon, to go look for any traces of Cale. Fuck, they had been all over the continent and even asked Glenn and Bud for help, yet nothing! No-fucking-thing came out of their search! It was either as if that fucking vampire bastard like douchebag had taken Cale onto a whole different continent (which would honestly be impossible) or that he had taken them some place where the presence of people was suppressed, meaning they couldn’t be found.
But fuck it, Eruhaben didn’t care! Cale said four weeks (actually it was a month but nobody counted) and those were over so where the hell was he!? If something was to happen to that redheaded brat…destruction this whole country hadn’t seen before would befall it!
Eruhaben wasn’t the only one thinking that way. Out of everyone, including Ron and even the young Raon, the dear crown prince was the most anxious and stressed about this current situation. He did not know what to do, what to say, what to think, what to…to, fuck it!
He trusted Cale unconditionally, no questions asked, but he didn’t trust the person he departed with, not even as far as he could throw him (which wasn’t very far at all). That fucking maniac came in here, spouting bullshit like the Roan Kingdom going under in about ten years. What sane person would believe that!?
This continent was stable, contrary to the Whipper Kingdom or Mongoru Empire or even the fucking Breck Kingdom! The Roan Kingdom had a good king (even though he wasn’t a good father [was what Alberu thought]), stable rules and stable rulers. Sure, there was always Duke Orsena and his vessels, who wanted things no king would ever grant them, but besides that it was f-i-n-e!
There was no fight for the throne like in the Breck Kingdom (where princes and princesses either fought to their deaths or forfeited), and the citizen were happy and definitely not suppressed or discontent (like in the Whipper Kingdom)!
Alberu sighed and forced himself to stop clicking onto the floor with his shoe. His leg had been trembling ever since he started to think about the coming political confrontation between a couple neighboring continents which might lead to a larger war – one that wouldn’t involve the Roan Kingdom, no matter what!
And there was still this strange protagonist or whatever his name was Cale told him about! He would safe anything either way! So what did that asshole vampire mean?!
Alberu let out a shaky breath as he finally looked up from his desk. Almost immediately, he was faced with a benignly smiling butler, handing him a cup of sweet tea. It was Cale’s favorite. The crown prince put the teacup down and drove his hand through his golden strands of hair. His nervousness, helplessness – fuck! It made him sick to the bone! Why on earth could he have all the power he had ever desired and still feel this shitty!? Not just him, there was a fucking dragon in this room that felt shitty, helpless and anxious even though he had all the power in the world as well! It made no sense!!!
How could Cale be the source of all of these problems! He was one big, walking trouble magnet! Hell, Alberu wouldn’t ever let him leave this room – no, the bed – ever again! In the very near future, Alberu would have come to realize that he should have done just that.
“Your highness, you need to at least drink if you’re not even eating.”
Alberu dismissed Ron’s monotone sounding voice and stared at the blank paper in front of him. No, it wasn’t actually blank. It was filled with a lot of strange symbols no one inside this room would be able to comprehend. It was a language Cale had taught him, it was the Korean language from earth. And hidden in those strange symbols were hundreds of different ways to make a certain vampire pay for taking away Cale for so long.
But before Alberu could pick up his normal pen (all fountain pens inside his palace were thrown out the moment he got back from his last trip to the Henituse County), a certain black paw held him down. The usually cheerfully and energized young dragon looked incredibly sad.
“Cookie prince, please drink tea! The human would be happy if you drank tea.”
It was solely because of Raon’s sad look that Alberu gave in and picked up the small cup from the table. The young Raon cheered up a bit after seeing Alberu drink the tea.
And while Cale’s family members were worried sick for him, the redhead let Fredo throw open the gates to Countess Hubesha’s County. With a scamming grin on his face, he entered the dark garden, ready to get a couple things done and then start with the real shitshow.
Notes:
Hi!
I love spending my friday evening writing! I really do! I even managed to finish this chapter before midnight (so I'm really proud of mysefl!). A quick update for my quick readers! Since I'll be busy with my English presentation for quite a while until early February, I thought I should use every oppurtunity I got to update my fic! I still havent started with deep diving into my topic...haaa...since I've just scratched on the surface
(ʃ_⌣̀ )/|| щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
Oh well, I'll somehow pull it off (hopefully)!
By the way, I got my ethics exam back! I got a 2-/B-/75~79%/4-. I should be satisfied with that grade (especially since many have got it worse than me), but I'm really not. I know I could have done better! Like pls let me get the grade I want! I stu-died a lot for this exam and I expected better from myself. Well, I suppose I still got the next exam on which I'll have to give my all...haaa...Anyways, I'm invited to the birthday party of my best friend tomorrow (at least one of my two best friends). I'm excited since she's excited. A lot of our friends will be there! Furthermore, it's really good since it finally snowed at my place this week, so it's got a magical touch to it (idk if my words make sense, I guess I'm a tad too tired to think straight right now). But think positively, you've got your chapter, you've got your cliffhanger, you've got a good chapter I ACTUALLY approve of, so thing's turned out fine!
I really hope you do like this chapter, since I'm really fine and okay with it (surely I'll think differently tomorrow, but we don't care about that here hehe)
♥♡(´ ▽｀)ｏ♥♡
Thank you very much for reading, and until next time!
(and thank you sooooo much for the cheering comments on the last chapter, they really made me feel better about it, tho I still hate it haha)
( ˘ ³˘)❤
Chapter 35: 33. A slacker's talent (3)
Summary:
Unexpected Variable~
Notes:
No trigger warning here yet again, but look at this as the calm before the strom, hehe~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Taking care of Section two of the Endable kingdom, where the high priests of the demonic church resided, was a piece of cake; especially since Cale left that job to Fredo and his trusted subordinates. It really was no big deal and that way, it was less bothersome for him – especially since he would have to take of Countess Hubesha. It took him about two seconds to decide whether he should approach the prideful Countess alone or with Fredo, but decided to let the man accompany him.
While it was enough to hand some money to Count Mock, Countess Hubesha was a whole different deal. She was prideful and put her faith in the White Star – enough for her to blindly follow him around and fulfill his every order as if it was god’s word.
Thus Cale’s strategy regarding her was rather simple.
‘Lie to survive’.
It was easy, really.
Countess Hubesha frowned as she was informed by one of her knights that stood guard for her about the arrival of the house van Ejellan. Hubesha wasn’t the biggest of fan of either Naru or Fredo and only put up with them since she had no other choice as the White Star seemed to like the two of them rather much. Personally, she found the vampire to be slimy and incredibly arrogant. While she couldn’t do anything against him since he was above her in not just hierarchy but also in terms of power, she still didn’t have the best of impressions of that annoying bastard. She also couldn’t comprehend what the White Star liked about that damn Fredo so much. Sure, in terms of power he was above many, but that was it. And since Naru was Fredo’s son, Countess Hubesha had a similar opinion of the boy.
And in all honesty, Fredo wasn’t that fond of her as well – and she knew it. Every time their paths crossed, they didn’t do more than the bare minimum, which was to quickly turn their gazes around before having to greet each other. So why was that vampire here, and with his son no less?
Especially at such a crucial time when she wasn’t able to reach Count Mock?
Sure, this wasn’t the first time such a thing occurred. There were countless of times when she wasn’t able to reach Count Mock; be it because he intentionally ignored her calls or accidentally ‘missed’ them, which was the same thing in the end. Yeah, she likes the money-crazed Mock just as much as he liked her.
Still, he was a reliable man nonetheless when it came to things that involved the White Star. She sighed, pushing her suspicions back for now. Nevertheless, one things was certain, something very suspicious was currently going on – and she didn’t like missing it, not in the least bit.
At the same time, Cale frowned as he was guided upstairs by one of the two knights that had been standing in front of the gates to Countess Hubesha’s Estate, properly guarding it from foes even though the possibility of an intruder entering was beyond slim. Obviously, they were standing there to prove their faith and loyalty to Countess Hubesha, standing guard as a sign that Hubesha was a prideful and honorary knight not just at heart.
Slightly shaking his head, Cale disregarded this. To him, things such as pride and honor were useless. Everyone always talked about such things, but in truth, when things got tough, people tended to act very selfish and disregarded simple concepts such as pride and honor. What use did one’s pride have if one didn’t have food and couldn’t bring himself to ask someone “less” for a piece of bread? What use did honor have when one was faced with a “survival of the fittest-situation”?
Cale, who experienced the world fall into chaos, knew best. Prideful men who had talked about the country’s union, people’s rights and democratic things, shit like that, were the first ones to hypocritically throw all of their former ambitions over board and resolve to violence to get the thing one desired. People who always pledged to be honorary were the first to die. And then there were those few exceptions; prideful men and women alike who couldn’t bring themselves to throw away their pride and remained that until their last breaths, which came much sooner than they could have come.
In a broken world, simple concepts had no use. And while Countess Hubesha may not be human, it was the same for everyone. Cale knew that very well. He was a trash, after all. While he had never been something hypocritical like prideful or honorary, he had experienced the people around him change. As always, there were people who managed to apply those simply concepts in a world filled with monsters and death around every corner like Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo, but that wasn’t the same.
Cale sighed, finally getting rid of such stupid thoughts. Now that he was thinking about it, since when did his mind wander off to things such as these? Didn’t he promise himself to stop thinking about useless crap such as the past? When did he even start thinking about these two people?
With a bitter taste on his tongue, Cale finally turned his attention back to reality, only to notice that the honorary knight had lead them to their destination; a big, wooden door with a silver handle – as if to say that one was high in rank but not the big boss.
“We’re here, Duke.”
Fredo had a somewhat generous smile on his lips as he nodded. While the knight found his smile to be reassuring, Cale could see the layer hidden beneath it. Fredo seemed excited, probably because his relationship with Hubesha wasn’t the best either. Looking back at it, Cale couldn’t help but scoff. He had no clue how the White Star did it – how he controlled four nobles under him that hated each other more than they hated anything else. It was truly something else.
~
“A cup of tea, Miss?”
A smile appeared on an old man’s face. That old man, as similar as he might seem, was not Ron Molan. He was a lot older, not just appearance-, but also count-wise. His hair wasn’t a mix of greyish-brown, but of a pure, white color with silver strands. His eyes weren't a cool brown, but had rather an almost colorless, whitish appearance. No, they didn’t just appear that way, they were that way. The old man, who also wore an old butler’s outfit that was composed of a black butler’s suit and a white shirt, was wearing a golden monocle. And while it might sound impossible, while serving the Lady sitting on the garden chair tea, he was standing and behaving in a much more elegant way than the butler of a certain redhead could.
The lady smiled as she nodded her head, watching as the old man bent forward and grabbed her tea cup, swiftly and effortlessly tilting the tea can and filling the tea cup with tea. The aroma of that tea was incredibly soothing and calming, perhaps because the tea was supposed to have such an impact.
The lady received the tea cup given to her by her butler and took a sip out of it immediately. There were a lot of things weighing down on her mind, for example her “business” and “personal” problems, but with a bit of luck, all of that would disappear after this one meeting. She looked at the crystal orb standing next to her on the garden table. It showed her the scenery of a small but somewhat luxurious castle, or rather one of its not-so-luxurious rooms. There stood a brown couch that almost seemed black with a certain, white haired kid sitting on it while looking incredibly bored.
After confirming that the scenery inside the orb was still the same as when she had looked at it less than a minute ago, she picked it up and handed it over to the one person she trusted the most, here and when she was still “alive”.
“Tell me if something happens, Rowell.”
The butler, Rowell, smiled as he nodded his head and gladly received the crystal orb, together with the task his lady assigned him. No matter what one may say, he was the most competent butler in the universe, unrivaled in all three; manners, attitude and skills. Bowing down one last time, Rowell excused himself and entered the vast castle that looked like one out of a children’s book. It was built with purely white bricks, and even though it had remained standing over thousands of years, there still wasn’t a single speck of dirt on it.
The castle was enormous, no matter how one looked at it. There were golden windows and many other luxurious aspects that represented the wealth of the person who owned the castle, but the list of them would be too long to mention. Yet, the garden in which the lady was sitting and having tea, looked by far more beautiful and expensive than the castle could ever hope to be. Perhaps it was because of the various flowers, one of which looked more authentic than the other, or maybe it was simply because the garden was so well kept.
Or, which was the most likely out of these options; it was because of the beautiful lady sitting inside of it. Her wavy, gingerly-copper hair, that reached past her waist, was pulled up in a lose bun and her amber eyes seemed to have regained their shine, which they had lost so many years ago. Her emerald dress only highlighted her pale skin and rosy cheeks. All in all, the woman was like the most gorgeous existence in this garden.
Yet, after a few minutes, that changed. It was the moment, that a tall and well-built man entered this garden. While the theme of the garden and the woman sitting in it seemed to be “fragile” and “sensible”, the man’s whole appearance represented the whole opposite. He was wearing various robes and flats, resulting in his clothes resembling the ones described in ancient Greek or Egyptian myths. But those clothes weren’t covering his muscular chest, just enough for people to not feel uncomfortable around him. If his toned body wasn’t enough to practically yell ‘masculinity’, his face sure did. He had and incredibly sharp jawline and a triangular, handsome face. His shining, ruby eyes seemed to be glowing, no, more than just that; and his blonde hair wasn’t just blonde, no, it seemed to be made out of pure gold. And while the man’s body was sure toned, it was just enough for him to not appear to be “too” muscular. He was…indeed perfect, no matter how one looked at it.
Yet, as godly as that man may appear, his behavior was anything but that. With a mischievous smirk, the man sat down on the garden chair opposite of the woman’s and leaned back, as if this was his home and not someone else’s. He remained that way, waiting for a formal greeting. There was no way he would have said something first – the woman knew that. And she also knew that the man she had summoned would be able to keep up that attitude of his for many more years, if not centuries, to come.
Thus, since her business with the man was somewhat urgent, she let out a sigh and shook her head.
“I greet you, God of Time and Space.”
The blonde man, no, the blonde god, smirked and gave an approving nod.
“Ye, hi to ya too.”
The ginger haired woman, as annoyed as she was feeling, suppressed her desire to hit the man on the head and make him regret his attitude. He was much younger than her no not just that, he was THE youngest of all the gods, yet ever since day one, all of them had to get used to this kind of speech and attitude of his. But in all honesty, it was fair. The God of Time and Space was a bit different from every other god, including the God of Life and God of Death, the two most powerful gods besides the God of Time and Space out there. While people turned to gods after their deaths in their late teens to late twenties usually, the God of Time and Space ascended even before turning ten.
Naturally, before one could become a god, one must undergo several trials and burdens, show an unbreakable will and unique attitude, as well as unrivaled strength. One must have experienced sorrow, despair and anger. One must have seen the downsides of life and a little more than just that.
No one knew who the God of Time and Space had been before he ascended to become a god, and he sure as hell didn’t tell anyone about his past. But it made people wonder how someone so little became a god; and not just some side-god like the God of Nature or God of Moon. Hell, he could have become the God of War as well, but no, for some reason, he became the God of Time and Space.
Shaking off her strange and somewhat sorrow filled thoughts, the woman, or rather the God of Life, shook her head and smiled at the man opposite to her. Despite everything, that man had been up here with her and that fucking God of Death for more than just one or two thousand years. The past didn’t matter now either way, but what did matter was the future. The only reason the God of Life kept it in the back of her head – similar to all of the other gods – was because the God of Time and Space was something unique and special, even amongst the gods.
“Ye, why did ya summon me, ah?”
Seemingly thoughtlessly, the God of Time and Space reached his hand and took away the God of Life’s tea cup, then brought it to his lips. Already knowing what was about to happen, the God of Life sighed in defeat as she watched the handsome god sniff on the tea, make a sour expression before shaking his head in disappointment and putting the cup back down.
Oh well, what did she expect?
“I need your help with something.”
At that sudden, but not unexpected exclamation, the God of Time and Space arched his brows, waiting for a more thorough explanation, one that didn’t come. Turning more serious, the handsome and masculine god (the godliest out of all of them), let out a scoff. But almost as if something like that didn’t happen to begin with, soon his smirk reappeared on his lips and he seemed to be amused by the goddess in front of him.
“Y’all seem to need ma help these days, eh?”
The ridiculing smirk on the man’s lips was ignored as the God of Life just shrugged.
“Who told you to help that bastard?”
At that, the God of Time and Space chuckled, obviously amused.
“True, true. So what can I do for ya?”
Furrowing her brows at how easy it was to make the God of Time and Space listen to her, the gorgeous goddess continued. It wasn’t like she had the best of relationships with that god, no; actually, she didn’t have any relationship with him at all. It wasn’t that the God of Life was busy while creating life, no, such a thing wasn’t something that she had to do. Rather than to create life, she had to create fates and bestow blessings upon certain people she deemed worthy. And while it was a time consuming task, it was something that was fun and more like a hobby rather than an actual task.
Thus, the goddess had lots of time to go to social events where she also talked to other gods. For example, she and the God of Sun got along rather well, while she and that bastard the God of War seemed to dislike each other, mostly because the God of War was rather close to the God of Death. The God of Nature was also someone she liked. And while the God of Life didn’t go out too much, she did try to build relationships with her fellow gods.
The reason why she didn’t have any kind of relationship with the God of Time and Space despite that was very simple actually: It was that he never went to these kinds of events. And while the God of Time and Space had been there for easily four thousand years, it was difficult to see where he was standing. Well, not that it really mattered. He had helped the God of Death, so why wouldn’t he help her?
“I need you to turn time back.”
The first ten seconds after the God of Life revealed her request, the God of Time and Space remained to keep his mouth shut and stay serious, but after that, he busted out in loud laughter. He leaned forward, clutching his stomach and wiping the tears from the corner of his eye. Just as he managed to calm down and looked at the gorgeous goddess with the serious look, he blurted out in laughter again. He kept on doing so until the goddess frowned and turned her face away, making it impossible for the God of Time and Space to look at her expression, which made him stop his hysterical laughter.
“Haaa, y’all a bunch of crazy bitches, lemme tell ya.”
Unfaced by the man’s coarse language, the God of Life remained calm and raised her brows.
“Can you do it?”
Another ten serious seconds followed, before the God of Time and Space bust out in laughter once again. This time, it took him a bit longer to calm down, but he managed. After that, with a boyish grin on his face, he leaned back again, crossing his legs and shaking his head.
“Nope, no way babe~”
With her frown deepening, yet showing no other reaction towards the god calling her that, the God of Life shook her head.
“I won’t accept no for an answer. You did it for the fucking God of Death, so why can’t you do the same for me?”
The God of Time and Space shrugged calmly, a strange glint appeared in his eyes.
“I’m a sexist then.”
For a second, the God of Life actually though the god in front of her was serious, but then shook her head. No way the God of Time and Space was serious! Surely, this must be one of his idiotic excused to get out of this!
“Don’t lie.”
The God of Time and Space shrugged mindlessly, untouched by the God of Life’s angry voice. Well, he didn’t really think that this was gonna work to begin with, but oh well, it was worth a try, wasn’t it?
“Whatcha want me to say, eh? Tell me, and I’ll tell ya.”
The God of Life’s veins were close to popping, yet she managed to remain calm. No wonder the God of Death got along with this man so well! They were both scoundrels!
“Just tell me the truth! Why don’t you want to turn back the time?”
Seeing that the God of Life was slowly but surely getting infuriated, the God of Time and Space shrugged. While other gods, including the God of Death, might have gotten scared of her by now, or at least showed signs of answering with the truth to the goddess’ questions, the God of Time and Space showed no intentions of doing so.
“If I do that, I’d be breaking da rules, and we don’t want that, do we~?”
The God of Life pressed her cherry lips into a tight line, holding her angry shout in. Taking a couple seconds, in whom she managed to compose herself, she shook her head.
“You don’t care about the rules at all. Don’t give me bullshit like that! You helped that fucking bastard; you helped him make that stupid mistake! So why don’t you want to help me make things right!? Are you on the same side as him!?”
Mindlessly shrugging, unfaced with that sudden outburst once more, the God of Time and Space looked at one of the many roses growing in the garden. This particular rose was growing incredibly close to him. As he entered, there was no such rose. It had a very deep, crimson color. It was the same as his ruby eyes, so an incredibly unique and beautiful color.
“If that’s what makes things easier for ya, ya can think that way~”
“!?”
Seeing that this wasn’t the case too, the God of Life was left speechless. Judging by the God of Time and Space’s character, he was a rather easy-going individual. Surely, he wouldn’t take any side; be like the Switzerland – someone who kept neutral in all conflicts. He had as much involvement with the God of Death as he had with her, so why did he help him but not her?! Just what was the reason behind this whole mess?!
“I want the truth! So tell me the truth! If you don’t-“
At that threat, the God of Time and Space only raised his brow, obviously unimpressed by the goddess’ threats. Well, it wasn’t like she could do anything that would devastate this god either way and both of them knew that.
Sighing, the God of Time and Space shrugged. Now, instead of amused, he seemed bored. And in all honesty, the God of Life got chills over her body. She had a bad feeling about this god in front of her.
“Well, ya can think of this as my TV show~”
Frowning, as she clearly didn’t understand what the God of Time and Space meant with that odd analogy, the God of Life wanted to ask further. Ask him to explain more. But the God of Time and Space grinned like a young boy again and simply shrugged, the chills on her body also disappeared, as if they hadn’t been there to begin with.
“W-what TV-show? Is this a joke to you?”
The God of Life did not know how to handle the man sitting opposite to her. Did he honestly think that all of this wasn’t something serious but just a TV show? Was this incredibly special and rare case just a joke to him? He and the God of Death broke the rules almost eight years ago. And while their punishment was long over, it didn’t have to mean anything! It didn’t make the thing they did right! The God of Time and Space’s attitude only showed just how small of a child he still was inside him mind, no matter his masculine and grown up appearance!
Naturally, all of this was only half-true. What the gorgeous goddess failed to notice was the God of Time and Space’s cunning expression. Don’t get her wrong, the God of Life wasn’t just a powerhouse under the gods, she was also incredibly cunning, yet stressed and sleepless people could only do that much.
The God of Death, driven by the desperation to save the world he came from, noticed a loop in the universe, if you will, which was naturally the God of Time and Space. It took him about forty-one human years to negotiate with that damn god, and in the end, the God of Time and Space agreed to do what the God of Death asked him to do.
Did the God of Life really believe that someone like the God of Time and Space would agree to her request that easily, without her even offering something to him? Really?
Out of all of the gods, the most passive one would be the God of Time and Space. And while The God of Life, the God of Death and the God of Time and Space were on the same level in terms of power, the universe didn’t regard all of them in the same value. Life and death were certainly not unimportant, and both of them weighted about the same since one couldn’t exist without the other. Yet, both life and death was just a concept overseen by time and space. Without time or space, neither life nor death could exist.
And while the gods all thought that they were the highest of the high with just a couple rules binding them, tying their hands from involving themselves too much into the world of the living, the God of Time and Space knew better.
Perhaps it was precisely because he was the God of Time and Space.
Smirking, the most handsome of the gods watched the God of Life burst out in a fit of rage while yelling at him, accusing him of various things while practically treating him the same way as the God of Death. She had lost all interest in the so called ‘truth’ and the reason why the God of Time and Space didn’t want to help her, especially since fact remained that he didn’t want to help her. Thus, to her, he was on the same level as the God of Death – whom the God of Life despised.
Yet, despite it all, the God of Time and Space seemed – no, he was – untouched. And after the God of Life was done and left with fast and angry steps, entering her castle, the God of Time and Space plucked the ruby rose that had made its way to him during his conversation with the God of Life.
Almost immediately, the flower dispersed, as if it hadn’t been there to begin with. No, that wasn’t quite true. The big flower disappeared, that much was true. But the flower itself didn’t disappear completely. There was a small sprout next to the God of Time and Space, which would grow up to be the very same crimson rose that the God of Time and Space had touched.
After he had done that, the handsome yet obviously overpowered god left as soundlessly as he came. The very moment he left the luxurious and most of all beautiful garden, the roses that had been small sprouts, grew up quickly and started blooming, and every single one besides the one that he had personally turned back into a small sprout. It was the most beautiful flower in the garden, after all. It deserved to bloom the longest and the latest – the best came last, right?
~
Sipping tea, a certain child looked up with a bad feeling. He felt as if he was being watched, but quickly ignored that as he made eye contact with the woman sitting opposite to him. Count Hubesha was wearing her knight’s uniform, which consisted of a silver armor and a helmet that she had taken of for her “guests”.
Thus, nothing was able to hide her disdained and somewhat annoyed expression. She gave her best to not let Fredo or his ‘son’ notice it; yet she clearly underestimated how observant the two of them could actually be.
Sighing, Fredo put down the tea cup that had been handed to him by the Countess and he made a somewhat dramatic sounding noise. Naru van Ejellan, Fredo’s son, tried his best not to roll his eyes. He knew that the ‘news’ coming from Fredo was the most rational and logical, yet the way Duke Fredo behaved made him want to punch that douchebag and beat him to a pulp, just like he was supposed to get beaten to a pulp in a few years. Wow, now that Cale was thinking about it, only three years were left until the start of the novel ‘The Birth of a Hero’, which was the same as him getting beaten to a pulp.
Quickly, Cale got that thought out of his head and focused on the situation at hand, it was by far more important, after all.
“What do you want, Duke Fredo?”
A clicking sound, that overtoned the sound of the vampire clicking his tongue, was heard as the Duke put his tea cup on the table. He smiled very generously as he leaned a bit forward, as if he was about to tell the Countess top secret information.
Technically, it was a half-truth, not that it mattered much.
“Countess, I’ve received a letter of our king a few hours ago.”
Almost immediately, Countess Hubesha’s whole demeanor changed and her body got tense. She frowned; clearly worried about the person she served unconditionally.
“What is it? Why did he send a letter? Did something happen on his mission? Tsk, I knew taking Gersey, that bastard, wouldn’t bring him anything!”
Patting the strong swordsmaster with the darkness attribute on the shoulder, Fredo shook his head.
“He didn’t mention anything of that sort, Countess Hubesha, so please calm down. Let’s not jump to conclusions here, alright? Or is it, no, it couldn’t be! Are you underestimating our king?”
Naturally, Fredo was now openly manipulating the Countess. While she was probably the person that was the least likely to fall for the vampire’s tricks, since it was about the White Star, the man she deeply honored and respected, she simply couldn’t help but let herself get manipulated.
“O-Of course not, so tell me, what was the letter about!”
Duke Fredo took a deep sigh, mostly to make things more dramatic than they actually were. And while Cale found this to be annoying (usually), he actually liked to see the Countess’ anxious eyes and nervous look. Well, seeing his enemy in distress was always a good thing. This meant that his strategy was working.
“He asked for support. He told me to remain here and look over the kingdom and send one of the other nobles. Since you’re so strong, I wanted to send Mock, but he seemed to have run away after I told him. So I need you to go assist our king before hunting that traitor down.”
Immediately, Hubesha’s eyes got a lot clearer and she put on her helmet.
“Do not worry, Duke. I’ll do as I am told and assist the king.”
She got up from the couch and attempted to exit the room, yet before fully going out of the door, she turned around once more. Due to her helmet, no one could see her expression, but both Fredo and Naru could tell that she must feel embarrassed since she didn’t know any details about the order.
Getting up from the couch as well, Fredo quickly handed her the ‘letter’. Naturally, this letter was a fake, as the White Star didn’t send one to begin with. Yet, it was enough for Countess Hubesha. She nodded in acknowledgement and finally left the room, so did the knight that had acted as Fredo’s and Naru’s guide. Left alone in the room, the vampire Duke exchanged a glance with his son. Both of them nodded.
Only one thing was left to do now, then Cale could finally come back home.
Notes:
Hi!
I've got a couple of my grades, and just let me tell you, I FUCKING HATE GEOGRAPHY! WE DON'T LEARN SHIT ABOUT ANYTHING THERE! Ahem, anyways, what I wanted to say is that my mid-term time is over and now there's only my English presentation left. I started to REALLY work on it on thurdsay (yes, yesterday) and oh well, it's due next monday (5th February). I suppose that'll be enough time!Either way, with this said, i don't know if I'll manage the two chapter per week "plan". I hope it'll be fine with you! I'll try to upload another chapter on the weekend, but please don't expect anything since I need to concentrate. I'm trying to make this the best fucking presentation my english teacher has ever seen since he's such an *sorry not sorry* incompetent fool.
Ik I've got to respect my teachers, but it's just so difficult with him since he doesnt speak English any better than we and it's so frustrating!
(Plus he's got a punchable face, soooo....)Oke, I'll stop now! I brought in more about my fav God, God of Time and Space! （*´▽｀*）
I'm sorry, but I love this guy just so much! I didn't plan to make him my star, but I suppose fate has its ways!As always, i hope you liked this chapter! We'll see the shitshow go down in next chapter, fr this time, I promise! I still hope you didnt think this chapter was boring (I poured my heart into these words!)
Thanks for reading (and waiting so patiently) and until next time!
(´∀｀)♡
Chapter 36: 34. A slacker's talent (4)
Summary:
Ruin, "rebellion", reunion - all is achieved with blood!
Notes:
Trigger warning! There's blood in this chapter! Read with care! [I didn't mark it this time, I hope it's fine! If not, tell me, and I'll mark it!]
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
KABOOM!
With a loud noise, a vast explosion went off in Count Mock’s former Estate. It wasn’t just loud and big but also beyond destructive. Not only did that explosion manage to destroy the whole castle, as well as the surrounding garden and walls, but also the closest standing buildings, which were mostly just a couple shops for the rich.
The sudden explosion managed to injure and even kill some of the closest standing people, who weren’t just simple civilians but members of the demonic church. The killed were torn to hundreds of pieces while the injured didn’t just survive with a minor injury, no, they too were in danger of dying, or had at least lost the ability to live on their lives as they had been used to.
But this simple explosion going off wasn’t everything. A few minutes after it happened, another explosion went off, this time at Countess Hubesha’s Estate. People weren’t informed about Hubesha’s leave just yet since all of that happened less than a day ago, hence quickly rushed over, trying to see in how bad of a shape she was; well, at least that was what they were telling themselves. Truth to be told, they were rushing over to her because they were certain that she had survived the explosion, even if she would have been standing in the middle of it. They rushed over because they felt safe in her presence, knowing she would guard and protect them as their king’s, the White Star’s, subordinate.
While people kept rushing over to the Countess’ Estate, another few explosions were going off, one of which was the biggest and most tremendous out of every single one yet; it was in the middle of the first section, which was naturally the white palace in which the White Star usually resided in. The blast of the explosion was strong enough to destroy part of the big building. Truth to be told, it was an incredible feat to even destroy a little of the White Star’s castle.
And while the people present thought that this was a terrorist’s attack on the first section, the same was happening in the second section from the demonic church. Temples started to blow off, cruelly murdering the priests and people in them, who were mostly priests though. One explosion after the other was happening.
In the middle of this all, one calm individual was calmly drinking tea. He took off the bracelet that was handed to him almost six weeks ago and almost immediately, the boy that had previously been less than four feet tall with white hair and purple eyes became a tall youth with crimson hair and reddish-brown, sharp eyes. He seemed a lot taller than he had been, but the man sitting opposite of him did not comment on it. It seemed like during the time the youth had been in the appearance of the small child, his original body went through a growth spurt. He looked a lot more like a normal and, if I may say, attractive teenager. He had a sharp jawline that made him seem masculine, yet narrow shoulders and a rather slim waist, showing off a few pretty female features. Nevertheless, the youth was hot and beautiful, all in one. He seemed feeble and fragile rather than muscular though. Something that had to be protected, rather than something that one needed protection from.
But as soon as that youth’s calm, almost expressionless and somewhat unbothered look was replaced by a somewhat mischievous look and a very ominous smile, he seemed like someone dangerous again. And as soon as his calculating eyes locked with the powerful vampire Duke Fredo’s, the latter gulped and got chills all over his body. Perhaps he had forgotten during the almost six weeks that this redheaded youth had been a small child, but he was one hell of a beast, even as such a powerless human that he was. He was someone Fredo better avoided to have as an enemy.
Yes, rather than just have him as an ally, Fredo must have him as a friend, no, a family member!
Shaking those thoughts aside, the vampire Duke handed the redhead a facial mask. It was the complete opposite of the White Star’s, as it had a deep, black color to it. Yet, the shape and size of the two masks seemed the same. Speechlessly, Cale accepted the mask and put it on. The mask covered the upper half of the handsome youth’s face, yet it did not manage to suppress his handsomeness in the least.
Without the need to exchange words, Fredo handed the now masked redhead a dark cape. It had a white star with five red stars around it embroidered on its left side. Having his preparations done, the handsome masked and caped youth got up. With an ominous smirk on his lips, he left.
While watching Cale do that, Duke Fredo couldn’t help but gulp. He recalled being told not to intervene, yet he couldn’t help but worry. What could someone as weak as Cale do now? And he didn’t have his disguise on him as well. Shaking his head, Fredo ignored his doubts and focused on what was about to happen the very moment Cale would exit his Duchy. And almost on time, an enormous explosion went off – naturally it wouldn’t be strong enough to damage him in the least bit, but with a bit of his acting talent, he was now “officially” put in a “comatose” state by that strange organization whose sign were five red stars around one white star.
With a smirk on his lips, Fredo finally closed his eyes, ignoring the immense heat around him. He waited for someone – anyone – to come look for him, to fulfill his part of the final act.
~
Cale’s plan for his last day in the Endable Kingdom was simple. He needed to destroy this kingdom so that it could be built up from its shatters by someone capable, aka Fredo. But to make sure that it would be Fredo to restore and “save” the kingdom, and not the White Star, Cale needed to reassure that the citizen would distrust their “king”; or rather hate him. And to reassure that, what better way than to destroy shit and put the blame on someone who wasn’t even here?
In all honesty, the very moment Cale was informed about the White Star’s department, he had come up with a plan to fulfill his end of the deal with Fredo. And even though it had taken a bit longer than anticipated, it would finally be time to go back home.
A tired sigh escaped the tall youth’s mouth. Indeed, he had grown up a lot, and not just physically. Sure, as Kim Rok Soo, Cale was technically an adult, but to tell the truth, children who didn’t get the chance to grow up and had to turn to an adult too soon never truly grew up.
“It’s show-time, isn’t it?”
A slight smirk made its way to Cale’s lips.
-This will be slightly painful.
Cale nodded after hearing the Fire of Destruction’s warning voice inside his head. If it was one thing Cale knew, then that would be that every power would have a certain drawback to it, some sort of a penalty for the usage of a strong power. The Fire of Destruction had never been obtained in the novel, thus Cale also didn’t know much about its effects. He doubted they would be too great, even though the former owner seemed to have been a relatively painful one.
‘Two thirds should be enough.’
Nodding his head, Cale stretched out one hand. He was standing on top of a former temple that was the only one left in section one. It had been an incredibly long time since it was used as a temple, yet the mighty structure still remained. And while the panicked people hadn’t noticed anything amiss until now, after a masked and caped figure stretched out his hand, all of their gazes swept to that one person. Crimson strands of hair framed the pale yet undeniably handsome face of the masked youth. He didn’t have the body of a full grown man just yet, making the people wonder aloud who that person could be.
Wait…did he want to jump? Was the stress of the explosions too much? It couldn’t be!
Yet, contrary to what everyone was thinking, the masked youth on top of the church started to speak.
“The White Star greets you, foolish folk!”
Cale’s voice was amplified through Duke Fredo’s magic spell on the cape he was wearing. Without it, no one would have been able to listen to his words, making all of this useless. Yet, thankfully the final part of the plan could begin now.
“Since this kingdom is a failed experiment, don’t expect your king to come back! Heh, you’re all such dumbasses – didn’t even notice that all you’ve ever been were guinea-pigs! The experiment’s over, so are you!”
With a scornful smile on his lips, Cale let out a scoff which echoed through the entirety of the first section. The people in it got not just the chills, but also a feeling of betrayal and anger. They were neither blind nor stupid; the man’s uniform – his cape with the five red stars around the one white star – it was something they were familiar with. There were often their ‘king’s’ visitors with a similar emblem embroidered in their clothes. Without doubt, this youth belonged to the White Star’s people!
But why was he here then? Talking about them being nothing more than experimentees?
The worst out of the people’s thoughts were that they actually believed the youth. The White Star wasn’t here; neither were Count Mock and Count Hubesha, or Marquis Gersey for that matter. The only noble was Duke Fredo, who was known for being a loving leader for his folk. The Endable Kingdom was a pretty new kingdom. What if the White Star decided to drop it? Decided to abandon it? What if he…didn’t like it anymore; leaving this youth to take care of the ‘lose ends’?
But all of the people’s thoughts immediately stopped, as soon as the youth’s pale, almost white hand, swung down. With a swift motion, his hand was only inches above his body, seemingly shaking. Yet, nothing happened for a moment.
The people started wandering, what if all of this was just one big trap? What if their king was with them and this was just a sick joke? But soon enough, they heard the rumbling from the ceiling. Since the Endable Kingdom was an underground kingdom, there was no sky, yet, for some reason, there were dark clouds all of a sudden. And just when the people looked up, the clouds got darker, almost black, in color, before turning lighter and lighter at a rapid rate, before turning almost white. Then, and only then, a fat column of fiery reddish-orange and white appeared, having a big rumble follow it, as well as a massive amount of destruction.
That column was a vast fire column. No, forget vast fire column, it was more than that. It looked like a god’s wrath being unleashed upon the citizen of the Endable Kingdom. The citizen of the Endable Kingdom who were mostly creatures of the dark like Dark Elves and Vampires, were known to be hated by the gods. Was it their time to die now, now that the White Star, their king, their protector had finally decided to abandon them?
It didn’t take long, then a few vampires returned, supporting someone with their bodies. That someone was no other than Duke Fredo. Naturally, the vampire douchebag wasn’t hurt, and the two vampires supporting him were fully aware of that, but the others weren’t, and that was enough.
Theatrically coughing and appearing weak in front of the kingdom’s people, Fredo gave his best to stand on his own two feet while struggling so much, the man in the black mask who was naturally Cale, almost rolled his eyes – almost.
“B-Be gone, subordinate of the W-white Star! Tell y-your master that we w-will have our r-revenge on him!”
Fredo tried to lounge a ‘surprise attack’ on Cale, but before it hit, the youth in the black cape tore a piece of paper and disappeared as if he hadn’t been there to begin with. That piece of paper was naturally a teleportation scroll. The vampire did his best to appear to struggle and was immediately supported by the two vampires who had brought him. They didn’t dare speak and simply nodded at each other, understanding that everything was going the way their master had planned to. Fredo took a deep, shaky breath. To the citizen of the Endable Kingdom it must have looked like he was weak because of the attack of the White Star’s subordinate, but truth to be told, Fredo was just excited.
He was about to be king.
No, that’s not quite true. He was king.
And the kingdom’s people understood this too.
~
While the White Star’s position in the Endable Kingdom shifted to Duke Fredo, Cale arrived in the middle of his best friend’s and crown prince’s bedroom. Well, theoretically, it was his room too now. The redhead frowned as he noticed that the room was empty. He had a very bad feeling for some reason.
It felt as if he was missing something – something very essential at that.
-The drawback!
Before Cale could remember it himself, the cheapskate’s shrill voice echoed through the redhead’s head. Almost immediately, as if on cue, Cale felt his feet give in. But that was nothing. All of a sudden, he felt an immense pressure in his stomach, which quickly turned to an incredible pain.
Having no other choice but to lean forward to lessen the pain, the young teenager stumbled forward and ended up gripping his best friend’s desk on which all the important documents lay – which Cale naturally didn’t notice right now. The pain he was feeling blurred his vision and he cursed. Naturally, he was aware that all powers had a certain drawback to them, but he never could have imagined that it would be such pain! If he would have known, he wouldn’t have done that last act and just done something else for show!
While Cale was leaning on the desk, crunched over in pain with ragged breath and dull senses, a certain young man entered the office. He had been going on between the kitchen and this room for quite a while. He was tired, sleep deprived and incredibly out of it. He had very much work due, which he didn’t get done at all. It’s been over a week since his best friend was supposed to return and-
“Cough!”
Upon hearing the gruesome sound of someone coughing, Alberu Crossman quickly looked up, only to freeze on his spot the very next moment. The only color he could see was crimson. It was all over his desk, on his royal documents and writing utensils, but that was still fine. What was truly disturbing and worrisome, was that the crimson liquid was all over the boy who had been leaning on his desk before. The crimson liquid that could only be blood, dripped down the fifteen year old’s corners of the mouth. As if that hadn’t been enough, the young child was also having a nosebleed.
After a split second of dumbly staring, Alberu approached the reason for his headache, lack of sleep and worries with fast steps. Everything he had to go through for the past month was forgotten, Cale was by far more important than such trivial things. The crown prince couldn’t thank the ancient dragon enough right now, since he convinced the young Raon to stay with him instead of returning to the crown prince’s bedchambers with Alberu.
If he hadn’t done so and Raon would have seen Cale in a state like this after weeks of not seeing him…
It wouldn’t be that much different from the way Alberu was feeling right now. Sure, Alberu could reason with that he was all grown up and Raon was still a baby, but that wouldn’t be that different. He too was not ready to see Cale like this. The only reason why he was still somewhat composed instead of breaking down was because his best friend needed him more.
He had all the time in the world to lie down on the floor and cry after he made sure Cale was fine.
Rushing up to Cale, Alberu immediately did his best to support the redhead. A deep frown was itched on his face, most probably because of the youth crouching down in front of him, face distorted due to all the pain he was in. Naturally, the Vitality of the Heart was already taking care of it – yet it didn’t make the pain any less for some reason, nor did it stop the blood-coughing part.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Alberu’s breath fastened as he watched his best friend cough more blood than should be physically possible. He wondered how Cale was still conscious, but quickly threw that thought away, deciding not to jinx it. Ignoring his now ruined and not as fancy looking uniform, Alberu quickly supported Cale’s shaking body. The redhead immediately leaned on his best friend, a sense of safety overcoming him out of nowhere.
Well, Alberu smelled and felt like home to Cale, we’ll give him that.
“What’s going on Cale? Did you swallow poison? Did that asshole hurt you?”
Hell, Alberu had no idea how he managed to sound so calm. Fuck, his heartbeat was as fast as that one time that he believed Cale would die – if not faster. His body was also slightly shaking and he felt his head spinning. Well, perhaps it was because he was the crown prince that he managed to stay so calm in moments like these.
Instead of answering though, Cale only continued to cough blood. Exactly half a minute passed by, then the redhead’s body slumped over completely, Alberu being the only reason he wasn’t lying on the floor right now. Yet, Cale still remained conscious, even though he was in a lot of pain. He hated pain. Yet, that pain was nothing compared to before, making Cale heave a sigh of relief.
“Haaa-“
The redhead sighed, not feeling the need to cough up anything anymore. The pain from before subdued, leaving a very unpleasant feeling of hunger behind. Now that that was out of the way, Cale looked up at Alberu, his usual, stoic expression on his face, almost as if he hadn’t just been coughing up tons of blood all over the room.
Alberu stared at his best friend in shock. He knew Cale was fine now, he could practically feel it, yet, for some reason, his mind did not believe his eyes. No, his body didn’t believe what he was seeing, his eyes didn’t see reality! Letting out a shaky breath, the bloody crown prince of the Roan Kingdom repeated his question.
“What happened? Were you poisoned or hurt by that motherfucker?”
Cale raised his brows, almost as if to ask whether Alberu was in the right state of mind (which he clearly was not). The redhead then frowned and shook his head, almost as if to say that Alberu’s thoughts were ridiculous.
“Ha! Look at this! Don’t look at me like that, you bastard! What the fuck do you expect! You promised to come back more than a week ago! How do you expect me to react when I see you in such a state when you finally come back, huh?!”
The quarter dark elf let out all of the frustration that built up in the past weeks. He couldn’t help it. His heart was still racing as there was still blood all over Cale’s body. Just as he was about to comment on that, asking him what was actually happening, the door busted open, and three incredibly adults entered, at the same time one of the crown prince’s windows exploded and a hysteric, young dragon entered, accompanied by a man clothed in plain clothes that didn’t manage to hide his other-worldly beauty.
But all of them froze in their spots upon seeing the scenery inside the room.
‘Ah fuck.’
Cale cussed in his mind as he locked eyes with the trembling, three year old dragon. Raon wasn’t supposed to see such a sight in front of him; well, actually, none of Cale’s family members were, but things happened. He knew he should have asked where the teleportation scroll would be teleporting him if he was to rip it!
Damnit, he knew he had made too little preparations for all of this!
Just as he was about to get up and explain the situation thoroughly, he was pushed back on the couch he had been placed on by his best friend by a certain young dragon crashing into his chest. Loud sobs could be heard in the dead silent room, in which one could probably hear a falling needle. Well, these super-humans could probably do the same in a loud room…
“…You unlucky bastard, what am I seeing!?”
The dragon’s quiet and slightly hesitating voice turned louder with every word before he was almost yelling at the young boy with the dried blood on the corners of his lips and under his nose. The ancient dragon did not fail to notice the bloody clothes, the crimson colored carpet that had once been a nice, light brown color, or the red painted documents on the crown prince’s desk. It didn’t take a genius to find out what happened here, though one might think it had been a massacre indeed.
But in all honesty, the ancient dragon was still in a better state than someone else.
“Father!”
The very next moment, Ron suddenly fell on his knees, clutching his heart while ragged breaths escaped his mouth. Beacrox immediately crouched down next to him, fear overtaking his usually deadpan expression. He did not know what to do, he had never, not once seen his father in a state like this, not even when Cale had been on the verge of death a little over a year ago. What was currently going on was by far worse though, even Beacrox could tell!
“Ron?!”
Beacrox wasn’t the only one worrying over the old man as a certain child quickly joined him. He had no idea whom to scold, his father or the boy. Perhaps he should scold them both sometime soon! Despite the blood on his face, Cale appeared to be okay…which did not match the state of the room at all. He had a partly helpless expression as he sat down on his knees next to Beacrox (as he was too hungry to crouch). The young Raon was still sobbing, yet he was now doing so while being hugged by the crown prince.
“Ron!”
With a loud yell, Cale finally gained the old man’s attention.
Ron Molan, the former Molan Patriarch of the Eastern Continent who was feared all over the continent, as he was known for his excellent and unmatched assassination skills, was reduced to such a state just because he saw blood. The old man did not know how this was possible. During his life, he had seen countless rooms like this, hell, usually, they were painted completely red – the walls, the floor, the ceiling – anything and everything was tainted in a dark crimson color with an irony smell around it,
Yet just the smell of this room had made him crouch over like this, his body shaking and his mind running many imaginary scenarios of what might have happened inside the room through his head. But he managed to break out of that unstable state of his as he heard a loud yell that could only come from one young boy he had practically raised.
Looking up, the old man’s usually cold eyes focused on the young teenager sitting on the floor, frowning.
“Ha…ha…ha-“
Ron shook his head in disbelief and wiped away the sweat from his forehead. He would certainly die early because of this perfect, puppy like young master-nim of his.
“Ron, are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?”
‘Tsk, look at the unlucky bastard asking that while being in a much worse state!’
Naturally, the ancient dragon didn’t voice his thoughts, nor did anyone else who had the very same thought. Sure, it appeared like this at first, but Cale was really fine now, just a bit hungry and weak – because of hunger. All of his family members should know that, yet the image in front of them painted a very different story. The old man shook his head in disbelief.
“Young master-nim, I assure you that I’m anything but fine.”
Hearing the very unexpected and untypical answer that came from his butler, Cale raised his brows, but before he could ask a question, he was lifted by two strong arms – which naturally belonged to the ancient dragon. Despite his growth spurt, he was, compared to everyone else inside this room, still small. Well, perhaps everyone else was simply exceptionally tall (which they were!). For a teenager, Cale was rather tall. But none of that mattered against Alberu’s long legs, or any of the others for that matter.
Treating the young noble like a petty child, the ancient dragon lifted Cale like a cat. While doing so, he was incredibly careful, not to apply too much pressure and crush the child. At the same time, Beacrox helped his father up and Ron patted off the dust on his clothes. He sighed and shook his head, realizing that Cale really seemed to be fine – though his mind and body still didn’t want to believe what his eyes were clearly seeing.
“Human! You promised not to die! You promised to be fine! You cannot die, human! I won’t let you! If you die, I’ll destroy the world, kill everyone, set everything on fire, destroy the planet, and then kill myself!”
Listening to the vicious words of the three year old that seemed to have gotten fiercer over the last five weeks, Cale suppressed his shivers and just gulped, turning his head to face Raon and Alberu for that matter. Yet, surprisingly enough, the young crown prince was nodding in agreement while patting the small dragon.
Well, what did Cale actually expect?
Alberu would literally do anything for Cale. Fuck, if he had to kill everyone, destroy the world, set everything on fire and then kill himself after that, he would do so without a second thought. Well, Cale didn’t have to know that, did he?
Shaking his head, Cale attempted to say something – probably that Ron should go see a physician even though he appeared to be fine, the old man quickly spoke first.
“Young master-nim, let’s get you to the doctor first and talk later, alright?”
“I don’t need to see a doctor, I’m really fine. You should go see the doctor, Ron. I’m worried.”
Hearing the young noble say he was ‘fine’, put a dangerous smile on the old man, and as he heard that the youth was worried for him, Ron couldn’t contain his scoff.
“Young master-nim, that was just my old, weak heart. You see, you arrived quite late and in a very unusual state at that.”
Before Cale say anything, Eruhaben nodded his head and agreed with Ron.
“Tsk, you unlucky brat, listen to Ron, or do you want him have a cardiac arrest? You truly are some troublesome child!”
Refraining from protesting, Cale quickly locked eyes with Beacrox for help, yet the head chef just shook his head while crossing his arms in front of his chest. There was a very serious look on his face. One might mistake it for anger, yet the redhead knew better than anyone else that Beacrox was actually worried as well.
Seeing that Beacrox was a dead end, Cale searched for Alberu’s eyes, but was met with a serious look and the crown prince’s shaking head.
“Nah-uh, you’re going to the doctor’s office immediately. I don’t care what you say.”
“But hyung, that’s useless, I have a regeneration ancient power.”
Hearing Cale say that, Alberu let out a scoff, so did everyone else besides the young Raon who was still trying to stop his tears.
“Regeneration ancient power my ass, look at this mess!”
Alberu pointed at his fancy and expensive suit that had once been white but was now stained with crimson blood. He then pointed at his carpet, his desk and his documents, all of which were stained with blood as well, before pointing at the boy who ended up being the bloodiest, who was Cale himself.
“Tsk, you brat seriously think that your generation ancient power are almighty? Nothing is omnipotent in this world!”
The ancient dragon chimed in with his wise words, and soon, the old butler followed too.
“Young master-nim, would you please go to the doctor’s office. If not for yourself, at least for this old man’s heart?”
“Young master-nim, you don’t want father to get a heart attack, do you?”
And even the young, four year old dragon said something as soon as he understood what everyone was doing. He was a mighty and very great and intelligent dragon, after all. Following Beacrox’ example, he chimed in on the conversation too.
“Human! If you don’t go, I’ll burn down everything!”
Having had enough of all these threats and pleas, Cale sighed and gave in.
“Fine, but I’m telling you, I’m really okay.”
Not even listening to Cale’s nonsense, the redhead’s family accompanied him down the hallway to the royal doctor’s chamber, who was now residing in the crown prince’s palace on the king’s orders. Needless to say that every servant who walked past the group got the chills by the eerie and dangerous aura around them.
Notes:
Hi!
I managed to update this chapter! I know it's not as good as the previous ones, but I have a pretty heavy workload this week and my english presentation is due on monday, so please just roll with it this one more time! I promise, I'll try to update at least two chapters next week if nothing comes on the weekend! Right now, I'll need to focus on my English presenation, since I want to show my teacher how it's done [Recently, he called the number 74 'forty-seven'. Excuse me, but wtf?! (҂⌣̀_⌣́)]Thank you all so much for the patience with me! I know it's hard! I'm doing my best, I swear! If it's very unpleasant to you, please tell me! AND I REALLY AM SORRY FOR ALOLOGIZING SO MUCH; I SIMPLY CANNOT DO SOMETHING ELSE AND NOT APOLOGIZING FEELS BITCHY AND MEAN AND I DON'T WANT TO BE BITCHY AND MEAN I AM SORRY
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щAnyways, I have great/bad news. It depends on the person, really.
So, hold ur seats and listen well:
WE'RE ALMOST DONE WITH THE 'PROLOGUE' OF THE STORY!!!
The stage is all set for the arrival of the real characters like Choi Han, Rosalyn, Lock etc! Only one arc remains where Cale and Alberu *** ********, then it's finally time to start the real story.
Oh god, I can't imagine what you guys must be thinking. Yeah, all of this had been my 'prologue', the text to set the stage for the real story! Uncovering secrets, fighting, White Radish, ******* *******, ******* *******, etc, etc...
（*´▽｀*）Sooo...I suppose this is fine. I'll wrap up the last event in two to four chapters, so you're gonna have a bit to say goodbye to underage Cale!
Wow, I really don't know what to say now.
I hope you like the news. All good things must come to an end, yk? And I mean, adult Cale is sexy and all [especially sassy], so it's gonna be interesting too, right?Then, I leave the rest to you!
Until the next chapter!
I promise, you will love the last arc of the prologue! [I swear to god, I've been looking forward to it the whole time while writing the Endable Arc!]
(´∀｀)♡
Chapter 37: 35. Bothersome (1)
Summary:
Things get more serious :)
Chapter Text
“Did you hear about the rumors?”
“What rumors?”
The middle-aged woman smirked as she pushed back her ginger hair, excitement making her usually dark brown eyes glow. She pulled back her husband who had been on a business trip for quite some time and pushed him inside the kitchen of her little diner, preventing other’s ears from listening in on their little conversation.
“Our Lord seems to have finally crossed out that trash’s name of his family successor position!”
The husband of the excited ginger haired woman furrowed his brows and scratched the back of his head, uncertain how to react. Contrary to his wife, who loved to gossip about people and easily believed fake news and also played a big part in spreading them due to her naïve side, he was more of the skeptical kind.
“You mean the firstborn young master Cale?”
“Psst! Not so loud, Reiner! But yes, that lowborn bastard! He truly deserved it! His mother was a baroness, after all! She never went out of the mansion and forced the lord to always be with her! Ever since she died, the lord has visited his lands much more! That trash child must have inherited all of his mother’s bad characteristics!”
Reiner’s frown deepened as he shook his head in disbelief and put down the potato sack he had brought for his wife. He knew that it had no use to correct his wife, but then again, he couldn’t let her, who just moved into Rain City after Count Deruth remarried, say something so rude about the former Countess.
“Countess Jour had many health issues, Taisia. And the Count stayed home because his wife needed him. The young master probably inherited the former Countess’ bad health.”
Reiner’s wife, Taisia, just shook her head and waved with her hand dismissively.
“Pah, tell that in front of that trash child. He’s been disinherited and kicked out of the Henituse mansion over a year ago! The loving Count would have never done something like that to a sickly person! Furthermore, our lord was also so kind to let that trash child keep his surname! Tsk, you have too good of a heart and are way too naïve! Miss Iryna Sashko just told me yesterday about it! She said that the poor Count’s bastard son went to be a leech at the crown prince’s palace – what a matching place for him to be!”
“Taisia!”
Reiner exclaimed in shock and quickly looked around, not that there’d be anyone. He then stared at his wife of seven years in shock. He couldn’t believe that she wasn’t just bad-mouthing a poor child that had lost his mother way too early, but also the esteemed crown prince of their kingdom.
“You can’t say something like that! What you are telling me is nothing more than a baseless rumor!”
Taisia scoffed and crossed her arms, giving her husband a disbelieving look, almost as if to say that she had expected him to say something dumb, but not this dumb. Reiner couldn’t help but wonder how he had to deal with that stubborn wife of his. He didn’t even want to marry her in the first place and only did so because he couldn’t say no. Haaa, their relationship wasn’t a bad one, don’t get him wrong, but it wasn’t one that Reiner would want to last for eternity either.
“Mhpf, you don’t understand anything, as always Reiner. Don’t you know that the trash of the Henituse County is said to be best friends with our current crown prince?”
“Psst! Taisia, why are you saying ‘current crown prince’? His highness Alberu Crossman is guaranteed to take over the throne in a few years!”
Taisia pouted, thinking back to one of her friends, Iryna Sashko, telling her all of these rumors and that, even though Alberu Crossman was currently the crown prince, the king didn’t favor him at all, no matter what others said. The only reason for the twenty-one year old to have the title of ‘crown prince’ was because his younger siblings, or rather the third prince, wasn’t old enough just yet and needed more power – meaning that Alberu Crossman was nothing more than a placeholder for the third prince.
But Taisia wouldn’t tell her husband something like this since Reiner wouldn’t understand either way, no matter how many times she was to explain it. Sighing in defeat, Taisia uncrossed her arms and shook her head; ready to tell him all of her ‘exclusive knowledge’ about the current situation.
“The first prince is friends with the trashy leech of a fallen noble – naturally he won’t success the throne! Didn’t you hear? The first prince has taken in that trash!”
Reiner frowned upon hearing his wife talk about the esteemed crown prince of their kingdom like that. It wasn’t just his wife that was behaving like this. While the Roan Kingdom seemed in peace – compared to their neighboring countries like the Mongoru Empire and Whipper Kingdom – the kingdom’s people were currently split into two factions, at least those who were politically interested.
One side supported the first prince being the crown prince since he seemed like a sweet but caring person. The crown prince’s supported were the poor folk, the ones who wanted change and safety.
The other side, the crown prince’s opponents thought that, since the crown prince’s mother was of low birth, he couldn’t bring the kingdom to the same heights as his brothers could have done.
It was one of the major changes from the novel, especially since ‘The Birth of a Hero’ explicitly stated that every single citizen favored Alberu as the crown prince. But oh well, it was Cale’s place to give it some thought.
Reiner, who didn’t know anything about ‘The Birth of a Hero’ simply shook his head, seeing that it was pointless to argue with his wife, no matter how he tried to turn it.
“See! Even you admit that I’m right, hmpf!”
Reiner ignored his wife’s words and simply nodded, knowing that his opinion wouldn’t matter to Taisia. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t matter to Reiner.
“Taisia, I must go and meet up with Lucas.”
Reiner smiled as he used his best friend as an excuse to get away from his wife. Taisia simply nodded and let her husband go. And Reiner indeed did visit Lucas – and all of his other friends to discuss the major festivities that would happen in the next week.
Almost a year and a half had passed by ever since Cale returned from the Endable Kingdom and nearly killed Ron with a heart attack. And ever since then, the ‘rumors’ about Cale Henituse moving out turned into him being kicked out of the household because he was a bad influence for his younger siblings and an incredibly selfish and evil child. The citizen hadn’t seen much of Cale, but they found it to be odd that such vicious rumors circulated about a child who seemed to be invisible until then.
A few days after those rumors appeared, it was said to be that the fallen noble youth went to stay with a friend of his – who was none other than the esteemed crown prince. The citizen literally adored their crown prince, but ever since it was said that he had taken in Cale – someone who was kicked out by the kind and selfless Count Henituse – the rumors around Alberu Crossman started to turn vicious as well and he lost the favor of some of his supporters.
After all, birds with the same feather flock together, no?
And if the fallen noble, the trash of the Henituse County, was such an evil person, then either the crown prince was too or he was turned evil – there was no other option.
These rumors turned more vicious and evil every time someone heard and told them, causing the current split up citizen situation in the Roan Kingdom. While the crown prince’s opponents fancy this situation, his supporters couldn’t hate it more. They didn’t know much about Cale Henituse, but they strongly believed that he couldn’t be a trash or evil child.
Hence they were looking forward to the festival that would arrive a week from today – the Roan Kingdom’s 200th anniversary. It was a major holiday, and since it was the 200th anniversary, representatives from other countries were also invited, like the Imperial Prince from the Mongoru Empire and many other.
While it wouldn’t be much more than a noble’s banquet usually, it was an incredibly important event for the crown prince, making all of his supporters excited for it. The reason for that was very simple, actually: Due the many foreign country representatives attending the banquet, the crown prince might make a connection to them. It was public knowledge – well, a rumor that was practically confirmed to be true – that Alberu Crossman knew the Mercenaries King from the Eastern Continent, meeting new people could never be a problem.
Reiner, who was nothing more than your average citizen, nodded his head as he opened the restaurant of his best friend Lucas, and he was immediately greeted by his friends. With a smile, they looked at the video communication orb that would give them a live-transmission of the royal banquet of the Roan Kingdom’s 200th anniversary in a week.
Because, as all big events, the king ordered it to be available to all of his citizen.
~
“Ouch!”
Cale rubbed his hip as he furrowed his brow and looked down on the seamster [male seamstress says google], trying to hide his agony. There were various types of pain, like sickness, stab wounds – yes, they were nothing new to Cale –, getting a burn or getting hit by something big and heavy. Starvation was also one of the worst kinds of pain, so was the usage of ancient powers. But getting pierced by an incredibly small needle was an entirely different, new, category of agonizing pain.
Well, Cale wasn’t really pierced by a needle and only slightly pinched. And it was also his fault for moving around and not standing still as he had been instructed to. But something like this would mean nothing, as the old seamster found out. He looked up and immediately froze after noticing the two vicious and glaring pairs of eyes that were staring him down hatefully, almost as if judging his every move.
One of them was a benignly smiling old butler – he looked the scariest – while the other was the young noble’s guardian knight. The seamster had noticed a long while ago that ‘Haben’ was no usual guardian knight, but he didn’t dare speak his mind on this topic. The only normal person in this entire room was the still working crown prince who didn’t seem bothered by his best friend’s yelp.
But then again, the king’s successor looked incredibly tired with dark circles under his eyes. He hadn’t slept in two days because of all the documents that he needed to take care of, especially since there would be the kingdom’s 200th anniversary in a few days.
“I-I sincerely apologize, young master Cale! I didn’t mean to hurt you!”
Cale stopped rubbing his hip, his frown deepening. The pain had long been gone (shout-out to the Vitality of the Heart <3), it was just that he disliked pain very much. But seeing the man who looked like he was about to cry, Cale waved his hand in a dismissive manner and shrugged.
“Don’t worry. Please continue.”
In the seamster’s eyes, a noble behaving like the redheaded sixteen year old boy in front of him didn’t appear to be a noble at all; no it was more of an angel than a noble! During his career as a seamster, the poor man had been treated very badly, even worth pitying for.
With a deep bow, the seamster continued his work, ignoring both Cale’s personal butler and guardian knight. What the seamster didn’t know was that he was incredibly lucky today. A certain young dragon was in the kitchen right now. If this very young and cute individual would have been present, the poor seamster wouldn’t have gotten away so easily.
Using his practiced and experienced hands, the seamster continued with his work. The seamster, while he may not look like it, was one of the most talented seamsters of both the eastern and western continents. His name was Patrick Gerade and he was born in the Caro Kingdom. Usually, it was a very famous kingdom known for its endless amount of money, yet the talented seamster decided that he could become more and thus traveled around the world until he was discovered by Zed Crossman and employed as the Crossman Family’s personal seamster. Hell, for a person with such a background, he sure was timid.
Currently, on the crown prince’s orders, he was designing, or rather finishing, Cale Henituse’s suit for the kingdom’s 200th anniversary banquet in a week. Originally, he had been skeptical since Cale wasn’t a member of the royal family, yet after seeing the sixteen year old in person, inspiration fell upon Patrick and ever since, he started designing Cale’s banquet gown, coming almost every day to perfect the details.
Though after today, there wouldn’t be a need for Patrick to come anymore. Stitching on the last little detail, Patrick took a step back from his muse and looked at the sixteen year old teen, eyes furrowed together to get a better look. Cale couldn’t help but frown. He felt incredibly ridiculous right now – perhaps it was because he didn’t know how he looked in the mirror right now.
“Young master-nim, you look very handsome in this suit.”
Cale’s frown deepened as he turned around – against the seamster’s pleas – to face Ron. The old man nodded approvingly, no sign of his viscous expression from before was felt. Cale’s gaze swept to the ancient dragon and Eruhaben too nodded approvingly.
“Indeed, you look more mature than you are in this.”
Cale couldn’t help but look away before the two men could see his somewhat disgusted expression. It wasn’t like Cale didn’t know. He was aware of his weak and thin body and he was also aware that the only way to change would be to work out, since eating more wasn’t any use. But Cale didn’t want to work out anymore. So he would have to live with this.
“Young master! Do you want to take a final look? Please tell me if there’s still something you’re dissatisfied with! I’ll change it immediately!”
Cale sighed upon hearing the seamster be so enthusiastic. He nodded his head and with an unexpected strength, the small seamster pushed a big mirror forward, putting it in front of the handsome youth. Deciding to ignore the things he didn’t understand – as always –, Cale took a look at himself in the mirror. He must admit, no matter how thin his body actually was, he had a pretty face that could go with anything. And the black suit that the seamster designed for him made his shoulders appear wider and his stature appear much more masculine while highlighting his unusually thin waist, but without losing the masculine appeal. Naturally, if Cale was to take off the black jacket, his narrow shoulders would be revealed, but that’s a different topic.
The black suit made by the talented Patrick Gerade was nothing like a normal suit and nothing like an expensive suit that could be bought in a private fashion store. It was an Italian cut suit but also had the characteristics of a British cut suit. It was a very off combination, but it turned out to be incredibly good and stylish. The deep, black color was highlighted by golden accents and the embroidery of a few incredibly flawless, swift lines on the sleeves. The pants were simple, yet also made Cale’s legs seem longer. He wasn’t short, not at all, yet in comparison to his people, he wasn’t too tall either.
All in all, he looked like your typical, young noble master with nowhere to throw his money, thus ‘investing’ in clothes. With his chin long, crimson hair, and his deep, big, reddish-brown eyes, Cale looked…way too hot!
Alberu, who looked up from his paperwork simply because his curiosity got the better of him, almost dropped his pen. He could see Cale’s back and front, thus he knew exactly just how sexy the sixteen year old looked. Fuck, his shoulders seemed masculine and his waist was just…argh! And what’s up with this low ponytail!? It made Alberu crazy! It was decided; Patrick Gerade was too perfect! With Cale looking like this, it was guaranteed that the youth wouldn’t be left alone! Not in a hundred years! Fuck, how could a child who only ate cookies day in and day out, never exercised and did nothing but roll around in bed look like this?
Okay; that Cale didn’t exercise would be seen if he took off that black jacket but how on earth did Patrick think it was a good idea to show off the ‘fallen noble’s’ waist like this!? Alberu made a mental note to forbid showing off his best friend’s waist, even if he had to create a special law for that. It should be a sin to look this sexy and hot and irresistible!
“Stop gawking.”
Alberu was broken out of his thoughts as a certain old man pushed him with his elbow. Immediately, the twenty-one year old looked up and made eye contact with Ron. Over the past year, the old man had become a lot less scary and less of an opponent. Perhaps it was because the former assassin had finally accepted that the crown prince’s feelings wouldn’t go away. No, it was even more than just that. Maybe he had made peace with the possibility of Cale being in a relationship with-
Nope, forget it. Ron would never allow that to happen. His precious, puppy like young master-nim was by far too precious to hand over to someone like Alberu just like this. Ron wouldn’t ever make peace with something like that. It was just Alberu being unusually delusional. Oh well, with all these days he had to pass on sleep, it was a given.
“…I’m not gawking.”
Alberu puffed and turned his head away, noticing that Eruhaben was with Cale and Patrick Gerade with none of them noticing his and Ron’s conversation. Well…that way it was much less embarrassing to tell the truth.
“You are. What a shameless punk you are, lying while looking an old man such as myself in the eyes.”
Alberu rolled his eyes in annoyance and put down his pen softly, crossing his arms in front of his breast. He scoffed in disbelief and raised his eyebrows, looking Ron up and down.
“Who’s the shameless one? I am the crown prince, not some punk.”
Ron smiled a very benign and ominous smile after listening to Alberu’s answer. Alberu couldn’t help but get the shivers at that. He gulped and decided to just drop the topic – which turned out to be a very wise decision.
The quarter dark elf in disguise cleared his throat and pointed at his best friend with his chin.
“I suppose he’ll need extra protection or something, if he’s looking like that.”
Ron’s gaze followed the crown prince’s and almost immediately, his benign smile disappeared, replaced by a frown. Yes, yes indeed, right now, his precious puppy like young master-nim looked way too good to let him go off alone. With all these disgusting nobles out there, Ron couldn’t let anyone get too close with one of the most precious people in his life!
“I believe it’d be best if Eruhaben-nim was to accompany the young master-nim and you punk to the banquet.”
Alberu furrowed his brows and looked up, shaking his head. He was just teasing (well, more or less) and didn’t expect Ron to react this way.
“Impossible. There will the other country’s representatives, and taking a guard along is forbidden since it could be taken offensively or as a sign that we distrust our esteemed guests.”
It wasn’t like Ron didn’t know about etiquette. He shrugged, his benign smile returning to his lips.
“I am certain, as his esteemed highness, you punk will manage to find a solution so that Eruhaben-nim will manage to attend too.”
Contrary to the old butler’s expectations, Alberu shook his head, an unusually serious expression on his face.
“I cannot, not this time at least. Ron, I’ll take care of Cale. Don’t worry, nothing will happen. And I swear, I won’t let him out of my sight, not even once.”
Ron frowned, but in all honesty, he believed Alberu. He really did. He knew that this punk he always called unreliable and immature was actually incredibly dependent and trustworthy. Ron also knew that – especially because Alberu had a very heavy crush on his puppy like young master-nim – Alberu would keep Cale by his side all the time, keeping him safe. Still, his intuition as a former assassin told him to not let the two young adults alone. His gut was telling him this.
And while Ron would have acted on his gut feeling, be it because of the look in the crown prince’s eyes or his determined expression, he let it go.
After about an hour, Patrick Gerade finally left, taking Cale’s suit with an enthusiastic grin. He promised that he would bring it back before the due date, and with a lot of matching accessories at that. Naturally, Cale had tried to convince the seamster not to bring accessories, yet Patrick insisted on it and after a long stare battle that the seamster actually lost, he begged Alberu for help and the crown prince, only to annoy Cale, agreed that accessories would suit Cale.
Perhaps that was the reason that the redhead was currently glaring at his best friend as if there was no tomorrow. The young Raon, who was sitting on his human’s lap while eating cookies, was also glaring at the crown prince in the very same manner his human was. Oh well, Raon spent way too much time with that sixteen year old and adopted all of Cale’s behaviors at some point, like the scammer-smile or evil grin.
Alberu shook his head to get rid of his thoughts, trying to get back to his paperwork – without success. The redhead’s glare was a lot scarier than it might appear to be. Letting out a sigh and beginning to miss Ron and Eruhaben who went out to accompany the seamster – naturally to try to keep the accessories to a minimum, after all, they didn’t want everyone to fall for their lovable child – Alberu got up from his chair and let himself fall against the armchair standing opposite of the couch the crown prince was sleeping on, where Cale and Raon were currently eating cookies…while leaving large and many crumbs.
With sad eyes, the all-powerful crown prince watched one cookie crumb after the other roll down his best friend’s clothes and end up on his pillow which he still hadn’t put away, simply because he planned to go to sleep but didn’t ever get the time to do so.
Heaving a defeated sigh, Alberu shook his head and picked up a random paper lying on the desk. He hadn’t seen it before and certainly hadn’t had the time to read through it. Since he couldn’t work right now, no matter how hard he was trying, he could go through his mail just as well.
Yet, before he could even open the envelope…
“Don’t read that.”
…his best friend actually got his lazy ass up to take the letter away from him. The crown prince frowned, utterly confused as to what Cale was doing something like that.
“Why? Isn’t it addressed to me? Hey, don’t tell me you opened it, did you?”
Cale shook his head and waved his hand dismissingly, turning the envelope so that Alberu could see the words written on it – which said that the letter was addressed to his best friend.
It was nothing unusual since Alberu and Cale lived together. It was also common for the two of them to read each other’s mail, really, not a big deal. So why was Cale trying to prevent Alberu from reading that letter, huh?
“Human, why can’t the cookie prince read the letter? Can I read it? Is it a big secret?”
Frowning, Cale shook his head, handing the young dragon sitting next to him another cookie, even though he hadn’t been done with his current one just yet. Dismissingly waving once again, Cale ‘discreetly’ put the letter in his breast pocket – something he hadn’t ever done before.
Alberu furrowed his brows in suspicion and in one swift motion; he took off his appearance changing necklace and used wind magic to lift the envelope.
Cale rolled his eyes, but didn’t get up to get the letter back this time. It was because he knew he didn’t have to. The young dragon next to him frowned and quickly used his own magic.
Don’t get me wrong, Alberu Crossman was by no means weak. Hell, he could be considered one of the best mages out there, even surpassing Glenn, yet he couldn’t do anything against Raon. With a pouting expression, Raon got Cale’s letter back and handed it to his human, giving Alberu an angry glare.
“The human said he didn’t wanna share! You’re so mean!”
Alberu scoffed and pointed at Cale, feeling like a child putting the blame on someone else.
“He started it, he usually tells me everything, so why not the contents of that letter. Is it that important?”
Cale stayed silent and let Raon do the talking since the young dragon really was the best in things such as these. After all, he had learnt from the best.
“But you don’t tell the human everything either! Gramps told me that you l-“
Before Raon could finish the sentence, or rather the word, Alberu jumped up from his seat and closed the young dragon’s mouth, already knowing exactly what he was about to say. There was no way Alberu would allow Cale to find out like this.
Thankfully, Cale didn’t seem to be understanding what was currently going on as he simply had his brow raised.
“Haaa, fine, fine, I give up Raon, you win, okay? Just don’t say it.”
Raon frowned, not understanding the issue. What was so bad if he was to say that the cookie prince actually liked sweets and only pretended not to like them in front of Cale? Oh well, if it was that important to the crown prince…
“Hmpf! Fine! But don’t annoy the human!”
“Haaa.”
Letting out a relieved sigh, Alberu returned to his armchair and put on his necklace once again. Still, he had a bad feeling about the letter Cale was keeping to himself. It didn’t have the name of the person who sent it to him, neither was it a font Alberu recognized. His memory wasn’t bad, and he could recognize fonts. It was neither Count Deruth’s (as he had first worried), nor was it someone else’s that he knew of.
It was a rather ugly font, but it had its own beauty. It was chaotic but still had some sort of flow. It seemed unreadable but was still clear – at least with Cale’s name. The font below consisted of a variety of symbols Alberu didn’t recognize. It wasn’t the language of Cale’s original world either since Alberu would recognize it as Cale had shown it to him a few years back.
So what was it then?
What an odd and suspicious letter indeed.
Alberu shook his head dismissively and looked up. He attempted to change the conservation topic but after seeing Cale’s thoughtful and somewhat far-away seeming expression, he decided against it. The silence was nice and he felt rather calm. Without him understanding what was going on, Alberu slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep – finally, after staying awake for so long.
“Human.”
After half an hour of silence in which Cale had put a blanket over his best friend’s body, the redhead looked at the young Raon. He had an unusual and serious expression that didn’t match his usual cheerful side.
“Is that letter very bad?”
Cale frowned. While he would have avoided that topic if he could, he saw that it was weighing down on the young child’s mind. Sighing, Cale patted Raon’s head.
“Don’t give it too much thought, alright?”
Raon shook his head, putting his paw on his human’s leg.
“But human, when you read it, you looked very strange.”
Cale put on a gentle smile, even though he didn’t feel like smiling at all. He was reminded of the contents of this cursed letter again.
“It’s nothing too bad, don’t worry Raon.”
While Cale’s words always calmed him down, this time, Raon didn’t feel calm at all. He shook his head, recalling what happened in the early morning when he and his human had gone out to the marvelous garden.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, there appeared this unusual letter with his human’s name on it. Naturally, Cale went to pick it up, frowning after reading the ‘unreadable’ symbols standing below his name. He proceeded to quickly open the letter and as he kept reading through its contents, his pale expression turned ashen and his finger kept on shivering, almost as if he was reading…a death sentence.
Cale had quickly put the letter away and quickly left the garden, hurrying back inside. He might have thought that he was hiding his clearly shook state well, but Raon noticed it very easily.
“Human, can you please tell me?”
Surprised by Raon’s calm question, Cale pretended to consider it. A smile appeared on his face as he found a temporary solution to this situation.
“Do you really want to know it that badly?”
Raon nodded his head, a serious expression on his face. Cale smirked as he pointed at Alberu.
“As you know, in a week, there’ll be a banquet, right?”
The young dragon nodded once again.
“The letter said that the queen will be there and that she’ll create trouble for his highness.”
Raon nodded his head, but to tell the truth, he did not believe his human’s words. He usually always believed what Cale was saying, but something seemed off. Naturally, it would explain why Cale didn’t want to read the letter, but it didn’t explain his odd behavior. Furthermore, something like this wouldn’t be that big of a secret, not even in front of Alberu.
Nevertheless, if his human didn’t want to tell him, Raon would simply have to find out for himself!
With a determined look on his face, Raon nodded his head, smiling for his human.
“Okay!”
Cale did not notice that Raon distrusted his words.
Notes:
Hi!
I held my English presentation today and oh god was I nervous! Hell, I didn't even know why I was so nervous! I spend the whole weekend rehearsing (really, I didn't do everything else the whole weekend, I didn't even manage to write, like not at all!). Anyways, my class liked it, my best friend praised me BUT MY STUPID ENGLISH TEACHER FROWNED THE WHOLE TIME I WAS TALKING!
Like I started with my presentation and I looked around to confirm whether anyone besides my friends was listening. Then I looked at my English teacher AND HE WAS FROWNING AS IF I WAS TALKING CRAP AND UTTER BULLSHIT! AND HE WAS FROWNING THE WHOLE TIME!
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
He gave me the feeling that everything I was talking about was wrong and the worst of it was hat even after my presentation he gave me this stupid look!
(Urgh, I really hate him!)
(ʃ⌣́,⌣́ƪ)
Gosh, anyways, now that that's done, I'm finally free! I'm really glad that I am since I don't have to worry about a thing any longer. Haaa, freedom feels nice!
I'll get my grade fiday, naturally I'll tell y'all!
It's almost eleven and my father's standing by the door frame watching me rn, so I really can't tell y'all much more (iT iS a ScHoOl NiGhT)!
Hope you liked the chapter!
Until next time!
(´∀｀)♡
Chapter 38: 36. Bothersome (2)
Summary:
Let the Roan Kingdom's 200th anniversary banquet begin~
♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
Notes:
Special trigger warning: Trash like the Queen and Imperial Prince Adin are mentioned! Watch out! Scum like this may endanger you guys' eyes, even if they're only mentioned by name! :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
‘Imperial Prince Adin, Priest Jack. [Mongoru Empire]’
‘Crown Princess Rosalyn, Third Prince Pen. [Breck Kingdom]’
‘King Alfonso, Mage Tower Master Lubeck. [Whipper Kingdom]’
‘First Prince Valentino, Second Princess Arya. [Caro Kingdom]’
‘First Princess Victoria, Duke Sekka’s firstborn son, Clopeh Sekka. [Paerun Kingdom]’
‘Second Prince Bob, Count Zethin’s firstborn son, Ethan Zethin. [Askosan Kingdom]’
‘Crown Prince Hubert, Instructor Lye Penn. [Norland Kingdom]’
With a loud sigh, Alberu handed the list of their foreign guests to his best friend, leaning back on his chair. It was almost time to get going, and unfortunately, he had only received the list of people now – giving the two people who liked to be prepared the most little to no time to do so. The banquet was about to start and in all honesty, the esteemed crown prince of the Roan Kingdom was supposed to be present and greet the other country’s representatives instead of sitting in his room with his best friend.
“Quite a lot of people, huh?”
Cale didn’t miss Rosalyn’s name on the top of the list. He recalled the events of ‘The Birth of a Hero’ and recalled how she was supposed to become the future Queen of the Breck Kingdom instead of the magic tower master. Leaving all of her money and fame behind though, all of her ill fate, Rosalyn decided to run away and follow her dreams of becoming a mage – which would happen in two years’ time – meaning that she was the current crown princess of the Breck Kingdom after all.
She and the protagonist of the novel, Choi Han, crossed paths shortly after he beat up the original Cale Henituse to a pulp, immediately befriending each other due to their similar attitudes and righteousness.
Just thinking about those events sent chills down Cale’s spine. He shook his head, reminding himself that he still had two whole years before the appearance of the novel’s protagonist – two whole years to not meet him; neither in the Henituse territory nor at the plaza terror incident. As things looked like now, Cale most probably wouldn’t meet Choi Han in the Henituse territory unlike in the novel. Since he was living with his best friend – which wouldn’t change in two years as things looked like now – in a completely different part of the kingdom, Cale wouldn’t have to worry too much about Choi Han.
“-ale! Cale!”
Taken by surprise, Cale looked up to his best friend, noticing how he had been spacing out.
“Tsk.”
Alberu shook his head in disbelief and drove his hand through his hair. He couldn’t believe how his best friend was not paying attention to him and his ‘very’ important words. Either way, the crown prince who would one day success the throne, cleared his throat as he got ready to repeat his little speech, or rather his instructions for the night, to his best friend. Honestly, Cale was the only one who could make Alberu repeat himself like this.
“I was telling you the plan for the evening, buddy~”
Cale rolled his eyes at Alberu’s unusually cheery response after gathering himself. He observed his best friend’s princy smile get a bit wider but chose to ignore it in the end.
“You know, you’re really difficult to deal with, right?”
Cale scoffed and finally leaned back more comfortably, leaving all of his thoughts from before behind. After all, he could think about the future later. What was important right now was getting Alberu through this banquet. Sure, he himself had to get through it too, but compared to Alberu, he had a rather good ability to avoid useless situations. It wasn’t like Alberu didn’t possess the same skills; it was just that he was the crown prince and thus had to interact with everyone for a couple minutes at the least.
“So listen close now, yeah?”
Cale nodded and took out one of the lemon candies Raon had brought him before going somewhere with the ancient dragon. Cale had no idea where the four year old child wanted to go to, but even after pressuring the two powerful dragons, neither answered his question, saying it was a secret. Shaking his head, Cale looked and focused once again on the crown prince – the really important person on this evening.
“We have to stay until midnight to show proper manners and follow the royal etiquette – which would be four hours. In these four hours, we must greet the king and queen to show them our thankfulness for the event, you follow?”
Cale clicked his tongue and crossed his arms.
“Yeah, yeah, you don’t want the queen to make a scene, so you just use flattery against her. Easy peasy, no prob. Flatter her as much as you want as long as I don’t have to do that-“
The redheaded youth in the fancy, one of a kind suit, that was more expensive than the whole wardrobe of the royal family combined, widened his eyes upon seeing the look in his best friend’s face. The first prince’s eyes clearly showed him that whatever he was talking about was nothing more than the delusional thought of someone lying to himself.
Almost immediately, Cale shook his head.
“Nah-uh, no way I’m greeting that wench-like thing. Did you see her? She looks exactly like what I’d imagine to be a humanoid version of a Blobfish-Naked Mole-Rat-hybrid. And her personality; it’s just nasty, even uglier than her looks.”
Alberu didn’t know what to find funnier, Cale’s creative insult to the queen – really, he hadn’t ever heard someone be called a Blobfish-Naked Mole-Rat-hybrid before – or the calm voice with which his best friend voiced his thoughts. But truth to be told, there indeed was a resemblance between the queen and a Blobfish, as well as a Naked Mole-Rat, which was why the insult won.
“Pfft, you know, you’re incredibly shameless, right?”
Cale shrugged as if he hadn’t just committed the crime of bad-mouthing the queen, which was deserving of at least a year of confinement, filled with various torture sessions. Well, then again, Cale was insulting Alberu as good as every day in one way or another so…
“What? I just made it clear that I can accompany you, but there ain’t no way I’ll smear her honey around the mouth. Ugh, just her ugly smile causes me nightmares, let alone her shrill voice.”
Alberu shrugged, letting go of the topic, knowing that when it came down to it, Cale’s glib tongue would move as if it was doing so every day. Nodding to himself, the crown prince put the list with the various foreign kingdoms’ representatives away and got back to the main topic – which was discussing their plans for the evening.
“Fine, let’s have it your way then. After meeting the king and queen and flatter them to no end, we will have to do the same to each single foreign guest.”
As Alberu nodded at his smart plan, Cale’s eyes widened in shock and the piece of candy he was about to eat fell out of his hand onto the floor. He stared at his best friend who was mumbling useless things.
“…fourteen guests à five minutes makes a little more than an hour…more than five minutes….our kingdom’s nobles too…my supporters…”
Cale was not able to follow his best friend’s words and plans as easily as he was used to due to being in utter shock. Did he really have to stay by Alberu’s side the whole time!? When would he get the chance to go eat sweets? If his best friend’s schedule was that busy, would he even get to eat good food!? Nooo! Without getting good food, Cale wouldn’t move an inch!
“Don’t worry Cale, naturally we’ll make stops to get you cake.”
As if reading Cale’s thoughts – for Alberu it wasn’t that difficult – the crown prince took away all of Cale’s worries with an amiable smile on his lips. Seeing Cale’s frown disappear from his face, Alberu sighed once more and moved on.
“Alright, listen well. We don’t have to greet everyone, just those that might become important players in the future. So, you see any name familiar on the list?”
Cale scoffed in disbelief and shrugged.
“Shouldn’t you have asked me this question before telling me your plan?”
Alberu’s smile turned into a wide grin as he nodded his head.
“Yes, that would have been more convenient for the both of us.”
Cale sighed, sensing that his best friend’s favorite language was sarcasm sometimes, instead of glib-tongue-ish. But nevertheless, he knew that he had no other choice than to answer the question, since it would be much more convenient and less time consuming for the both of them (which meant that his time at the sweets table would get doubled at least).
“Haaa, I’d definitely concentrate on Crown Princess Rosalyn from the Breck Kingdom, if I were you.”
Alberu’s smug expression disappeared as soon as these words had left Cale’s mouth. He furrowed his brows and leaned forward.
“You mean the princess that is said to run away from home as good as once a week, claiming to hate her kingdom’s affairs and saying that she wants to put down her title as the crown princess to run away and become a mage?”
Cale nodded his head with a partly disinterested expression on his face. He recalled when Rosalyn’s character was first introduced in the novel. She was painted as one of the strongest people in the entire continent next to Choi Han. Her magic powers were said to rival that of a dragon; limitless and utterly beautiful, she was a force no one wanted to stand against and everyone wanted to have by their side.
And since she had so much power under her control, she was naturally also a pushover sometimes with only the plot-armor protecting her. Sure, she learned to be less arrogant and had always been quite cunning, smart and rational as a mage, but that still didn’t change her arrogance in the first two volumes. It wasn’t until the mermaid-whale tribe war in the fourth and fifth novels that she got pulled back to reality and became a quite likable character.
It wasn’t like Cale disliked her, really. Actually, he really admired Rosalyn. Her strive for power was common, yet the way she attained it was amiable. She never gave up – in a much different way than Choi Han. She hadn’t been born strong, but with almost infinite talent. Her hard work paid off with her becoming the magic tower master after rebuilding the magic tower in the Breck Kingdom.
She didn’t do things she didn’t want or stand for and did everything to attain her goals.
She was someone without flaws after the fifth volume. Really, Cale wasn’t that bad of a judge of character. And while he may appear disinterested, he was actually really looking forward to meeting someone like Rosalyn in person.
“Yes. In the a year and a half, she will step down from being the crown princess of the Breck Kingdom, handing her position over to her younger brother, second prince John, though he won’t accept it for a while. But what’s really important is that she’ll meet someone in the near future, and even without him, she’ll become one of the biggest and most powerful figures in what’s to come.”
Alberu frowned. During all those years in which he knew about Cale’s origin, the redhead never really opened up about the future. He just told him that there would be a major conflict like the revolution in the Whipper Kingdom and something else. He also didn’t go into too much detail about the protagonist of the book he read about, saying that he would reveal the information after he had sorted his thoughts on this.
“Alright, I’ll do as you say. Anyone else?”
Cale frowned, replaying the record of the list of the foreign kingdoms’ representatives. He knew most of the names mentioned on it through ‘The Birth of a Hero’, but most of them were useless.
“Hm, I suppose it’s never a bad thing to befriend a Saint and first prince Valentino. I know that Saint Jack will become a big figure in the Mongoru Empire in the future, it’s mentioned somewhere, but I wouldn’t approach the Imperial Prince.”
Cale’s frown deepened as he thought about Imperial Prince Adin. In the novel, he was only mentioned in two sentences at the end of the fifth novel, where the war between the mermaids and whale tribe people ended and when the Whipper Kingdom’s civil war was beginning to enter the last stage – the complete annihilation of all mages.
He was a suspicious character Cale had a bad feeling about – which was never a good sign.
“Alright, no Imperial Prince; got it. So it’s just her highness Rosalyn, Saint Jack and his highness Valentino, right? What about the famous guardian knight of the north, Sir Clopeh?”
The redheaded youth shook his head, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
“I told you, I only read up to the fifth volume, right? I don’t know about him. He was slightly mentioned though, it was said that he’s a very mysterious man who loves legends and myths. Sounds like a lunatic to me.”
Alberu nodded his head; the same smile that was on Cale’s face began to grace his lips as well. He got up from his seat and stretched out his hand for Cale to grab – which the redhead did (since he was obviously too lazy to strengthen his legs and get up on his own).
“Alright, shall we then?”
Cale rolled his eyes at his best friend’s gentleman-like behavior.
“If his highness wishes, sure.”
The quarter dark elf smirked as he pulled the redheaded youth closer by his waist, leaning in on him a bit due to their height difference. He positioned his lips a bit less than an inch away from the sixteen year old’s ears, his breath hitching against the youth’s neck.
“Now that I’m already the crown prince, call me hyung, alright? It will show people not to mess with you, yeah?”
Cale, who remained frozen due to the shock of his best friend’s sudden action, quickly broke free of his state and shook his head, scoffing in disbelief.
“Sure hyung, if it’s what you’d like me to do, I will.”
A dubious expression appeared on the teen’s face as he shrugged. He got on his tiptoes, putting his hands against the crown prince’s chest and started to whisper too, without breaking eye contact.
“But you could have said that normally too, you know?”
Now it was Alberu who was flushed and frozen in place – not that Cale would ever notice. He turned around on his heels and exited the room, not leaving his best friend any time to recover from the shock of his sudden and surprising actions.
Perhaps Alberu should have taken this as a warning not to flirt with Cale, rather than a flirty response – which it could have been too, to Alberu’s defense.
Well, as dense as Cale was, he probably still didn’t find out that this was the first ‘official’ flirting try on Alberu’s side.
And he certainly would never expect to have flirted back – which he actually did.
~
“Ho!”
Eruhaben scoffed in disbelief as he was handed a white envelope with Cale’s name on it and some strange symbols below. This letter looked important and like something Cale wouldn’t have handed to Raon – the source of where he got the letter from.
“Child, I hope you have an explanation with this?”
Raon, who was sitting in Beacrox’ arms, nodded his head. Currently, Ron, Eruhaben, Beacrox and Raon were in the ancient dragon’s former lair. Technically, it was still Eruhaben’s lair, but with how little time he spent here, his actual lair was at the crown prince’s palace rather than here.
“The human found it in the cookie prince’s garden two weeks ago!”
Ron frowned and exchanged a look with the old dragon, both were asking each other the same question without needing a single word as their eyes were sufficient: How did a letter that was addressed to their favorite kid end up in the garden?
“Raon-nim, how did the letter end up in the garden?”
The usually silent cook looked down on the young dragon in his hands, being the only one who actually managed to ask the important questions for once.
“It was very odd! I’m sure it was teleportation magic! As soon as the human and I decided to rest on the bench, it appeared out of nowhere!”
The young child’s answer confused the three adults and they exchanged another gaze with each other, wondering whether they knew someone who could use magic.
“What are the odds that it’s from the Mercenaries King’s friend, this Glenn?”
Ron shook his head at his son’s question.
“Those punks would take all chances to come see the young master-nim, so it couldn’t possibly be them. Furthermore, this is not the Eastern Continent’s language.”
“Gramps! The vampire douchebag from last year could use magic too! The one who kidnapped the human!”
Upon hearing Raon’s excited voice, Eruhaben nodded. He recalled Cale telling him that this very vampire douchebag was now in charge of an entire kingdom. The king of the Endable Kingdom could have developed his own language and taught it to Cale, which the youth would have memorized very easily, given that he was a fast leaner.
“That bastard doesn’t dare!”
Ron tore out the letter of the ancient dragon’s hand and attempted to rip it apart, yet, strangely enough, it was impossible. Frowning, he looked at the young and old dragon.
“It’s not magical, how odd.”
Eruhaben frowned as he took the letter back and tried to wave it around, then destroy it with his dust attribute magic – which was also impossible.
There were as good as none objects that the ancient dragon couldn’t destroy with magic, and even fewer that could hold their ground against his dust attribute. Given that both divine and cursed objects could hold their ground against his dragon attribute, this piece of paper could only be one of the two. And since there was not a single divine object in the form of a letter, it could only be a…cursed object?!
How on earth did something like this get to Cale!?
No, what was even worse, was that there was his name on it!
“Eruhaben-nim, did you find a solution?”
Without giving it much thought, the ancient dragon opened the letter without trouble – another indication that this was a cursed object rather than a divine one. Personalized divine objects could only be opened and used by the person they belonged to, or a person that was compatible with them. But this surely was no divine object. As soon as Eruhaben opened the letter, an eerie feeling overcame him.
He knew that he was right.
“Eruhaben-nim?”
Beacrox furrowed his brows after noticing how the ancient dragon was too lost in thoughts to reply to his father. He and the child in his arms exchanged a glance and nodded in union, knowing what they would have to do to snap the old dragon back to reality.
“Goldie gramps! What is it? Gramps already asked you twice!”
Eruhaben put the letter away and furrowed his brows, shrugging after realizing that he couldn’t even understand a single sentence of the letter’s contents given that all of it was written in this odd symbolic language.
“I’m not too certain, but I think I can tell what this thing is.”
“You do?!”
Raon’s eyes light up in excitement as he nodded his head cheerfully. Contrary to him though, Ron furrowed his brows in both surprise and worry. Judging by the dragon’s expression, it was not something good – which meant it was even worse of a situation than the old butler anticipated.
Eruhaben nodded; his complexion too, just like Ron’s, didn’t look promising.
“It’s a…demonic object.”
Listening to his words, Ron’s eyes widened while both Raon and Beacrox were left confused.
“Goldie gramps, what is a ‘demonic object’?”
Eruhaben turned to Raon, ignoring the old butler for the moment as he started to explain.
“You know what divine objects are, right? They are objects imbedded with a god’s divine power that were passed down on earth to support humans in overcoming their hardships, since gods are absolute being who cannot interfere in the mortal’s world.”
Raon nodded his head. He remembered his human telling him about gods after he asked about religion. He also recalled how his human told that, while other people thought that gods were absolute beings, all of this was utter bullshit since gods were nothing more than useless spectators prying on people’s personal lives while having fun instead of intervening. They had the power to make life great, yet they rather chose to do nothing. How could a restricted being that could do absolutely nothing be considered a god, huh?
In all honesty, Raon found his human’s explanation plausible as he agreed with him. As a dragon, he was great and mighty too. But as soon as he stopped being great and mighty, what use would he as a dragon have? None, would be the natural answer (even though Cale would yell if he was to find out about the young child’s thought).
“Well, since there’s an opposite of everything, demonic beings exist, though they’ve been confined, meaning they cannot interfere with earthly matters any longer. They are similar to the gods, but they just wish for all beings downfall Hence, every century years, they sent a demonic object with all of their powers combined, one that is destined to bring chaos and despair.”
Raon’s eyes widened all of a sudden as he recalled his human’s shocked reaction as soon as he listened to and understood the ancient dragon’s words. If a demonic object was guaranteed to bring misfortune and all other bad things, and his human was the one who received this object…
“…Does this mean the human is in danger!?”
“Is Cale in danger!?”
The very next moment, both Raon and Beacrox weren't able to keep in their worry for the sixteen year old redhead. It was to the extent where the talented greatsword wielder forgot to address his favorite child by his title.
“…He is not.”
But it seemed like the two of them were needlessly worrying. Well, it was Ron who somewhat calmed them down, but Ron wouldn’t say something like that just to say it.
“It is not a complete demonic object.”
The former assassin took the letter out of the ancient dragon’s hands and started assessing all over again. He too, just like Eruhaben had done before, opened it and felt an eerie and ominous aura coming out of it. He too opened the letter and saw all of the odd symbols on it, yet he too noticed that these symbols had some sort of connection.
“…You think?”
Eruhaben trusted Ron very much, which was why he seriously gave the option that he might be wrong a couple thoughts. Ron nodded.
“Yes. I’ve come across a real demonic object in my past, and while this feels similar, the other one feels a lot more sinister. This appears to be more like a failed imitation of a demonic object – or successful if you will.”
Eruhaben nodded his head. What Ron said made sense. Demonic objects had an immense amount of demonic power, one would be able to notice it right away from miles away, yet Eruhaben didn’t notice this letter in the past two weeks, even though he had been with Cale too.
Furthermore, the only moment he realized what this thing may be, was when he opened it. Ron was right; this was more like a cheap imitation of the real deal. But this opened up a couple new questions: Who would send something like this to Cale? And why would they send it, for what reasons? What was the goal of the sender? Did Cale know someone who had the ability to create something like this?
“Hm, it is a very odd letter indeed. Raon-nim, so you recall the young master-nim’s reaction? Was he able to read this letter’s contents or was he puzzled?”
Raon shook his head as he answered everything he recalled without even letting out a single detail – excluding his and Cale’s conversation in which the redhead obviously lied to him. Thanks to the reactions of the three adults he could see that this envelope was indeed a source of greater worry, rather than just some stupid letter informing about the queen attending the banquet – which was only natural too!
“How odd, how very odd indeed.”
Eruhaben did not understand Cale’s actions. If he received this letter and it caused him to react like that, why didn’t he tell them? Wait, it couldn’t be…
“Did the young master-nim tell his highness?”
It was Beacrox once again who asked the question that was on everyone’s minds yet wasn’t spoken out loud. Yet, everyone was also certain that if they didn’t know, the chances of Alberu knowing were dim and-
“Yes!”
Raon nodded his head with a serious expression, recalling how Alberu teased Cale a bit, even going to such lengths as to take off his appearance concealing necklace to use his magical abilities.
“Though the human didn’t tell him anything about it! It’s all because he didn’t want to admit that he liked sweets and only pretended not to in front of human!”
Raon’s explanation didn’t better the mood at all. After all, even though Alberu didn’t know much of the letter’s contents, he knew more than them – though even he knew less than a certain, four year old child – which could be considered frustrating too, right?
“Haaa, we must talk to the young master-nim. It unsettles me and I have a very odd feeling right now.”
Rok looked up at the golden ceiling, getting the feeling from before again. He trusted that stupid punk, don’t get him wrong. He knew that Alberu was madly if not crazily, in love with Cale, so he could do everything for him. Still, this feeling didn’t disappear.
“Father does? Eruhaben-nim, shouldn’t we return to the palace? That way, we can at least be close to the young master-nim.”
Eruhaben nodded.
“Yes, that would be a good idea. That way, even if nothing happens, we can confront that brat right away. He shouldn’t keep things like these a secret from us, especially since we are the people that he should be relying on the most. Tsk.”
Ron nodded his head, so did his son. The young Raon smiled cheerfully too.
“Goldie gramps, I can turn invisible and go to the human! That’s fine, right?”
Eruhaben nodded his head. He would die much later if he knew that his child wasn’t alone with someone like the crown prince – for the same reason as Ron. Who knew what could happen, especially since Cale was at that age, where a boy usually…ugh…looked around at other people and…tried to do new things like…date…
The ancient dragon gave himself a slap after thinking such ridiculous things. Shaking his head, he returned to the important things, which was teleporting everyone back to the palace. Naturally, Raon could have done so too, but it seemed like the young dragon wanted Eruhaben to do it this time.
At the same time, Alberu and Cale were stuck in front of the queen and king of the Roan Kingdom. The atmosphere was anything but good. The wench-like, Blobfish-Naked Mole-Rat-hybrid queen had her face twisted in manners only a Blobfish could repeat, while the king remained seated with a very stoic and expressionless face – though it was no match in comparison to both Cale’s and Alberu’s poker-faces.
But both best friends knew that this only signaled the beginning of an annoying evening.
Cale was tired already, wanting to return to bed.
Haaa, why did he come again?
Notes:
Hi!
I'm totally enjoying my newly won/found freedom! I stayed at home today since all my classes got cancelled due to the teachers being sick! Tomorrow, I also only have classes from 11.20AM to 12.22PM! I'm so excited that I get to finally skip whole school days without doing it on purpose, hehe!
(/‾▿‾)/
Either way, let's talk about this chapter. One to two chapters, then Cale'll turn 18 and Choi Han will be introduced (Ik y'all haven't been waiting too much for him and enjoyed the pace of my story [at least I got the impression of that to be the case]) and with him On and Hong! I'm looking forward to Cale's meeting with him since I plotted something so amazing, I'm certain not even you guys have thought about it, hehe!
(Ɔ˘⌣˘)(˘⌣˘)˘⌣˘ C)
Also, I bet none of you expected the envelope to not be from the God of Death or God of Time and Space, and even though the sender isnt fully clear just yet, it narrows it down pretty much! I was so amused and happy that none of you guessed the sender, but I suppose I've done a pretty good job this time with keeping it a secret and not foreshadowing a thing!
Good, very good!I'm so excited for the next to chapters before Choi Han arc though! They will be so much fun~
Then, I'll see you next time!
I hope you liked this chapter, as always!
(∫˘▽˘)∫
Chapter 39: 37. Bothersome (3)
Summary:
At the banquet part 1
Notes:
TW: This chapter contains the actual appearance of the Blobfish-Naked Mole-Rat-hybrid-queen, so watch out. Just the description of her appearance can cause ultimate damage.
Also, this chapter mentions trash Imperial Prince Adin again, so read with care and stay safe from things like those!
(´∀｀)♡
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I greet his Majesty and her Majesty, the sun and moon of our vast and great Roan Kingdom. As always, his Majesty is just like the sun, guarding our lands and protecting it during the day, but it is all thanks to her Majesty that I can sleep soundly at night, who looks over the kingdom as soon as the sun vanishes behind the great horizon, and the King rests. It’s truly such a blessing to be able to personally say my thanks for your Excellency’s existence. It gives me such peace of heart and washes away all of my anxiousness, both during the day and night.”
Alberu tried to hold in his laughter as he seriously wondered how Cale managed to spout such bullshit with such a straight face. Hell, he didn’t even flinch! Flattery, though this had already surpassed the level of flattery, was truly a talent very few individuals possessed. The queen chuckled, obviously falling for Cale’s words.
Now that Alberu was standing so close in front of her – yep, he could see it, her resemblance to both a Blobfish and a Naked Mole-Rat; it was to the point where he wondered how he had never noticed it before. It truly was a mystery. The wrinkles on her forehead and neck gave her the Naked Mole-Rat appeal while her big nose, small eyes and slimy appearance gave her the Blobfish vibe. Truly, how could the king sleep with someone like this?
Urgh, Alberu didn’t even want to picture it!
Without giving it much thought, the crown prince pulled his best friend closer to him, gaining a frown from the queen and- Was that an approving nod from the king!? Alberu must be getting tired from dealing with that Blobfish creature since he was certain that the man that was his ‘father’ was not interested in him or his actions!
“Yes, it’s also very pleasant to make your acquaintance, young master Cale.”
Cale gave Alberu a quick glance as to how the King knew of his name, especially since the two of them had never officially met like this before, yet Alberu was as clueless as his best friend. Sure, the King knew almost about anything that was going on in his palace, but since there were rumors about Cale being a ‘fallen noble’, Alberu didn’t think that the King would still address him as a noble – or care about him at all.
Just as he was thinking that, he saw an evil glint form in the Blobfish’s – I meant Queen’s – eyes.
“Young master Cale, you say? How come you are here today? And in company of this useless son of mine at that? Are the rumors about the two of you true? Did the Count kick you out?”
The queen chuckled at her own words and waited for Cale to break. She was that kind of person who loved to see people break – naturally only the people she deemed below her and worthy of breaking. Alberu Crossman and all of his affiliates naturally belonged into that category.
But unlike her expectations, Cale simply shrugged. Alberu didn’t possess the authority to talk right now, yet he still attempted to, that is until he noticed Cale slightly shaking his head.
“Oh my, your Majesty, the moon of our kingdom, I didn’t think you were the kind of person who enjoyed gossiping so much. Are you that interested in my family’s matters that you see the need to stop all of the other guest’s greetings to his Majesty and your Majesty to chitchat about that?”
The blobfish-like queen gritted her teeth in anger and clenched the fan in her hand, looking a lot less dignified than she already was. Just as she was about to retort, the king raised his hand. It was the first time he spoke up that evening by himself, without someone else starting the conversation with him.
“That’s enough, Petunia. The two of you may go. I wish you fun at today’s banquet.”
Both Alberu and Cale bowed down in front of the king and queen before leaving with fast steps. As they were out of sight, the queen clenched her teeth even more and her grip on the fan tightened.
“What was that, your Majesty!? I thought you didn’t involve yourself in your family’s matters!?”
Zed scoffed in disbelief at his ‘wife’s’ behavior and simply shrugged.
“That child wasn’t from our family. There is no need to explain my actions to someone of your status, but since you still don’t seem to notice the little things, let me give you a piece of advice and the answer you seek so much.”
The king’s partly bored eyes turned sharp for a moment and he sad up a bit straighter instead of leaning back in his throne, unlike before.
“He was about to verbally annihilate you. That child is unbelievably cunning, not even I can comprehend what’s going on it that head of his. And you are better to not involve yourself with my son and his affiliates, if you don’t wish for a bitter end.”
Before the queen could reply, other quests arrived and got ready to greet the kingdom’s leaders. While doing so, the queen looked anything else than dignified – not that she ever was.
~
Alberu let out a deep sigh as he drove his hand through his perfectly styled hair. Contrary to usual, his hair was combed back, revealing his forehead, which showed off just how hot he could be. Yet, whenever he was standing next to Cale, which was all of the time, all of the gazes that were glued to him before, shifted to the redheaded youth. Well, a pretty and more feminine face was quite liked. Yet all of those gazes quickly returned to Alberu after making eye contact with the pretty faces youth – who had an unapproachable aura around him.
“You remember your promise, yeah, just so we stay clear here?”
Alberu chuckled as he nodded his head.
“Of course I do, who do you take me for, huh?”
Cale simply shrugged as he started to walk towards the cake and sweets section. He had looked around the entire room before to make sure no one would come and approach him and his best friend – at least not until he got himself a few pieces of cake.
Yet, as always, fate was a bitch as she sent a rather talkative noble their way – who was also a foreign country’s representative!
‘Fucking shit.’
Cale couldn’t help but click his tongue after he cussed in his head as he stopped in his tracks. He looked up to his best friend who simply shrugged with an apologetic look on his face. To make things clear, Alberu was actually truly sorry. He did plan to torture Cale a bit with so many social interactions, yet he didn’t plan to be so diabolic and not let Cale have cake as he was doing so.
“Your Highness Crown Prince Alberu!”
The cheery man with the light golden hair which looked a lot more like a mixture of silver and gold, approached the two young men who were on their way to a certain chocolate cake while waving his hand. Following behind him was a young girl who was about Cale’s age or even a bit older. She was the spitting image of the boy, she simply had longer hair.
Cale immediately recognized the man, thus also knew who the woman following behind him was, so did Alberu. It was the first prince Valentino and his sister, the second princess Arya of the Caro Kingdom. While Valentino, who would become the crown prince in about six months, looked delighted to meet Alberu and Cale, his sister, Arya, appeared to be annoyed.
“I greet the prince and princess.”
Alberu bowed down, making Valentino flush in embarrassment since he was of higher status as the crown prince compared to a normal prince.
“Your Highness, no need to bow down in front of me like that! Even though you seem to know me, let me introduce myself formally to you once again!”
This time, Valentino bowed down, so did Arya. At least she had manners – compared to Cale who stared at the close standing dessert table that seemed so far away for some reason…Why couldn’t it come closer to him, huh? Why did it have to be so far away from him? It almost seemed to be as far away as his so close thought slacker life~!
Ah, now he was thinking about his slacker life. Even though Cale had slacked off as good as the whole year, he now was forced to work again. Oh man, just how much he missed his heavenly bed with his divine pillows and blanket right now? He wanted to go back to Alberu’s and his room and go to sleep.
If he couldn’t get the promised cake, he should be allowed to do at least that much!
“I am Valentino and this is my sister, Arya; it’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person, your Highness. On the eastern continent, there are a lot of rumors going on about what an amazing person you are. I heard you are acquaintances with the Mercenaries King, and I’ve been meaning to ask you whether that was true.”
Cale, who finally managed to look away from his beloved chocolate cake, raised his brows upon hearing Valentino’s blabbering. He truly was a talkative person – something the novel with most certainty did not mention.
“It’s surprising how so many people have heard about it, but yes, the rumors are true indeed. It’s formidable to be able to make your acquaintances, prince, princess.”
Alberu was internally sighing for the same reason as Cale. Valentino seemed to be a great person, very great even, but he appeared a tad too innocent and talkative for his taste. Well, perhaps he separating his best friend from his beloved cake also played a big part in this. Alberu was many things, but he would keep his word to Cale, even if he had to do something hideous to do so – like getting rid of Valentino and his sister.
“Then, please excuse m-“
“Oh my, your Highness, you don’t want to go already, do you?”
It was Arya who finally opened up her mouth, revealing her snake like tongue. The quarter dark elf groaned internally, wishing that he hadn’t run into these two.
“I am sorry, but you see, I gave a promise to someone to meet him somewhere.”
Arya frowned but her expression quickly turned to a bright smile again. She took her elder brother’s hand and pointed at Cale.
“Don’t you already have company? Though I do understand why you’d like to change it. Having a pretty face is nothing if one doesn’t have a good personality, right, oraboni?”
Valentina laughed; obviously embarrassed by his little sister’s harsh and straight forward words. He shook his head, trying to find a way to calm the situation down, yet Cale spoke before either he or Alberu could reply.
“I apologize to have startles you, princess. It seems like my silence got the better of me, unfortunately. You see, whenever I have the misfortune to meet people like you, I can’t help but stay silent because of the shock of how straight forward someone can actually be, and to someone of higher status at that.”
There was a sassy expression on the redhead’s face, which was all the confirmation Alberu needed to know that Cale was about to take this a step further if he wasn’t to intervene. Truly, whenever his friend was hungry – or didn’t get cake – he could be incredibly sassy indeed, to the level where it could be considered verbally brutal.
“…What? A difference in status? What are you, huh? I’m certain that I’m above you in status.”
Valentino put on his most embarrassed smile, paired with an apologetic smile. He put his hand on his sister’s shoulder, yet Arya didn’t seem to budge. But that wasn’t needed. The smile from Alberu’s face disappeared and so did the calm and somewhat friendly atmosphere, turning ice cold instead.
“What was that? Excuse me princess, but your sudden approach startles us. Given that we tried to excuse ourselves while staying friendly a few moments ago, and you didn’t let us, shows that we tried our best to stay on good terms while you were constantly looking down on me, the crown prince of a whole other country, and the crown prince’s affiliate. May I take this as a sign that the Caro Kingdom wants to stop being on friendly terms with the Roan Kingdom? Or is this disrespect and discourtesy you’ve shown us just a sign that you’re looking down on one of the Roan Kingdom’s nobles?”
This time, Valentino finally stepped in. He shook his head in shock and waved his hand.
“I am so sorry for this inconvenience, your royal Highness! This is nothing but a big misunderstanding, allow me to explain! I was just so excited to meet such an amazing person as you who’s affiliated with the Mercenaries King – someone who, even though he’s in our Continent, doesn’t like being affiliated with our kingdom’s representatives! I just found it utterly amazing how someone in a different country knows him better than me! And when I saw you, I simply couldn’t hold back! I saw that you were heading somewhere, but my selfishness and excitement got the better of me once again. I apologize for my impulsive and rude behavior.”
Alberu gave Valentino a small nod, accompanied with a small smile, then gave Arya another cold and chilly stare. Valentino cleared his throat as he saw that Alberu was about to turn away and quickly continued talking.
“About my little sister, she’s just a bit nervous since she’s never been to a party outside of our kingdom. She’s also quite arrogant you see, and, uh, how do I say this, well, she hates people who look cuter and more…beautiful than her. I cannot help but apologize and beg for you and your affiliate’s forgiveness!”
The quarter dark elf froze after hearing the second part of Valentino’s apology. He couldn’t help but turn his head around to look at Arya, and surprisingly enough, her face was as red as they come. She was blushing and hiding behind her brother’s back, trying to avoid looking at Cale who simply raised his brows while looking at Alberu.
After a few words of goodbye, the two best friends headed to the cake section as planned. On their way there, Cale let out a small chuckle.
“What’s so funny, huh?”
Cale shrugged as he pointed at his best friend.
“She thinks you’re cute and beautiful, not hot and manly. Pfft.”
While Alberu would have gotten offended by Cale’s words, this time, he didn’t for once. Perhaps it was because he knew that Arya was actually jealous of Cale, and not jealous of him. Well, truth to be told, she indeed did have a lot of things to have worried about. I mean, take a look at Cale’s waist. It was thinner than hers – and she was a girl while Cale was a man. And if Cale wouldn’t have worn this suit of his, his shoulders would be only a bit wider than hers, giving him an even cuter and much more innocent appeal – that didn’t match his stoic or scammer-smiling expression at all.
Alberu nodded to himself, a strange thought forming in his head. Nevertheless, thinking about the events from before, he could give it a shot.
But before Alberu could give it much more thought, he and Cale came across the person they had been eager to meet this whole evening – it was Crown Princess Rosalyn.
Rosalyn was an exceptional beauty, known for her good looks even outside the Breck Kingdom. Her fiery red hair was much lighter than Cale’s – resembling actual flames rather than crimson blood. Her big, orange-reddish eyes were framed by long, black lashes and her cherry red lips gave her pale complexion a nice contrast. Her red dress matched her looks perfectly. She was the most beautiful lady inside this banquet hall, looking like the true successor to the throne rather than a runaway princess turned tower master.
With an amiable smile that screamed ‘I had etiquette classes since I was four’, Rosalyn approached the crown prince of the Roan Kingdom. Contrary to most other representatives, she was alone; her brother seemed to have gone off somewhere alone.
She slightly bowed down to greet Cale and Alberu, and the two of them did the same.
“Good evening, your Highness, young master Cale, it’s nice to finally make your acquaintance after hearing the other guests talk so much about how lovely meeting the two of you was.”
The crown princess’ smile widened a bit after eying both Cale and Alberu.
“Lovely indeed, your Highness Rosalyn. Pleased to make your acquaintance after such a long evening. It seems like you already heard rumors about my best friend.”
Rosalyn let out a quiet chuckle – a very ladylike chuckle. She looked Cale up and down. The sixteen year old was only about two inches taller than her, which wasn’t too much. He looked very lovely indeed, especially with that smiling expression on his face. After spending the whole evening alone with her brother without the intention of meeting anyone, Rosalyn heard rumors going around about the crown prince of the Roan Kingdom, or rather his rude and ‘dangerous’ acquaintance.
“Ho, I had no idea that young master Cale was his Highness’s best friend. The rumors seemed to have forgotten to mention that part.”
Alberu simply shrugged and looked at Cale for an explanation. Naturally the redhead quickly came up with something. He cleared his throat.
“Your Highness Rosalyn, I fear hyung doesn’t want people to find out about our relationship, given that it could be problematic for his image.”
Almost immediately, Cale was hit on the shoulder – very lightly of course, else he could collapse immediately – and Alberu looked at him, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Your Highness Rosalyn, please don’t believe what Cale’s spouting. He loves to tease me and use my high position against me.”
Rosalyn let out another chuckle, shaking her head in understanding.
“Don’t worry, your Highness, I completely understand. It seems that the two of you have a very special relationship.”
Alberu simply smiled while Cale seemed confused, but the smart Rosalyn could already tell. She winked at Alberu and naturally, he too immediately understood. Cale’s denseness level was truly something else.
“E-hem, anyways, I hope her Highness didn’t have too boring of an evening until now?”
Rosalyn pulled up the hems of her long gloves and smiled brightly once again.
“No, no, the banquet is lovely. The orchestra playing is especially wonderful and the food is truly something else. I fear I’m simply not a person who socializes much, hahaha.”
Alberu smiled in understanding, so did Cale.
“Understandable. The people present wouldn’t be my first choice to socialize with either.”
Rosalyn chuckled after hearing Cale’s blunt but honest response. Alberu could only nod in agreement. Aristocrats weren’t either Cale’s or Alberu’s cup of tea of people. But Rosalyn, while having the same manners as an aristocrat, wasn’t behaving like them in the least bit.
“Well, the Saint is a nice person, but the man he comes with isn’t, hahaha.”
Once again, Alberu and Cale could only agree with the crown princess.
“Indeed, I’ve heard he was a very…authoritative ruler.”
Upon hearing Alberu’s very nice words, Cale shook his head.
“What he means is that the Imperial Prince sounds like a dog-like ruler.”
Alberu naturally got embarrassed – mostly since it was exactly what he had been thinking – but Rosalyn only kept on laughing.
“Yes, I suppose it’s true. I pity the Saint. I’d have loved to talk to him more, wasn’t it for the Imperial Prince.”
Alberu nodded, he too planned to talk to Saint Jack, yet wouldn’t approach him if he was with Imperial Prince Adin, not after Cale told him not to approach the Imperial Prince. He wasn’t someone who took Cale’s words lightly.
“Well, it was a lovely talk. I’d love to repeat it sometime, but unfortunately, I don’t trust my brother enough to leave him alone for too long. If you’ll excuse me, your Highness, young master Cale.”
Rosalyn bowed down once more, and the two best friends mirrored her actions. With a genuine smile and a short wave of her hand, Rosalyn returned to one corner of the room, probably where she left her youngest brother Pen.
Watching the future magic tower master head back caused a smile on Cale’s lips. Now that Alberu was acquainted with Rosalyn, they could at least try to ask her for help. Judging by her character, she would definitely respond with yes.
Naturally, the redhead wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
~
It took quite a while until Alberu was done chitchatting with most nobles that were on his list, both his supporters and the neutral factions of the Roan Kingdom as well as possible allied kingdoms’ representatives. Now only three people were missing; one of which was King Alfonso from the Whipper Kingdom, or rather the tower master he came with, and Saint Jack.
While there was no problem with the former two, both Alberu and Cale found it difficult to approach Saint Jack since he was practically glued to the Imperial Prince of the Mongoru Empire. It was to the extent where it was incredibly annoying even, since there were none opportunities to catch the Saint alone.
Heaving a troubled sigh, Alberu swiftly took a couple steps back and led Cale to the balcony, out of the stuffy and loud banquet hall. There was only an hour left, then the two of them could leave. During their stay here, Raon had come by at one point, yet he left after asking an odd question about a letter – a question that seemed to bother Cale ever since then.
It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots, yet Alberu didn’t find the opportunity to talk about this inside the hall. Yet, on this balcony, under the pitch black night sky filled with small, white, shining dots, that were the stars, it could become a topic of discussion again.
Just as Alberu was about to bring it up, he noticed how Cale wasn’t standing by his side any more, instead, he was leaning on the railing, looking up at the gorgeous full moon above him. His crimson hair was being toyed with by the moon and his entire existence began to look eternal.
Cale was a person with a very stoic expression, someone that appeared hard to approach. Actually, truth to be told, he was hard to approach. But once you got to know him; no, even then not; once he let you know him and once he trusted you, then you could maybe see the emotions hidden deep beneath that stoic glance and annoyed frown.
All of Alberu’s intentions regarding the envelope from two weeks ago dispersed and he slowly approached his best friend, leaning next to him on the railing. Words weren’t needed between the two of them – at least most of the time. Perhaps this moment was one of the very few that needed both words and no words at once.
It was a lovely night indeed; the cold wind announced that summer was nearing its end and fall was about to begin. Even though it was only August, the Roan Kingdom wasn’t a kingdom with long summers. Yes, they were always hot, but never long. The winters were a completely different deal.
“Hey Cale,”
Looking away from the moon, Cale turned his head to face the crown prince, only to notice that the quarter dark elf wasn’t looking at him, but at the dark night sky.
“You know, I’ve been trying to flirt with you, did you notice?”
All of a sudden, a very confused expression made its way to Cale’s expression, and that kind of expression would have made the crown prince laugh, if he had looked at it. After collecting his thoughts and a long silence, Cale cleared his throat, not knowing how to respond.
He had zero – and I’m talking about negative numbers – love experience. Hell, he hadn’t even read about it in books! Romance was the biggest question mark to him – he did not understand it at all. Perhaps it was because of the kind of life he had lived up til now which didn’t allow him to think much about romance. As a child, he had lost his parents very early, hell; he didn’t even remember their faces let alone anything else about them.
While his relatives told him at his parent’s funeral how they had been truly in love and happily married, his relatives also told him about how nice his uncle was. Perhaps the only thing they knew how to do was to lie – or only look at the book’s cover and not its countless words.
After growing up in an abusive household and getting beaten by his uncle, Cale as Kim Rok Soo ran away at the tender age of fifteen, moving into an orphanage. There, people weren’t exactly treated with much love and care. Sure, in comparison to his uncle and his old living situation, it was like heaven on earth, yet other children always kept on complaining, wanting to get out of the orphanage. Kim Rok Soo never managed to befriend any of the other kids in the orphanage, and at school, he also didn’t make any friends – couldn’t make any friends – let alone think about romance.
No, it was a bit different. Back then, the thought of romance never crossed Kim Rok Soo’s mind, not even once in his entire thirty-six years of living. Was it because he never found the right partner? No, there were countless good and marriageable people out there that Kim Rok Soo could have gotten to know and then married. He was simply too busy to let something like that even cross his mind, right? Not quite, even if he wasn’t exactly busy – which was on incredibly few occasions – he would have never gotten to the point where he would have thought about romance.
So how come he was suddenly thinking about it right now, with Alberu?
Wait…could it be that something like soulmates existed?
What if it had been fate that he would end up in this novel?
Cale almost laughed upon having such a stupid thought. Not as Kim Rok Soo and certainly not as Cale did he believe in bullshit like fate.
It must have been a coincidence and perhaps a bit of luck. In the life he had led as Kim Rok Soo, he was never lucky. Perhaps karma had finally given him a bit of luck – the luck of meeting Alberu, no?
Wasn’t there a saying that said that everyone had a little luck at least once a lifetime, that something like ‘only’ bad luck didn’t exist?
Yeah, Cale was sure that he had read something like this before.
So was this it?
Was this the case?
Would Cale begin to experience…romance?
With Alberu?
How did this romance thing even work?
Didn’t you have to like the person?
A deep frown appeared on Cale’s face as soon as he had that thought; it was because it was useless. Why? Because Cale liked Alberu, he liked him very much even. He couldn’t imagine a world without that annoying and cunning prince.
Was this romance…or rather love?
Wasn’t romance and love the same thing?
Argh, why did Cale have to think about all of this all of a sudden? Wasn’t this novel supposed to be a munchkin novel without even an ounce of love and romance or what? Did his interference with everything change the genre?
Wait, that’s not true, this world wasn’t a novel anymore. It was a real world. The people here were real – and much different from their character description in the novel. Cale knew that the best.
“Hey Cale,”
Cale was broken out of his thoughts and felt a strange sense of Déjà-vu after Alberu spoke to him with the same words twice in a row.
“You’re blushing, you know?”
Cale couldn’t believe his ears – and eyes. In front of him, Alberu had finally turned around to him, a smug expression on his face. His blue eyes that reflected the clear moonlight seemed brown for a split second and his skin appeared a tad darker, like his usual quarter dark elf skin, but it was over before anyone could have noticed it – well besides Cale with his Record ability.
Subconsciously, Cale lifted his hands to hide his cheeks behind them. He couldn’t imagine his face blushing. Sure, he had seen it happen many times, especially after consuming alcohol, yet not once – not a single time – did it happen because of something like…words!
“Pfft, you’re totally confused, aren’t you?”
Alberu’s chuckles immediately caused him to get beaten by his best friend, and a little more, against the arm.
“What are you laughing about, huh!? Shouldn’t you be the embarrassed one, ah?! I mean, didn’t you practically just…confess!?”
Cale’s loud yell only caused Alberu to laugh again, this time a bit more loudly and more amused.
“Pfft, sure, sure, whatever you say. But hey, you blushing at my words means that you noticed, right? And since you don’t appear to be disgusted, this means that you neither hate me nor want to end our friendship – not that you could though.”
Cale rolled his eyes, his cheeks were still blushing, no, they were even redder than before now. Alberu finally stopped laughing, seeing this as his one and only chance.
A slight and very boyish grin appeared on his face as he leaned a bit closer to Cale, just like he had done a couple hours before. This time, instead of getting an annoyed reaction, Cale’s eyes widened ever so slightly with his breath hitching and his heart started to beat faster.
The grin on the crown prince’s face widened ever so slightly as he leaned in closer and closer…until his lips were less than an inch apart from Cale’s ear, similar to before but with less distance now.
“You know, no response is also a response, and in my world it means that you are agreeing to whatever will happen, yeah?”
Cale’s face turned even redder than before, rivaling the second princess of the Caro Kingdom that the two of them had embarrassed before. But this was a cute color, seeing that it was on Cale’s face and Alberu was the one responsible for it.
“So…if I like you, and you obviously like me…”
Alberu put his hands on each side of Cale’s hip, pressing him against the high railing while remaining in the same position, but a lot closer. He could feel Cale’s fast heartbeat; his heart practically had a race with Alberu’s own heart.
“That makes you and me…lovers, right?”
Cale’s breath hitched one last time. This time around, no answer wasn’t an answer, both Cale and Alberu knew that. It had to be a clear yes or no – there was no in-between.
Cale did not know what he wanted.
Cale had no idea of romance or love whatsoever, let alone experience.
Cale also had no clue of what he was currently doing.
But Cale knew one thing, and it was that Alberu seemed to like him, a lot.
And he also knew that he liked Alberu, in a different way than he liked Ron, Beacrox, Eruhaben and Raon.
Cale didn’t know much about what was going on, but he knew that he could trust in Alberu.
And knowing that was probably enough.
After all, he knew the crown prince for more than eight years now. He was good enough of a judge in character to know that even if something should fail, everything would turn out just fine.
Perhaps going to this banquet wasn’t that bad of an idea after all.
Besides seeing the queen’s ugly visage, and meeting boring people, Cale found himself in his situation.
Who knew how much longer it would have taken Alberu to confess what he had been feeling, wasn’t it for that wink from Rosalyn?
Cale’s voice sounded very out of breath as he finally got ready to answer Alberu’s question.
Notes:
Hello~
Yes, you can thank or hate me later~
Nope, I don't regret the cliffhanger in the end at all~
Yes, I'd love to see your reactions on this~
〷◠‿ ◠〷
So, it's finally happening I guess? After so many words that I wrote, after so many hardships and discussions, Alberu finally confessed (more or less)! And even someone as dense as Cale got a rough understanding of what's happening!
Certainly he will be in a relationship with Alberu now, right?
Nothing else can happen, aren't I right?
Pffft, I won't spoiler a thing!
Just read to find out I guess!
（●´∀｀）ノ♡
Anyways, I hope that this chapter was to your satisfaction. I sure had a ton of fun while writing it!
Now only one chapter (perhaps I'll make two, I still ain't too sure) remains, and we still got the meeting with Saint Jack, Imperial Prince Adin AND NOT TO FORGOT the letter!
Oh my gosh, I've seen all of your theories and just let me tell you, they are so amusing (the positive kind!)! Like some of your ideas are legit better than what I had in mind, you put way too much confindence in me!
Hopefully the truth will still be to your satisfactory though (I'm really worried, haha).
Well, either way, IT finally happened! But my favorite event is still to come!
(@~_@~)
Let's move on to my personal life struggles now. Nothing much happened - besides a couple embarassing stuff at school. 'You had school for one hour and a half, so how did you manage to embarass yourself, huh?', is certainly what's on y'all's mind, AND JUST LET ME TELL YOU; I AM A VERY STANGE PERSON WHO GETS ENTANGLED WITH VERY STUPID SITUATIONS!
So it all began even before I arrived at school - I wore white pants and sat down in a, e-hem, not so clean seat in the train and I didn't notice anything amiss at first, so I naturally got off the train and went to school in my classroom.
Long story short, this stupid boy in my class noticed!
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
Let me tell you, I'ma pull out my imaginary gun (if I lived in america, I certainly would have possessed one) and shoot that bastard's head into human juice! Arggggggghhhhhhhh! It's not a boy I like, I literally like none of them, BUT it was THE boy I hate the most, out of everyone in my class! The worst was, he laughed at me!
To be honest, the stain on my pants was fairly small and it was on my leg rather than my ass, so it was obvious that it was not from me, especially since it was fucking BLUE (I still don't know in what I sat, really), so that asshole shouldnt have had the right to laugh to begin with!
( -_･) ︻デ═一 ▸Well, I hope my life at least brings a smile on your face or makes you laugh or something, so at least someone gets something out of this embarrassing day.
(ಠ⌣ಠ)
Then, I hope you liked the chapter and I certainly pray that my paste wasn't too fast.
Until next time, then!
✿乂◕‿◕乂
Chapter 40: 38. Bothersome (4)
Summary:
At the banquet part 2
Notes:
Trigger warning: This chapter contains Deruth-scum. Read with utter care, in case his attitude worsens your health!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“What on earth-“
A tall woman, who had put her hair up in a perfect bun, couldn’t help but widen her eyes in shock after seeing whatever was happening on the balcony – the place she had planned to escape to.
It wasn’t that big of a deal, really. There were just two young men conversing about something she had no idea of. What was truly disturbing the woman who was no other than Violan Henituse, was the expression the taller man had on his face. It was a mixture of a genuinely calm expression in combination with a certain look in his eyes – one Violan knew all too well.
And judging by the crimson hair of the young noble who was facing the Countess with his back, she could tell that it was her adoptive son – someone she cherished just as much as her ‘real’ children!
Violan did seriously not know what she was supposed to do. It felt very sketchy, seeing her eldest on the balcony like that. But that was nothing. She saw the blonde boy, who was actually a young man, rather than a boy, move closer to her son. He took a step, then another, followed by another few, until he closed the distance between the two of them, now only standing inches apart from her son.
He leaned in closer, and closer, and a bit closer. Just as Violan’s wildest fantasies played pictures of the redheaded noble being pressed against the palace wall while being wildly kissed – or worse yet, being forced into a kiss and the things that usually followed after – she noticed how the young man didn’t do either; he only leaned in to whisper something into her son’s ears. She would have loved to continue to watch the two of them, but couldn’t do so as a noble approached her.
Even though Violan wasn’t too familiar with nobles and their boundless rumors, there was one thing she knew; she couldn’t let anyone see the two boys alone on the balcony. Faking a bright smile, Violan bowed down ever so slightly, acknowledging Marquis Stan’s presence. He was a tall man; he had a handsome visage that didn’t match his true nature at all.
‘Never judge a book by its color’, would be the best way to describe Marquis Stan. He had enchanting looks, looking like the sweetest puppy, calm and kind, yet beneath that empty shell of his looks was nothing but utter evil. The man was involved in slave trades, murder, torture of the weak for entertainment and the black market in the Roan Kingdom. He was one of the very few nobles that Countess Henituse couldn’t bring herself to like, even if her life was to depend on it.
“Good evening, my lady~”
The Marquis bowed down too, attempting to take the Countess’s hand to press his lips on it, yet she was a tad quicker. Chuckling, he shook his head and straightened up a bit, his whole attention was on the gorgeous woman in front of him, making him miss the event that was going on a few feet away, on the balcony.
“Oh my, Marquis, what a surprise to see you attending such a banquet.”
Marquis Stan shook his head, but he wasn’t displeased by the Countess’s words. Actually, it was the opposite. She was right, while the Stan March was known for it being filled with power hungry dogs; after reaching the age of forty-five, right after having attended a rather simple banquet where he met a certain, interesting, redheaded child for the first time, Marquis Stan had chosen to stay at home, leaving his two sons, Venion and Taylor Stan, in charge of attending all banquets. And yet, here he was again.
“A surprise indeed…”
The Marquis shook his head, a slight smirk on his lips. Violan frowned as she noticed the partly – was it gentle? – expression on the man’s face. Nevertheless, she didn’t ease up, not even a little.
“If I may be a bit more straightforward, what business does the Marquis have with a Countess such as myself?”
Marquis Stan chuckled once again, shaking his head.
“My lady, please don’t pretend being in your presence would be beneath me. It is well-known that you are, despite being a Countess, almost as powerful as myself in most matters. And with all the gold stored within the Henituse County, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that your influence reaches by far beyond mine.”
Violan snorted, finally letting her polite mask fall, shatter to pieces, as a displeased frown made its way on her beautiful face. Yet, the Marquis didn’t seem to be bothered by the change in the Countess’s expression, not in the least.
“Marquis Stan, enough with the chitchat. What is it that you want from me? If it has anything to do with the money, you should meet my hus-“
Clearing his throat, the Marquis raised his hand, stopping Violan mid-sentence. Her frown growing ever so slightly, she waited patiently for the Marquis to speak, the annoyance obvious by the way she glared at the older man who was higher in society based ranks compared to her.
“My lady, please excuse my straightforwardness, but I want to ask…”
He leaned in closer, as if what he was about to ask would be the biggest secret known to mankind.
“…does my lady want to share this dance with me?”
Violan scoffed, unable to hide her disdain about the Marquis’ straightforwardness. Amongst nobles, it was never a good thing, after all. She shook her head, all of her friendliness from before vanished to thin air.
“Marquis Stan, out of courtesy for your position and title I’ve kept silent until now, but requesting a dance from a married woman – a Countess no less – is a bit too much, even for someone of your standing, is it not?”
The Marquis chuckled, but instead of being disappointed, an amused look appeared in his eyes. He leaned in closer to Violan, his smirk turned into a wide grin.
“Indeed, it is, but given that my lady wishes to keep me occupied here, preventing me to look a few feet to the left, I’d suggest my lady agrees to this dance.”
Violan clenched her fists in annoyance, realizing that Marquis Stan wasn’t as stupid as he was publicly seen. She recalled a certain rumor going around in her youth, when she had been a young teenager, going on her first adventures with her father’s friends.
It was an open secret that the successor of the Stan March was decided through bloodbath – the strong devour the weak, leaving nothing behind and claiming the price. It was a ruthless household, reigned by violence, terror and fear. Emotions such as love, care and ‘softness’ were an unfamiliar concept to the children of the Stan March, yet even amongst wolves was room for dragons.
Evans Stan, the current Marquis of the Stan March, was a dragon. While usually, it was enough to make one’s siblings yield to reach the successor’s position, Evans was the first to go all out on his siblings, killing them in their sleep, in a duel, during dinner in front of his very parents. And even though none of these murders were confirmed, it was well known. The former Marquees, Evans’ mother, was driven mad as her children were killed off one by one with only her youngest remaining, claiming the successor’s position. She killed herself soon after, taking her husband with her as ‘his ruthlessness and lawlessness had made their children just as sick as himself’.
Violan did not want to dance with someone like that. But judging by the man’s sick grin, the way he slowly turned his head in the direction of the two boys standing on the balcony, she saw no other choice, hence took a step closer to the monster in a person’s skin in front of her. She forced a smile on her lips.
“Marquis, let’s not drag this out longer than it has to be.”
The man’s head immediately turned around, the grin on his face getting bigger while the look in his eyes showed how he ended up victorious – as always.
Marquis Stan bowed down in front of Violan, a polite expression hiding the mischievousness from just a moment ago. If one ignored his past, he appeared to be the very definition of a gentleman and proper nobleman. It sickened Violan to her bones as she took the Marquis’ stretched out hand and followed his lead to the center of the ballroom.
The music wasn’t fast, and if it had been, the musicians wouldn’t have survived under the woman’s fiery glare.
“Oh my, my lady, you have to ease up a bit if you want to make this an enjoyable event.”
The Marquis chuckled at his own senseless and tasteless joke, before he swiftly spun the beautiful woman in her luxurious, dark blue ball gown. He was a formidable dancer, that had to be said, and the way he kept his hands to himself, only touching the Countess where it was absolutely necessary for their dance to be fluid, was something Violan didn’t expect.
Marquis Stan smirked upon seeing the woman’s surprised face as he shook his head, pretending to be pouting.
“My lady, your surprise insults me and my dancing. Do I appear to be that uncultured?”
Without giving it a second thought, Violan snorted.
“Talking was never part of this deal.”
Once again, the Marquis let out a loud laugh, but his entire, joyous expression was wiped empty just a second later. While his movements didn’t suffer, his dance partner sure did. While Violan had moved just as graceful as the Marquis, the moment his smile slipped away, she started to stumble and in the end, even fell forward ever so slightly, having fallen on the floor, wasn’t it for her dance partner’s chest. Yet, she didn’t have the time to either apologize or feel embarrassed, as the very next moment she was being pushed back ever so slightly. No, that wasn’t quite right. She wasn’t pushed back, she was being pulled away!
Realizing that, made the graceful Countess turn around in a swift move, her face as cold and emotionless as if her expression had been carved in marble before. And as she had expected, she faced the man whom she once loved beyond imagination.
Whatever speck of emotion that she had felt for him once, so long ago, and whatever disdain she expressed towards the Marquis, all of it were ignored and forgotten as she took a step back, ripping her arm free of her husband’s grip, standing right next to the Marquis instead.
Even compared to a beast, a dragon, so ruthless and lawless such as Evans Stan, Violan preferred being next to him over the man she married. While Deruth was a well-liked noble in society, someone who had money but was neutral and hence harmless, she absolutely loathed him the moment she discovered the whole truth around his firstborn son Cale Henituse.
But neither Count Henituse nor Marquis Stan paid her any attention, that is after noticing that clear step of hers.
“Count Henituse, what a surprise to see you here.”
Marquis Stan put on the most amiable smile in his arsenal, and as soon as he did, the whole air around him changed. The music, which had seemed loud and happy just a few moments ago, was almost inaudible. Deruth frowned, intending to pull his wife away once again, yet didn’t do so after noticing the nobles’ stares. Instead, he cleared his throat and put on the best of his poker-face as well.
“How can my presence be a surprise, Marquis, especially if my wife is gracing the likes of you with her presence at this very moment? Are you-“
“Stop this, Deruth. I don’t have time for your silly arguments with the Marquis. The two of you can bite each other like dogs, for all I care, as long as you don’t obstruct the dancing area.”
With those words, Violan quickly hurried away from the Marquis and her husband, who had been trying to find her ever since the two of them got here and ‘split up’. Heaving a sigh of relief, Violan was glad for the Marquis, for the first time ever. Frowning at her sudden thought, she shook her head and chose to ignore whatever it was that she was thinking, instead turning her attention back on the balcony where her son had just stood, yet Cale was gone.
~
A certain youth whose crimson hair was half tied up with chin long bangs framing his pale, yet gorgeous complexion, was standing right next to the sweets section of the long dinner tables. His entire figure seemed as if it had been made by someone who understood the unity of the word beauty. His reddish-brown eyes were surrounded by long, raven black lashes and his entire body seemed to shout ‘leave me alone’, yet with a certain amount of grace to it, naturally.
Cale Henituse looked like a perfect doll. Despite being a man, he had a pretty face most women would be jealous of. He had a lean built which was complemented by the black suit he wore, though now that he had taken off the black jacket; his narrow shoulders were visible for the world to see.
Nevertheless, despite the many awestruck gazes being drawn to him, the sixteen year old youth ate his chocolate cake without a care in the world. Perhaps that was possible because of the man who stood right beside him. If Cale was described as petite, pretty and feminine, the man by his side was the utter opposite.
With shining golden hair and big azure eyes that glared at anyone, no matter the status, who even slightly looked in the pretty man’s direction, the crown prince stood tall, exerting an air of confidence and even dominance. He was a whole head taller than his best friend, even though the frail youth wasn’t that small himself.
Even the suit he wore, a white piece of art and utter perfection – made by Patrick Gerade – with silver linings on the cuffs, was representing the differences of the two young men attending the royal banquet. Yet, it was commonly known that opposites attracted each other, no?
“Haaa, how long?”
The redhead didn’t need to specify his question. He swallowed the last bit of the tasty chocolate cake and looked up at the crown prince. While others may not notice, Cale immediately saw how his best friend – well, now a little more than that – flinched and turned around, his cheeks turned pink ever so slightly, still vividly recalling their conservation on the balcony – and Cale’s response.
“About half an hour, doable, right?”
Cale rolled his eyes, letting out an extra dramatic sigh, which made Alberu chuckle in amusement.
“Don’t look at me like that Cale. We are supposed to be talking to my supporters, yet here I am, standing next to the cake isle with you, sacrificing my precious time.”
Listening to the crown prince’s complaints, Cale couldn’t help but scoff. He rolled his eyes and hooked his arm in Alberu’s, making the older man blush ever so slightly once again.
“If I may refresh your memories, your highness was the one that brought me here tonight. I didn’t even want to go, so the least you can do, would be to stand here and prevent people to come talk to me.”
Alberu couldn’t help but chuckle.
“So…I’m nothing more than a meat-shield to you, ah?”
Cale shrugged but didn’t reply to the accusations, which meant he could have agreed to Alberu’s words just as well. But it didn’t matter. Alberu pressed his hand against his chest, pretending to be hurt, which he truly wasn’t.
Yet, the silly exchange between the two friends didn’t last for long.
“Your Highness,”
In front of them, a tall man in his early twenties, only a bit older than Alberu, had stopped. He wore a fancy, alabaster suit, only a bit darker in color than the crown prince’s. He had fancy features, a sharp jawline, yet the moment he approached, an ominous feeling made its way to Alberu’s stomach. He recalled Cale tell him that it wouldn’t be too good of an idea to get involved with the grey haired man standing in front of him.
Imperial Prince Adin’s plain brown eyes made their way across Alberu, then jumped over to the youth standing next to him, where they darted a tad longer, before returning to the ‘important figure’ again. Next to him, a tall boy was firmly standing, keeping his head down. He had pure, blonde hair, though it wasn’t as golden as Alberu’s, and warm, amber eyes, much lighter in color compared to Adin.
Just like Adin, Alberu immediately recognized Saint Jack. He was a year younger than Cale, yet still a bit taller, and much shyer.
“Imperial Prince Adin,”
Alberu gave a slight bow, and so did Cale, while greeting the two figures in the same way they had greeted them. It was quite the irony, that the two men the crown prince tried to avoid the most approached them at a time like this. Fate sure had quite the fucked up sense of humor, yes, indeed.
“What a pleasant surprise to finally bump into you two. To be honest, I’ve wanted to approach you after I’ve seen you converse with the crown princess of the Breck Kingdom, yet that talk seemed to have lasted a tad too long.”
Adin laughed as soon as he finished his explanation. While his smile was warm, his eyes were colder than ice, a calculating look in them. But that expression didn’t last too long as Adin put his hand on Saint Jack, making the fifteen year old teen flinch ever so slightly, yet he looked up and straightened his back.
With a shy smile that revealed how lost he had been in this event, Saint Jack waved at Cale and Alberu, greeting the two of them too, much friendlier than Adin did.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Saint Jack. I’ve heard a lot of good things about your abilities.”
Instead of answering proudly – like anyone else would have done – Saint Jack shook his head, his cheeks became reddened as he stayed as humble as he could.
“Please! I am undeserving of such words said by your highness!”
At that, Adin and Alberu chuckled – which was the way diplomatists dealt with things. Cale, on the other hand, stayed silent, his face expressionless. The redhead paid Saint Jack no mind whatsoever, his full attention was being drawn to Adin – yet Alberu could tell that it wasn’t because of something positive; not at all.
“You are too humble, Saint Jack.”
Adin smiled what could only be described as an amiable and graceful smile and shook his head. He was very similar to Alberu and Cale, yet also completely different – Alberu could feel it.
He turned to Cale, yet the redhead was still staring at Adin.
And Alberu wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“My, apologies young master Cale, I completely failed to notice you in the presence of his Highness. Ha, ha, ha, what an odd mistake on my part, especially with the radiating beauty from your presence. My, it can only be caused by his Highness’s radiating light, what else, ha, ha, ha.”
Instead of keeping up his expressionless mask, a frown appeared on Cale’s face as he simply nodded. It caused Alberu to feel strange yet again. This evening, he had talked to many foreign nobles, and not a single time did Cale’s gracious smile slip away from his lips, yet it seemed to be non-existent in front of Adin.
“Don’t worry, your Highness the Imperial Prince, it would only be natural of you to notice his Highness before me.”
Adin nodded his head after he let out an amused laughter as well, obviously intrigued by the redhead’s glib tongue. Still, Adin’s expression didn’t change, not even once.
“Good, good, I already thought I’ve offended you, young master. I’ve kept overhearing your kingdom’s nobles talking about how his Highness cherishes you very much, so I wanted to greet you properly, yet, for some reason, the radiating light of his Highness has overthrown my previous thoughts completely.”
Cale had to fight the urge no to roll his eyes, and so did Alberu, yet the redhead simply nodded sternly while Alberu smiled at the ‘compliment’, which sounded more like an insult.
“It is an honor, your Highness the Imperial Prince, to be included in your thoughts.”
While Cale would have continued, saying he was nothing more but a fallen noble, not worth given such attention, he didn’t. It made Alberu very suspicious once again, and in that moment, Alberu made a quick decision. He smiled even more friendly than before, yet it didn’t appear to startle Adin in any way.
“No need to be so humble, young master.”
After saying that, Adin turned his attention back to the crown prince of the Roan Kingdom. He got ready to state something else, yet Alberu anticipated him.
“Oh my! Your Highness the Imperial Prince, I must deeply apologize, but it seems that our meeting has to fall short.”
Adin raised his brow, for the first time signalizing that he was somewhat discontent with Alberu. Just as he was about to ask for reasons, the quarter dark elf had already taken Cale’s arm and pulled him aside; a simple yet effective action, whereas disrespectful – not that it mattered much, though. Perhaps the two of them not looking back was why events unfolded the way they did…which is something else.
Right now, Cale heaved a sigh of relief as he leaned, once again, against the table on which all kinds of cakes and sweets were standing. It was his safe place in this vast sea of sharks, all waiting for the opportunity to rip him and Alberu apart.
With a cold gaze, Cale’s gaze wandered past his best friend and towards the place they had just conversed with Imperial Prince Adin and Saint Jack, yet the two men from the Mongoru Empire were gone, nowhere to be found. Seeing that, a sigh escaped the redhead’s lips and his tense shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.
Cale didn’t know why, but every single atom of his body had screamed at him to not get involved with the Imperial Prince of the Mongoru Empire. It wasn’t just that he seemed ‘dangerous’, it was more because there had been an ominous air around the grey haired man. It wasn’t just that he seemed arrogant and ignorant – characteristics Adin managed to hide well enough from anyone else but Cale – yet something was off, was just wrong.
Shaking his head and with it the thoughts about the Imperial Prince, Cale decided to ignore it for now. After all, things that weren't understood should be paid no further mind.
“What was that?”
Seeing Cale finally look less startled and on guard, Alberu took this chance to ask about what just happened. Cale simply shrugged his narrow shoulders and took one of the few remaining chocolate cake pieces.
“I told you not to get involved with him, and while I only speculated before, I can say it now with certainty. Something about that bastard is off.”
Cale didn’t need to continue and Alberu simply nodded his head. There was no need for an explanation any longer, after all the two of them knew each other for over eight years now. Alberu blindly trusted Cale as much as the redhead blindly trusted the crown prince.
“Alright, will do.”
Cale scoffed at Alberu’s stern reply, and hence looked up, only to see the fat smirk on his best friend’s face. He immediately regretted looking up at Alberu, wishing he had kept his gaze on the wonderful chocolate cake instead. Patiently, the sixteen year old youth waited for Alberu to say something, yet nothing came. With an annoyed sigh, Cale looked up once again.
“What is it?”
Alberu’s smile widened ever so slightly as he leaned in closer, only speaking in a low whisper so that only Cale could hear.
“Ten o’clock from your right, Count Deruth Henituse is approaching you with quick steps, glaring at you as if you were a bag of gold. And from three o’clock from your left, a certain Marquis is approaching.”
Cale’s annoyed face immediately fell and he stared at Alberu in blank shock. While Cale had no trouble with Marquis Stan and only felt annoyance and disdain for the man, his body’s father, Count Deruth Henituse, was a whole different ordeal. Just as he was about to break out in cold sweat, he recalled Alberu’s victorious smile. Furrowing his brows, Cale looked up at the tall blonde.
“What?”
Alberu’s smile widened even more, now turning into a typical, boyish grin.
“You know, if we danced together, you would be off the hook, right~?”
The redhead clenched his teeth, recalling Alberu’s offer to dance together right after the two of them got off the balcony. While he hadn’t been that opposed to the idea, dancing here, in such a public space, was too burdensome to him, which was why he chose to not do it. But right now…
Before Cale even knew it, he had put down his plate with the gorgeous and tasty cake on it and taken Alberu’s hand while pushing him forward, onto the vast dance floor. He didn’t look at the crown prince, only at the two men stopping their approach towards him, showing the slightest of hesitations.
With one problem gone, another appeared – which was dancing.
But that too was taken care of, though this time, it was Alberu’s doing. Elegantly, even more so than Evans Stan, he took the lead and guided Cale who couldn’t dance for his life, as the two of them began to dance in a gracious and elegant way. Cale had never learnt how to dance; back in his life as Kim Rok Soo he didn’t need such a useless skill. The closest he came to dancing was when he was dodging the attacks of the sixteen legs of a mutated double-headed spider.
Contrary to Alberu, his movements were sluggish and uncoordinated – he was probably the only one who moved like that. While Cale didn’t care about other people’s opinions of him, he did care about his…now boyfriend’s…shoes. Almost every ten seconds, he stepped on Alberu’s feet. The longer he seemed to be looking at his feet, the more often he appeared to be stepping on the expensive shoes. After a few minutes, however, Cale’s chin was raised by a gentle hand. He was forced to look into his partner’s eyes rather than his feet.
“Don’t focus on your feet too much, just let me take the lead and follow, alright?”
Cale rolled his eyes, but complied with whatever Alberu said nonetheless.
And who would have guessed, it actually worked.
Their dance, while becoming much simpler and slower, got a lot more fluid and graceful. Every step and swing was connected to each other, meaningful and unique in its way. The dance Alberu was dancing was actually not really a dance, just a few steps from this and that dance lesson he had picked up in his childhood.
But it was fun.
In that moment, contrary to when Violan had danced with Marquis Stan in that uncomfortable dance, the world around the fresh couple seemed to become unimportant – almost non-existent. There were only Alberu and Cale, together. Their breaths quickened the longer they danced, and while it wasn’t an exhausting action, all good things had to come to an end. So did this dance.
With a slight smirk, Alberu’s hand wandered down to Cale’s waist and just as the redhead realized that he was about to fall, the crown prince gracefully caught him, the very second the song came to an end.
Around them, people were clapping their hands – applauding their performance. It was then that both young men realized that there were only few people dancing, most others had stopped and instead watched them. Having no time to be embarrassed, Alberu cleared his throat, bowed down with Cale, then exited the dancing area.
On his way to the cake isle, he picked up one of the alcoholic drinks served by the caterers. Just as he was about to drink it though, Cale took the glass and drank it all in one go. His cheeks flushed – mostly because his skin was too thin – and he shook his head in disdain.
He turned his head to face Alberu, a frown on his face.
“Remind me to never dance with you again, your Highness.”
Alberu couldn’t help but laugh at that.
The two of them continued to walk forward. The cake was already greeting them, waving at them, and yet, the two of them never arrived there.
Ten feet in front of their destination, Cale stopped, his brows furrowed. Confused, the crown prince turned around, only to notice how Cale was leaning against one of the few desks next to him, looking down on his feet. His arms were shaking.
Worry immediately took over whatever joy Alberu might have felt before, and just a split second later, the quarter dark elf was next to the person he loved the most in this entire universe.
“Cale? You alright? You’re shaking.”
“M-hmm.”
Cale only hummed that, a few seconds before collapsed. His eyes closed and with them, the entire world turned black for him. To Alberu, on the other hand, things happened by far too quickly for him to realize.
What he saw was his boyfriend on the ground, nothing else. It felt like the whole world was on the ground though.
Notes:
Hi!
I believe I need to aplogize? I didn't manage to update last week, and I'm really sorry. I promise, I started this chapter so long ago, but I got sick and was out cold for a whole wekk (and it was the week I was on vacation, so it was really stupid), so I couldn't update. For that, I am sorry.
I hope you didn't have to wait for too long, and in case you're wondering, I'm all better now! It was nothing but a stupid ass cold, but it hit me like a truck, so...Well, let's ignore that!
I have a french class test tomorrow, and let's just say I'm ready to fail. It was nice knowing you.
Today though, we had music for the first time in two years (last year our music teacher got sick and couldn't teach us because of that, and we have way too few music teachers, so we didn't have any music at all) but anyways, let me just say I seem to have bad luck anywhere I go this year!I believed my boring-ass english teacher was bad, but my music teacher is a whole different level. First of all, I must tell you that my school is a more modern one and students who want to are provided with a tablet. I didn't want one since I love to doodle all over my paper, an old habit of mine, and usually, all teachers respect that - and even encourage it. Hell, I'm already sitting on my computer and phone whenever I'm not at school, so...
Anyways, hopefully you get me.
So well yeah, I'm sitting there, and my music teacher enters the room. She seems nice enough, looks nice, has a nice voice and appearance, so naturally I thought I was lucky.
Well, technically, she as a person wasn't that bad - i don't know her well enough to judge her character, but anyways.
So, I'm sitting, she introduces herself, asks who plans to chose music next year since the next two years will be the most important of my school career, and all seems well enough.
Then she asks all of us to take out our tablets so she can share the work sheet with us. Naturally, since I (and a few others in my class) don't have one, we raise our hands and she asks what's the matter. I tell her that some of us don't have a tablet.
SHE FUCKING FROWNS AND LOOKS AT ME AS IF I HAD THREE HEADS!
But okay, okay, that's fine.
BUT instead of replying like a normal person or something, she shrugs and continued as if I hadnt ever said anything.
(ಠ⌣ಠ)
Idk, I dislike the subject and I can look at my best friend's tablet, so fine. But THEN SHE FUCKING goes around and stops in front of me, DARING TO ASK WHY I AM LOOKING INTO MY BEST FRIEND'S TABLET AND NOT WORKING ON MY OWN (if I may remind you, I told her I didnt have a tablet).
But it doesn't matter. I explain it to her again, and she nodded, saying she could copy the sheets for me. I nodded and waited.
|ʘ‿ʘ)╯
She goes away, and roughly ten minutes later, comes again, asking me once again why I ain't working on the work sheets. I ain't a patient person, so I directly shrug and say ONCE FUCKING AGAIN THAT I HAVE NO TABLET.
Then SHE FUCKING TELLS ME I SHOULD DO THE SHEETS ON MY PHONE.
( -_･) ︻デ═一 ▸
Bisch what the fuck?
Well, I just shook my head, telling her my phone wasnt an option and she just said 'okay' and walked away.
After, I didn't even try and studied for my french class work.
I don't care anymore.
Hell, she fucks me up.
( ￣┏＿┓￣)
I am not looking forward to seeing her again.
She was soooo...arqoqfhewajfoiweht4i3qi#ewßgzqAnyways, I was just complaining in here. Sorry to bug you with it, hahaha. And sorry for this in case this is boring or something. I guess you just have to bear with it, hahaha. (thanks to listening to my tantrums, hehe)
〷◠‿◠〷
As always, I hope you liked the chapter and the wait wasn't too long!
Then, until next time (promise that it won't take as long as it did this time)
(ʃƪ˘ڡ˘)
Chapter 41: 39. Bothersome (5)
Summary:
At the banquet part 3
Notes:
Small trigger warning here, the latter part of the chapter includes violence as well as domestic abuse. If you get triggered by such topics easily, please feel free to skip it. I've marked the beginning and end with [T].
Stay safe!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Rok Soo! Whatcha doing here again?”
Frowning, the young man, who was sitting on the desk while looking over various reports about Grade 1, 2 and 3 monsters, looked up at the older man who was calling out his name for the whole world to hear. It was a man in his early thirties with a muscular body that would have been perfect for an action movie actor. The man had black hair and black eyes, yet sharp facial features that underlined his handsomeness.
And who else could that man be other than Lee Soo Hyuk?
Arriving right next to Kim Rok Soo, Lee Soo Hyuk put his arm around the young man who was ten years younger than him. With a bright and cheerful smile that looked similar to the one Choi Jung Soo had – Kim Rok Soo’s only other ‘friend’ – Lee Soo Hyuk pulled out a paper bag from his pocket, which could be nothing other than food.
“Did you eat dinner already, Rok Soo?”
Groaning in annoyance, Kim Rok Soo put the important files down. He had been looking on the characteristics of so called ‘Sixteen Legged Spiders’, who were categorized to be Grade 2 monsters but honestly deserved to be downgraded to Grade 3 monsters. The only troublesome thing about them was their speed and their sixteen legs, but other than that they were mindless creatures without poison or other defense mechanisms.
“Ho! Too good to answer your hyung-nim now, are we?”
Kim Rok Soo let out a defeated sigh and turned his head to look at the man who was not just his team leader, but also remaining family. Even if he wasn’t related to him by blood, it felt a lot like it.
“It’s not like that, Team Leader Lee.”
Upon hearing the title, Lee Soo Hyuk pouted. Just as Kim Rok Soo was about to grab the paper bag with his food in it – since he was the only one who didn’t attend the company lunch today and hence the only one who hadn’t eaten until now – Lee Soo Hyuk lifted it up, outside of the younger man’s reach.
A disdained frown appeared on Kim Rok Soo’s face for a split second, yet it disappeared as quickly as it came, as his facial expression returned to the stoic frown. People who didn’t know Kim Rok Soo might even think that he was looking down on them with that kind of expression on his face.
“Team Leader Lee, I don’t have time to play.”
Lee Soo Hyuk rolled his eyes and gave in immediately – knowing that else, the young Rok Soo would return to working without giving lunch a second thought. Knowing the twenty-one year old, it was very likely that he would skip dinner as well.
Ever since Kim Rok Soo unlocked his ‘Record’ ability and entered the company after passing the entrance test, he spend most of his time analyzing all existing records and – if needed – overwriting them. What seemed like the job that would be done by a scaredy-cat, Kim Rok Soo didn’t even miss a single field mission, always accompanying Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo, no matter where to.
Perhaps that was Kim Rok Soo’s problem.
He was taking care of everything, and Lee Soo Hyuk knew that he – and many others too – were relying on Kim Rok Soo’s information at any time. He always reminded them about eating their meals, always told them to take care; always filled them in on the monster’s attack rhythm.
Ever since Lee Soo Hyuk met the young man a year ago, when he was lying all alone in that abandoned building without food and water, ready for death, Lee Soo Hyuk got a feeling about him. Still, he wouldn’t have ever imagined that a person such as Kim Rok Soo existed.
He was always talking about that ‘slacker life’ of his. For such a workaholic, it sure sounded like a joke whenever he heard it coming out of Cale’s mouth.
Shaking his head, Lee Soo Hyuk watched how Kim Rok Soo took out the sandwich he had made by the restaurant. It wasn’t much, but it was the most he could do in such a broken world.
“Where’s Choi Jung Soo?”
Lee Soo Hyuk couldn’t help but smile. It couldn’t be helped. He leaned in and pinched Cale’s pale and thin cheeks, feeling like a true elder brother rather than team leader.
“Look who’s speaking with food in his mouth, huh? Didn’t I teach you to first swallow, then talk?”
Kim Rok Soo rolled his eyes, not caring whether this action was seen by Lee Soo Hyuk or not – which it naturally was. But, in the end, Lee Soo Hyuk let it pass – this one time.
“Jung Soo said he wanted to stop by somewhere before coming here, though he didn’t specify where.”
Kim Rok Soo raised his brows, but shrugged it off in the end. He was just about to continue to work – since he had eaten now – as a strange feeling made its way to his stomach. Frowning, the young man looked up at Lee Soo Hyuk, who was surprised that Kim Rok Soo didn’t immediately continue his work.
“Something the matter, Rok Soo?”
Kim Rok Soo’s – no, his name was now Cale – brows furrowed together and he shook his head. But instead of continuing like usual, he looked around. For the first time, he realized that he wasn’t in a fancy castle or medieval looking building where the light was given off by a burning candle or a through mana-powered magical device. The walls were of a simple, whitish-grey color, all looking the same. Furthermore, the floor was a simple, cheap linoleum floor.
It was a vast office room with many more desks similar to his own standing around the room. But it wasn’t an unfamiliar room – similar to how the person he had been talking to wasn’t unfamiliar. Realization hit Cale, and he quickly turned his head back around to look at Lee Soo Hyuk, afraid that now, that he had realized the situation – at least partly – the image of his long dead team leader would disappear.
But that wasn’t the case.
When Cale’s head turned back around, Lee Soo Hyuk was still there, frowning with obvious worry for the young man written all over his face.
“Rok Soo, you alright?”
Cale couldn’t help but gulp down all of his questions and doubts, all of his emotions and all of his shock, maintaining his usual stoic expression. He gave a robotic nod, yet didn’t turn back around to his files, instead staring intently at Lee Soo Hyuk, taking in every single particle of the man’s image. It’s been such a long time since he had seen the former team leader of team one in person, and while he kept countless records of him and Choi Jung Soo in his mind, it was a whole different thing that seeing people in person.
“Kim Rok Soo, don’t tell me the bread was poisoned or something. Tsk, next time, I won’t trust that fucker Gun Woo; he’s a good-for-nothing through and through.”
Despite himself, a smile appeared on Cale’s pale lips. Seeing that, Lee Soo Hyuk’s angered expression crumbled and instead, shock was written – once again – all over his face. Shaking his head, Lee Soo Hyuk pressed the back of his hand against Cale’s forehead, measuring the temperature, expecting a fever that wasn’t there.
Frowning upon realizing that the man in front of him – Kim Rok Soo – seemed to be fine, Lee Soo Hyuk couldn’t help but scoff.
“What is it, Rok Soo? Spit it out, or I’m gonna ban you from a couple field missions, only allowing you to go on the safe ones.”
Cale shook his head, his smile disappearing. He didn’t know what was happening, nor did he recall what he had done before doing what he was currently doing. He knew that, a long time ago, something had happened to Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo.
But what?
All of Kim Rok Soo’s memories were hazy and blurry, even his records. It was almost as if something greater was meddling with his memories – messing with him.
Wait…who was he again’
“Rok Soo, you listening?”
Ah, that’s right, Kim Rok Soo. He was Kim Rok Soo, a twenty-one year old employee in a big cooperation that tried to kill as many monsters and fight back for humanity against the dangers of the cataclysm.
But wasn’t he someone else now?
Scoffing at his own ridiculous thought, Kim Rok Soo returned to look at the files about the Sixteen Legged Spider in front of him again. How odd, he could have sworn that he had been thinking about something happening to his one and only family.
“Haaa, and there you go again, blanking out.”
Lee Soo Hyuk shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest, sitting down on the chair next to Kim Rok Soo. The two of them were the only people in this vast office, in which over a hundred workers could easily fit with each one having more than enough space for himself.
Most of their co-workers were either out on missions – saving people, battling monsters and reclaiming lost areas for humanity – or busy celebrating their most recent win in the outskirts of Seoul – the region in which Kim Rok Soo just moved, despite Choi Jung Soo’s and Lee Soo Hyuk’s insistence for him to not go there. Statistically, it was the most dangerous area, but Kim Rok Soo knew better than to listen to stupid people who have never killed a single monster. The only monsters inhabiting the area near the outskirts to Seoul were Grade 3 monsters, all too shy to meet humans and way too mindless to be strong fighters, let alone dangerous to someone as experienced with monsters as Kim Rok Soo.
Even though the man wasn’t a fighter, even he could take down a Grade 3 monster – though his case was an exceptional, his skills boosted by his ‘Record’ ability.
“Hey Rok Soo, one last thing before I completely lose you to work.”
Kim Rok Soo turned around, expecting to look at Lee Soo Hyuk, yet when he turned around, he was gone, as if he hadn’t been sitting on the chair next to him to begin with. Frowning, Kim Rok Soo thought that he might have hallucinated since he hadn’t slept in days, but then again, that wasn’t possible, not with ‘Record’.
Well, ‘Record’ wasn’t an almighty ability and certainly had its flaws. Perhaps Kim Rok Soo truly was too tired to think straight.
Shaking his head, Kim Rok Soo returned to the file in his hands – only to realize that it was a different than the Sixteen Legged Spider he had just held in his hand. And his hand – it looked different too!
His eyes widened in surprise as he put the file of a certain ‘Poison Dracon Wolf-Bat’ down and stared at his scarred hands. Compared to his small and weak arms he had had in his early twenties, his current arms were muscular and toned, similar to Lee Soo Hyuk’s. The many scars all over his fingers and hands continued on his arms and probably were all over his body. Realization hit Kim Rok Soo once again and he recalled that he didn’t belong into this office; instead he was supposed to be in the palace…
In what palace?
Cale…no…wasn’t his name Kim Rok Soo? Who was Cale?
Kim Rok Soo shook his head, his head was fogging once again and all of his memories were nothing but blurry pieces of color overlapping with a dark void in his mind. He knew he had forgotten something major – something he wasn’t allowed to forget, yet he didn’t seem to recall what that important piece of information was!
Seeing no other choice, Kim Rok Soo got up from his chair in a swift motion, ignoring how his office chair fell backwards and the only remaining person – Kim Min Ah, the assistant team leader. He was team leader now – right, Lee Soo Hyuk named him team leader.
But…
Ah.
Kim Rok Soo remembered now why he was so much older.
He was in his late twenties right now, a few years after Lee Soo Hyuk’s and Choi Jung Soo’s death and three years after unlocking his second ‘Instant’ ability, which was the reason for his many scars.
But why did he suddenly jump so many years forward?
What was going on?
“Team Leader Kim?”
Kim Rok Soo ignored Kim Min Ah completely, almost as if she wasn’t truly there.
He felt confused and disoriented. Even after hearing a chair being pushed back and steps approaching, Kim Rok Soo ignored the woman in front of him, instead exiting the room with fast steps.
Right as he was about to finally get out of this god-fucking-damned room, he suddenly found himself sitting in his office chair in front of his desk once again, the file of the Sixteen Legged Spider in his hand. Lee Soo Hyuk was sitting right next to him, apparently sleeping – and in front of him, Choi Jung Soo was there, reading a novel that was very familiar, yet not at the same time.
Seeing Kim Rok Soo look up, the man who was the same age as Kim Rok Soo closed the book and put it away. He had raven hair and warm, dark eyes. A bright smile was on his handsome face – the same expression he usually always made whenever he was excited, happy or cheerful – which was almost all of the time.
“Rok Soo! You done with that boring file? You kept ignoring me, and Team Leader said to ignore you back, hahaha!”
Kim Rok Soo didn’t answer and simply stared at the man who wasn’t supposed to be alive. In front of Kim Rok Soo’s mind, pictures of Choi Jung Soo’s and Lee Soo Hyuk’s death were still present.
It was then that Kim Rok Soo – no, Cale, it was Cale Henituse – realized what was happening right now.
Someone, or perhaps something, was messing with his mind.
He tried to talk to his ancient powers, yet he wasn’t successful. He now fully ignored Choi Jung Soo who blabbered on about whatever senseless things that came to mind. Don’t get him wrong, Cale didn’t want to do anything but stare at both Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk, talk to them again, tell them how life was going – or even better, live on together with them – but this wasn’t real.
Cale didn’t recall how he got into this obvious illusion, or whatever else this was, but he knew with certainty that he had to get out. The last thing he recalled was that he attended a banquet – the 200th anniversary of the Roan Kingdom. He had been with Alberu, then the two of them were on the balcony, Alberu confessed, the two of them danced. After, they made their way back to the cake isle.
Did they ever reach the cake isle?
Cale didn’t remember.
But he didn’t really need to. He now knew that something must have happened. Was it poison that was in his food? Wait, he shared with Alberu! What if something happened to his boyfriend? Cale really, really, really liked Alberu – perhaps even more than that. He never realized it before, but after Alberu’s confession, his mind practically screamed at him that he was feeling something towards the quarter dark elf that was more than friendship – But then again, this was something Cale could think about later, after getting out of this odd situation.
After all, there were people waiting for him. Most probably, Cale’s real body was in a slumber-like, comatose state, with Raon sitting on his chest while mumbling vicious things. Cale got the chills as he imagined the young child telling everyone that he was going to kill everyone, burn the world down, then kill himself.
While the redhead was convinced that his new family couldn’t be worried too much – after all, everyone knew that he possessed the Vitality of the Heart, a regeneration ability, and even if not for that, he wasn’t someone important enough to worry about – he still wanted to hurry up and get back to the people. Even if they shouldn’t miss him, he certainly did miss them.
“Team Leader Kim!”
Cale waved his hand dismissively, continuing to ignore Kim Min Ah. The little gears in his head were spinning at a fast pace – too fast for anyone to see anything. Cale was calculating everything, each single aspect of what happened ever since he woke up in his twenty-one year old body again. It could only be a dream – an illusion or hallucination – that much he knew, no matter how real it felt.
So how could he bring himself to wake up?
“Rok Soo~ Are you home~?”
Cale’s eyes widened as he heard the familiar, yet unfamiliar voice at the same time. He couldn’t help but turn around; only to see the man he wished to never see again. He looked down, only to see that he seemed to have gotten smaller by a couple feet. He didn’t wear shoes – or real pants, despite the floor being cold. The only clothes he wore was an oversized t-shirt, looking more like a dress on him since it reached a little past his knees and down to his elbows.
Kim Rok Soo recalled these days that had happened so long ago more clearly than memories he had recorded with record. How ironic this was…
Looking around, Cale noticed that he was no longer standing in his office at the company, instead he was in the old kitchen of Kim Seung Jong – his only living relative and ‘legal guardian’ after his parents. And to make matters worse, right in front of him, there was a broken cup.
[T]
He heard steps approaching.
Cale knew that this wasn’t real – his mind knew it wasn’t real.
This was nothing but a nightmare, caused by a drug or poison or something.
Cale knew that.
He was thinking logically.
Before, he had ignored Kim Min Ah and the pictures had changed…so what if he simply ignored Kim Seung Jong and searched for the exit like before?
Yeah, that’s right; after all, since this was a dream, he wouldn’t be able to feel the pain, right?
Cale’s breath hitched as the steps got louder and the person closing in to the kitchen. Cale gave his best to take a step forward, but was unable to do so. His thin, bruised legs were shaking like a newly born horse’s and he found himself frozen to his place, unable to move in any way.
He had ten seconds at most, then he knew that would happen. Ignoring all of his fear – something he hadn’t felt in years, not even with van Augustus, that rotten personal instructor of his, and even managed to take a step – stepping in the broken glass. A sharp pain went through his foot and as he looked down, he realized that he pierced his foot with the biggest of the glass shards.
‘Uncle hates when I make a mess.’
Cale didn’t even realize that he started to think that way. His body began moving on its own as he bent down to pick up the glass shards and somehow wipe away his blood, his stinging injury completely forgotten. He didn’t even realize when the footsteps stopped – too loud was the sound of his fast heartbeat in his ears. His breath hitched as a shadow was thrown over him, and not knowing better, Cale looked up.
Kim Seung Jong was smiling – something very rare. Usually, whenever he looked at the young child that Kim Rok Soo was, there was an ugly frown and discontent scowl, yet right now, he was smiling. That could only mean one thing – time for punishment.
‘This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real!’
Cale’s inner mantra was ignored as the large man bent down to pick Cale up on his weak arm, fracturing it in the process due to the tight grip and pressure on it.
Kim Seung Jong smiled his usual dirty smile – he always did when he got ready to beat Cale up.
“Oh my, Rok Soo, you broke the cup. You know how expensive that is? Usually, I’d have made you pay back its price, but since I’m feeling generous today, a thorough beating should be enough.”
Cale wanted to scream – he always did whenever his uncle got ready to beat him to a pulp. He wanted to cry too, let the tears flow and beg for his uncle to stop.
But he knew better than doing so. He had, a long time ago, when the beatings just started, cried and screamed – it only resulted in a more brutal beating, sometimes even a near death experience. Staying silent and grinding your teeth through the pain without making a sound was the quickest way for the beatings to stop.
Let him punch you until he got bored and left.
Kim Rok Soo did just that.
He shut his mouth, shut his eyes, then felt how Kim Seung Jong let go of his arm, letting his small, weak and light body crash to the ground where all the glass sherds were. It hurt like hell, but Kim Rok Soo stayed silent. Well, it would have hurt like hell if Kim Rok Soo wasn’t as experienced as he was.
His pain tolerance was heightened because of the years of ‘training’ he got.
He felt a kick into his ribs.
Another kick, this time a bit lower, into his stomach.
Cale recalled that all of this wasn’t real – even if it felt like that.
So there had to be an exit – right?
There must be an exit.
And then, all of a sudden, with one last kick – this time to his head – there was only darkness all around Cale, even though he didn’t faint or fall unconscious. He raised his arm, only to notice that he was wearing a casual, white shirt. He never wore such light clothes in his life as Kim Rok Soo on earth – which only meant that he was at least back to being himself – Cale Henituse – again.
[T]
Touching his hair, which was neck-long, Cale nodded, seeing that his hypothesis was right. He was floating through the darkness. Seeing that no other illusion was happening, Cale tried to talk to his ancient powers, which even worked this time.
-Cale! Sob, sob, finally you can hear me!
It was the crybaby. Cale simply let out a sigh.
“What’s happening to my body? Was I drugged or something?”
-Yes! Sob, sob! You were! I think it’s, sob, sob, poison! Sob, sob!
Cale furrowed his brows, his mind drifting away to all scenarios which his mind invented. At the same time, the Vitality of the Heart, also known as the crybaby under the ancient powers, gave his status report.
-I’m currently, sob, sob, healing your body, sob, sob. The poison attacked your, sob, sob, mind, sob, sob, but also harmed your body, sob, sob, much more than mind, sob, sob! If you hadn’t had, sob, sob, me, you’d have, sob, sob, died!”
Cale frowned, trying to recall where from he had had such a poison. He then recalled one key event he had ignored up until now – the glass of wine he had slipped out of Alberu’s hand. It was the last thing he drank, and after doing so, the events started to turn extremely blurry. Judging by the Vitality of the Heart’s report of the poison being a deadly one, it could only be an assassination attempt on Alberu.
Was he in danger?
Fuck, Cale couldn’t allow himself to be out in a time such as this! What if the attacker tried again now that Cale was out?
Back in his mind, the Super Rock frowned while watching Cale’s reaction with shock. Even though he was the one who was being poisoned – even if Cale didn’t feel the effects on his body, his mind had been affected greatly, the Super Rock and all of his other ancient powers knew that very well - he was worrying about others. How…typical.
-Cale! Sob, sob, don’t worry, sob, sob! The poison was so strong and, sob, sob, unique, it’s a, sob, sob, once in a hundred years, sob, sob, poison! Nothing, sob, sob, will happen!”
Relief washed over Cale and he let out a deep sigh he didn’t know he had been holding back. Haaa, that would be at least one less thing to worry about.
Now only one remained: When would he wake up?
Or more importantly, how long was he out for?
It couldn’t have been for too long, could it?
No, it couldn’t be. After all, the Vitality of the Heart got him. While the crybaby was literally a tear-machine, he took care of Cale’s body like no other, healing him quicker than most elixirs, healing spells or anything else for that matter.
Upon that thought, a small smile appeared on Cale’s lips and he closed his suddenly tired eyes. His ‘reunion’ with Lee Soo Hyuk, Choi Jung Soo and Kim Min Ah were forgotten. Well, perhaps they weren’t forgotten, but rather pushed back in the back of his mind. With that, Cale’s consciousness drifted off, even in this mental-state-space of his.
~
It was supposed to be a normal evening, though it would end up being a rather annoying one because of the Roan Kingdom’s 200th anniversary banquet which he had to attend in the evening.
But besides that, today was supposed to be a calm day, one of the calmest in a while even. Furthermore, he didn’t have to ‘attend-attend’ the banquet, only be present, hide in the shadows, be prepared for the worst case scenario – which would be an assassination attempt on the king of the Roan Kingdom, Zed Crossman.
So how come he was currently watching a child that wasn’t even supposed to the important fall down after drinking something that was clearly drugged or, in the worst case, poisoned?
Well, he should have been glad that it was him watching the scene in front of him and not his friend. Yes, he should definitely be glad, so why didn’t he feel like it? Why did he feel just as angry as he knew Lucas would have been? And it wasn’t just that.
It was almost as if he was watching everything in a third person’s point of view instead of his own eyes. He saw the nobles stop dancing, stop chatting, stop having fun – all of them froze on their spots and stared at the crown that formed around the cake isle. Normal people wouldn’t be able to see what was happening, but the person hiding in the shadows was definitely anything but a normal person.
He could see a certain redheaded teenager lying passed out on the ground with the crown prince hovering over him, clearly not in the right state of mind. He could also see an even younger boy – the Saint from the Mongoru Empire – being pushed forward so that he could take a look at the on the floor lying child.
But he knew just as well that it would be futile.
The man hiding in the shadows was certain that it wouldn’t be any good – no healing would be good.
As if he wasn’t in control of his own body, his foot moved forward, resulting in him moving out from the shadows.
He then stepped out into the light, where people were actually able to see him.
That was the first time.
Yet, certainly not the last.
Notes:
Hi~
Another quick update today! I'm so glad I managed to finish this early, so I could update quickly!And is there a better way than to end a cliff hanger with another cliff hanger? I certainly think there is not (and while I'd love to say that I'm sorry, I am not, muahahaha)!
I swear, I planned to finish this 'Cale being 16' arc last chapter, but I don't think I can wrap it up quickly. I have to write one more chapter, at the very least, and then, perhaps another one. There's still the matter with the letter, after all...haaa.
I swear, things never progress the way I want them to. Well, I suppose that's one of the few aspects of being a writer...
Just bear with me a while longer.
I know the story is perhaps even 'dragging' at this point, but I'm doing my best to keep it interesting, so sorry if this doesn't work.Thank you very much for reading! I really hope you didn't hate this chapter and it was to your liking like the last ones!
Until next time, then!
(ʃƪ˘ﻬ˘)
Chapter 42: 40. Bothersome (6)
Summary:
Last moments of peace~
Notes:
Trigger warning! Attention please! This chapter contains Deruth! Read with care, since his appearance and stupidity can cause you to throw your phone against the wall!
(also, blood is mentioned)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was supposed to be a stupid and boring event where Alberu had to talk to nobles, strengthen his ties with his supporters, perhaps convince the one or the other to join his party or built relationships with foreign important figures like crown princess Rosalyn of the Breck Kingdom and prince Valentino.
This boring evening turned less draining when he finally managed to confess to Cale. Alberu still didn’t quite understand how he managed to do that – but that’s not what was important right now. Frozen in place, he stared at his boyfriend who was lying on the ground, collapsing out of nowhere from one second to the other.
The crown prince’s hands were shaking, no, not just his hands, his entire body was shaking. His body seemed to be moving on its own as he bent down next to Cale and measured his pulse – tested whether he even had a pulse. Alberu was aware that the redhead possessed a regeneration-oriented ancient power – the Vitality of the Heart if he recalled correctly – and yet, he couldn’t help but doubt its abilities.
There was blood coming out of Cale’s nose, running down his face, and if that wasn’t enough already, his body was hot – probably a fever – and he was sweating immensely. While his cheeks were red, the rest of his face was awfully pale, almost white. It was then that Alberu realized that ancient powers, as mighty as they may appear, weren’t absolute. There were always exceptions to everything.
The crown prince didn’t notice how the music in the room stopped and aristocrats stopped dancing, forming a crowd around him. Someone was being pushed through, and the very next second, the fifteen year old Saint from the Mongoru Empire was kneeling next to him. He had a concentrated expression on his face, furrowing his brows as he was looking at Cale.
But no matter how collected Saint Jack appeared to be, the fifteen year old kid’s hands were shaking and cold sweat was running down his forehead as he was looking at Cale, or rather the blood that was running down his nose. The very next thing Saint Jack noticed was how the veins on Cale’s hands were becoming more visible, and a lot darker. He gulped, uncertain about what he should do.
“Your highness, my apologies but-“
It had been Adin who was talking to Alberu, but before the powerful political figure could finish his sentence, let alone continue to show off his smug smile that definitely did not belong in this scene, someone pushed through, shutting him up in the process.
It was a tall man who looked to be in his mid- to late-twenties. He had ashen grey hair and piercing, golden eyes that were focused solely on the collapsed youth on the floor. Alberu knew this person, he had seen him once before, with King Zed Crossman, and even though he didn’t recall who he was, what his name was or the range of his abilities, seeing him here – someone even Zed Crossman kept at his side – made him feel a bit relieved.
“Don’t sit there staring like a donkey. If you ain’t able to help, get out of the way.”
The deep, bass voice of the man was absolute. Even though he didn’t look the least bit noble – neither was his walk graceful, elegant or dignified, nor were his clothes noble, as he simply wore a dark brown cape as well as common clothes underneath in combination of dirty shoes – the air around him didn’t give the nobles any other choice.
The man kneeled down opposite to Alberu, only looking up to give the onlookers an annoyed glare. Almost immediately, everyone stepped back.
“Tsk, shitty people.”
The choice of words of the man was bold, and he certainly didn’t intend to keep his opinion to himself, seeing as his tone was loud enough for even the nobles in the last row of the crowd to hear, but it too had its effect, making the nobles disperse and mind their own business besides a few – like Imperial Prince Adin and the still kneeling Saint Jack.
“Excuse me; I don’t believe you understand what you’re doing. This is Saint Jack of the Sun God Church. He possesses healing abilities and-“
“Your Imperial Highness, it would do you good to step back and leave the affairs of the Roan Kingdom to its people and citizen.”
The strange man looked up for a split second, only to give Adin a sharp glare, then looked back down. Alberu would have been stunned by the elegant way the man told the Imperial Prince to shut up, yet he wasn’t able to feel any joy with Cale lying helplessly in front of him while his nose was bleeding.
Saint Jack bowed down and apologized for being unable to be of help and quickly followed the angry Imperial Prince. Actually, it wasn’t obvious that he was angered; his expression was excellently maintained, and yet, Alberu could feel it – not that it mattered right now.
The ashen haired man frowned and started to unbutton Cale’s shirt. While, if he had been anyone else, Alberu would have stopped him, the crown prince couldn’t help but sit next to him and watch the man do his work helplessly.
His gaze wandered between the man’s efficient and experienced fingers that were touching Cale to check on his condition and Cale’s pale, pained expression.
Alberu felt reminded of the events that unfolded a couple years back, when the two of them first got to know the ancient dragon Eruhaben. Back then, Cale was in danger of dying because of his unbalanced plate. While Alberu really wanted to believe that nothing would happen – for an instant, when Cale had been standing in the underground Super Rock Villa after eating that rock to obtain the earth attribute ancient power, and when blood was dripping down his nose to his chin on the floor, Alberu had actually believed that Cale was about to die.
And just like back then, his heart stung, hurting immensely. No pain in the world, Alberu knew that with certainty, would be able to compare to his heart aching like now, when he saw how his world was in such a state. Was he in danger of dying? What even happened? Alberu did not know.
From one second on the other, Cale had to support his weight on the desk, and then collapsed not even a second later. When the two of them had danced though, everything seemed to be fine. Shortly after they had danced, everything had been fine too. They had joked with each other, then Alberu was about to drink something-
The drink!
The realization hit the crown prince like a truck. Unable to remain sitting in a situation such as this, the quarter dark elf got up with shaking legs, leaving Cale to this stranger – only for a few minutes though. With fast steps, Alberu made his way through the many nobles and approached the table where Cale had collapsed. He recalled the glass standing there, but it was gone now – which only strengthened his hypothesis.
So it had been the drink.
It had been poison then, not a drug.
“Cale!? Cale!”
Behind Alberu, he could hear two figures approaching his unconscious boyfriend. He trusted in his father’s man to take care of it – simply because he didn’t feel strong enough to walk back just yet. The shock and panic hit him like nothing before – together with the greatest fear he could have ever experienced of Cale dying.
The two approaching figures were Violan Henituse and Deruth Henituse. Shock was written all over the Countess’ face while Deruth was simply frowning in distaste. While he was feeling worry for his son, instead of focusing on him like any normal parent would have, he stared at the man tending to him.
“You…”
It was a familiar face, one, that Deruth couldn’t not recognize since it hadn’t changed a bit, even after twenty years have passed. He stopped approaching Cale, instead stepping closer to the mysterious man with the ashen grey hair and golden eyes. It was an incredibly selfish action, one the nobles misunderstood as Deruth standing under shock.
Both Violan and the mysterious man knew better, though. While the Countess, who wasn’t even the ‘real’ biological mother of Cale, threw herself on the ground, ignoring her fancy dress, and looked at her son, Deruth remained standing with his chin high up.
The mysterious man couldn’t help but let out a scoff in disbelief. He was aware that Count Deruth Henituse was no longer the partly mischievous yet caring boy he once knew, but a stupid old fool, who had gone crazy a long time ago and was unable to love Cale like his own son.
Looking up, golden eyes met plain, brown ones and the ashen haired man let out an annoyed sigh.
“Count, Countess, please step back like everyone else. I need space and-“
“Why is the crown prince allowed to be here, but now me, this boy’s father, huh?”
Deruth had an angered expression on his face. Usually, this would be the moment when the mysterious man gave in, yet, knowing that Deruth didn’t say that for his son’s sake, only to keep up his image and following his usual, stubborn attitude, made the man reconsider.
“Count Henituse, for all I know, you’ve disowned your son last year, stripping him of all rights to live in the Henituse Estate, which is why he moved to his Highness, the crown prince – who is now fully responsible for this child. Neither you, nor your wife have a right to be here, so please move aside, or I fear I have to call for the guards.”
Murmurs erupted from the onlookers, all wondering how and why Count Henituse disowned his son. Most of the nobles, after all, met the boy tonight. He was incredibly well-mannered and well-spoken. He was friendly and while he seemed a bit stiff and sometimes even unapproachable, he was so young, feeble and looked so sickly! There were rumors, and Cale getting disowned certainly was nothing new, yet, after meeting Cale, the topic came up again, this time, not everyone immediately agreed with Count Deruth Henituse’s doing.
In the end, as Alberu finally managed to return, Violan pulled herself together, wiping away the tears lingering in her eyes. She gave the crown prince as small, acknowledging look, before bowing down and taking her husband away.
“Excuse me, sir…?”
“Tsk, ask away, little prince.”
Ignoring the man’s choice of words, Alberu pointed at Cale with his chin after kneeling down next to the redheaded youth.
“Do you know what happened to him? Is he in- in danger?”
Alberu hated himself for stuttering. He clenched his fists, hoping that the other nobles, but especially this mysterious figure, wasn’t able to see. Little did he know, the man had already noticed.
“It’s difficult to say. What he probably drank was a letum-serpra’s poison, it’s lethal – which is why I am wondering how he’s still alive. He should have died as soon as the poison touched his inner stomach.”
The mysterious man was looking up from Cale at Alberu, but instead of an answer (like he had hoped for), he was met with a pale expression. Almost as if he was on auto-pilot, Alberu leaned in forward and gently stroke Cale’s hair away from his pale face. He looked so weak right now, almost as if he was already-
Alberu shook his head before he could start thinking such negative thoughts again. He looked up from Cale and met the stranger’s gaze. He only needed one answer, then he would be able to leave.
“Is he in danger of dying right now?”
It didn’t matter who this man was, nor what his abilities were or where he came from. What did matter, was that this man obviously knew his stuff and could give the crown prince a proper answer – which he even did.
“He is not. Whatever it is that is preventing this child from dying, it will probably cure the poison too. But little prince, let me warn you before you get all joyous. Even after it’s been cured, the letum-serpra’s poison has major side effects. The antidote causes hallucinations as well as a couple other side effects, which are different per person, so watch out for your little friend.”
Sternly, Alberu nodded. He didn’t say thank you, or anything else, as he bent down to pick his boyfriend up in a princess carry. Cale honestly didn’t gain even a pound – not even after sitting on the couch all day, doing nothing but eat. When Cale woke up and was fully cured, he really needed to have a talk with his boyfriend.
With a grim expression on his face and fast steps, Alberu left the banquet hall, leaving behind a stunned crown of nobles. As they turned around to ask the mysterious man questions regarding himself, they realized that he was already gone – vanishing into thin air as if he hadn’t been there to begin with.
~
It was past two in the morning, the moon was high up in the sky, yet it was hiding behind clouds, unable to shine directly at the ground like it usually always did. Despite it being summer, the wind was cold, making the king put on a thicker jacket as he stepped out onto his balcony. There, on the railing, sat a mid- to late-twenties looking man with piercing, golden eyes and ashen hair. His face was passive and dispassionate, almost as if he didn’t care about a single thing in the world, let alone that he was currently sitting on the King’s balcony railing.
But perhaps that was a good thing, after all, he was Zed Crossman’s left hand man – and old friend who was the same age as the king, yet didn’t look the least bit like it. Perhaps it was his magical affinity that prevented his aging process, or perhaps it was something entirely else, he wasn’t that sure himself. Together with the swordsmaster Sir Lucas, who was the king’s right hand man, he was the only one who could treat the king like a normal person – like a normal friend.
Well, perhaps he was even above the king in ranks, technically. Henry Evans – the name of this mysterious yet handsome individual – was a ‘hidden genius’, talented in magic, perhaps even more than humanly possible. Perhaps that was because of his natural affinity for mana, but he reached the highest-grade mage level at the tender age of fourteen, and then somehow managed to go beyond that at the age of twenty. If the citizen had known about someone like that existing in a kingdom such as the Roan Kingdom, they would have gone crazy.
But he wasn’t the only talent next to the king, as Sir Lucas was a one of a kind individual as well – a swordsmaster and strong aura user, getting stronger every single day.
Though that’s a story for another day.
Henry finally looked up from the clean floor of the balcony, meeting Zed’s azure blue eyes that looked just like sapphires. While they had been standing in a comfortable silence before, locking eyes with each other made it clear that there were words between them that must be said – a conversation that must be held. Even if Sir Lucas wasn’t there right now, it had to be now. There was no other choice.
“It’d be best if you begin, if you have something on your mind, old friend.”
Henry couldn’t hold back a low chuckle as he nodded. He wasn’t a friend of talking around the bush and dragging things out either.
“I think Jour’s kid is the key.”
A long silence followed the mage’s thesis, but Zed didn’t react surprised or stunned – almost as if he had expected it. Henry let out a deep sigh, voicing his inner thoughts. A small smile appeared on the king’s lips – one that looked more sad than happy.
“She was an extraordinary woman, what did we expect? Are you certain, though? Does Cale have the Thames’ legacy running through his veins?”
Henry shrugged.
“I’m not that certain yet, Zed. It’s just-“
“-he and Jour are very alike, I know. But that doesn’t mean that he has it, Henry. So think carefully.”
Zed finished his old friend’s sentence since he knew it as well. But they had to be certain before making a major decision. Henry knew that too, which was why he let out a deep breath and simply shrugged.
“I really don’t know. It’s just a gut feeling, alright? Something about that boy- I think he’s even worse than Jour was. Something about him screamed danger and confidence, and something about his mind…”
Henry stopped talking as he thought back to when he examined Cale’s body. As a mage above the highest grade level, he was – for some odd reason – able to look into a person’s mind. While it was more like a hunch and intuition feeling, Henry was certain about one thing, even if it wasn’t the Thames’ family legacy.
“…I believe the kingdom will be in good hands with him and your son.”
Zed frowned upon seeing the strange and rare smile that appeared on his best friend’s face. Seeing Zed looking confused, Henry couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Right, you didn’t hear the news just yet. Your sunny boy is in a relationship with Jour’s kid now.”
Zed’s eyes widened ever so slightly, until he let out a loud sigh.
“He’s way better than some noble lady who’s only after Alberu’s money and title, I suppose. And he’s Jour’s kid- Wait, wouldn’t that make Alberu worry-“
Zed didn’t finish his sentence as he recalled the poisoning incident a few hours ago and how his son seemed out of his mind as he exited the banquet hall. It was already too late to worry about Alberu’s nerves that would die out whenever Cale would do something dangerous. Haaa, he should have known this.
“Well, I guess you already got your answer. Lucas will return in two weeks or so, and until then, I have to stick to your ass.”
Zed rolled his eyes, getting ready to play his triumph (aka authority) card.
“You do know you’re currently talking to the king of an entire kingdom?”
Henry waved his hand in dismissal, almost as if Zed was spouting bullshit instead of telling the truth. And to him, he certainly was.
“No king is focusing on his own goals, Zed.”
At that, Zed’s smile disappeared and he turned serious. He looked away from Henry’s piercing, seemingly omnipotent eyes, instead looking over Huiss City at night. The cool wind blew into his face, seemingly messing with him.
“No man can resist being selfish and no man will want to resist putting aside revenge for the love of his life.”
Henry let out a deep sigh, already used to Zed’s schizophrenic personality. Well, perhaps that was fair, given that he was one of the very few men who were cursed beings under the sun – similar to him and Lucas too. Perhaps that was why the three of them, as different as they may be, held together.
“Do as you wish, Zed. You know that Lucas and I will follow, but wait a couple years before going after them, alright?”
Zed, returning to his usual personality (the one that wasn’t all pessimistic and focused on revenge), let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“That’s exactly what I had in mind. I’ll wait until my son is ready for the throne, don’t worry about that.”
Henry simply nodded and watched his old friend return inside his room. He himself remained sitting on the railing. The moment the king disappeared behind the curtains, the clouds in front of the moon disappeared and revealed the full moon that seemed to be laughing at Henry’s unlucky situation. But he didn’t care anymore. Death was not something that made him tremble in fear.
At least, not any longer.
~
A tall man with a white mast above his upper part of his face – covering his eyes and nose – let out an impatient sigh. His dark eyes looked around him, only to see that there was no one, and most probably, no one was going to come.
Behind him, a tall but weak looking man, shook his head in disdain.
“He’s not coming.”
The man with the white mask snapped as he quickly turned his head around, glaring at Sayeru, the Bear King, one of his two only trusted subordinates. He was a tall, yet pale and sickly looking man, probably because of his light-attribute elemental magic.
“That much I can see for myself.”
Anger laced the man’s voice as he furrowed his brows even more. He took off the hood of his black coat with the emblem of the five red stars around the one, big, red star. He was getting more and more annoyed with each passing second. He was certain that whoever was responsible for him to lose the Endable Kingdom – whoever was working with Duke Fredo; or even behind the Duke’s back – had received his letter.
While he didn’t know the name of the person, the cursed envelope had sent itself, inviting (or rather threatening) the person into coming here tonight to meet up. So why was nobody coming?
There was no chance of the cursed envelope not being delivered – and there was also no chance that the receiver of this envelope knew that he didn’t know who this mastermind was. His threat should have worked.
He should have been able to meet up with that fucking asshole tonight!
So why wasn’t he coming!?
Sayeru let out a deep sigh as he shook his head. He put his hand on the White Star’s shoulder.
“We should move on. While we may not be able to recover the Endable Kingdom right now, we can go and begin with the preparations for the Molden Kingdom.”
Sayeru’s words seemed to anger the White Star even more, but he kept it to himself, only letting out a resigned sigh.
“Let’s wait a bit longer for the bastard who dared mess with my plan. Because of that fucker I’ve lost twenty-five years of preparations. I want to see his face before I kill him.”
Sayeru would have loved to roll his eyes at that, but he knew better. It was important to the White Star to meet that person, and since the White Star was his superior – and even friend in some abstract ways – he stood tall behind him, waiting for the man who was supposed to come here today.
But he didn’t come.
Even after two hours passed, he did not appear.
It was clear that the White Star could continue to wait for a much longer time and the mastermind would definitely not turn up.
Well, it wasn’t like Sayeru had thought that the White Star’s threatening letter would work in the first place, but he also didn’t really expect it to fail like this, after all, it was the White Star’s doing.
Usually, all of the White Star’s plans went exactly the way he wanted them to go – without exception. And now there was supposed to be a variable? Was it just a coincidence or would that man – this variable – begin to destroy all of the White Star’s plans to gain power and free the God of Despair to attain his powers and become like the ancient White Star?
Neither Sayeru nor the White Star knew the answer to that question – which was exactly why this meeting was so important!
The mastermind behind the fall of the Endable Kingdom could only mean one thing – the man was clearly an enemy that wanted to hinder the White Star’s great plans!
“If he wants war, war should he get.”
The White Star’s mumbles were very well heard by the Bear King who was standing right behind him. Sayeru nodded in agreement, fully supporting his leader as if it was mandatory – which it technically was.
The White Star ripped the remaining piece of the cursed object – the cursed envelope – apart, and at the same time, the letter that Cale found in the garden a few days back, disappeared into thin air as if it hadn’t been there to begin with.
While the redhead was in a comatose state, seemingly peacefully slumbering, while being surrounded by the young Raon, his boyfriend as well as his grandfather figured Ron and Eruhaben and elder brother figure Beacrox, who were all waiting for him to open his eyes, the normal looking letter disappeared, and with it, the peace of the world.
If Cale had known that accepting this ‘invitation’ would cause him to become a Commander and disturb his daily, peaceful slacker life in a few years, he would have simply accepted and met up with whoever ‘WS’ was.
But let me tell you that tale later.
Right now, while the crimson haired youth was blissfully sleeping, on the other side of the world, his future ‘mortal enemy’ was preparing for war. The disappearance of the so called invitation that was more of a threat than invitation marked the beginning of Cale’s journey of hardships, during which he strayed farther and farther away from his slacker life.
And if he would have known that his plans to survive with his friends and family during the war to come would turn out to be that much of a hassle, he certainly would have chosen another route.
But that as well is a topic of another time.
Right now the sixteen year old teenager enjoyed what would most probably be the beginning of the last peaceful year old his life. Even though his family was worried sick, he was calmly sleeping, enjoying the rest he finally got after attending that annoying banquet.
Notes:
Hello~
Today, I surprise you with a double-chapter-update!
While I didn't exactly plan on writing another chapter, it was suddenly 'finished', so I needed to update it so to not keep you waiting.
(◦'ںˉ◦)
I know it's a lot shorter than my usual chapters with only 4.3k or 4.4k words, but I guess this will be fine since there will probably come a longer chapter in the future that contains the words missing in this chapter.ALSO: THIS IS THE END OF THE PROLOGUE!
WITH THIS; THE OFFICIAL STORY STARTS! WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE OFFICIAL BEGINNING OF THE TCF NOVEL AND WITH IT; YOU ALSO KNOW WHO'LL MEET!!!!!
°\(^▿^)/°
Man, I really planned to let the 'prologue' end at 200k words, but I don't think +10k words are bad.Hopefully, the questions about the mysterious 'dude in the shadows' and envelope were answered, since with the end prologue, the envelope won't be mentioned again, while the dude in the shadows - Henry - will become important as the story goes on. He's a bit OC, but I think he'll turn out to be a likable character (hopefully!)
Then, this was it from me again!
I hope you liked this chapter and offical end of the prologue, and stay tuned and excited for the beginning of the main story!Until next time then!
ξ\(´▽`)/ξ
Chapter 43: 41. Not according to plan (1)
Summary:
Empty mind and empty sould - I am lost
Notes:
This chapter has no specific [T] signs for warning, but read with care since it mentions past 'bloody' events. In case it's too triggering for you, please tell me and I will put a specific [T] sign in front of it, as per usual!
Read with care and stay safe!
°\(^▿^)/°
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Everything was red.
Be it the massive amounts of blood or the houses that had been set on fire, but in the darkness of the night, a big, red light appeared. The stench or rotten bodies and irony blood was in the air, it was practically thrown at the tall man who stood in front of the entrance to the small village on the border of the Forest of Darkness in the Henituse territory.
His dark, almost black eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the remains of Harris village and its inhabitants. He hadn’t been here for a long time, but in those few weeks he had felt truly at home. The villagers that were now lifelessly lying on the ground – or at least the parts that remained of them –, faces distorted in pain, that had once welcomed him with cheerful smiles and shown him warmth and love, treated him as if he was one of their own, were all gone now.
Everything was burning that could burn, everything was dying that could die. The tall man with the raven colored hair was shaking. It wasn’t that he was afraid or anything like that, it was simply that he was angry with himself. This was the doing of someone, he was certain, and that someone would definitely pay.
But that ‘someone’ wasn’t the only one at fault. If he had been a bit faster…if he had chosen to return a bit sooner…perhaps, maybe, he could have prevented the people that had taken him in so kindly from ending up like this.
The man’s heart skipped a beat as he sensed movements a few streets farther from him. Without giving it much thought, his feet moved on its own in the hope of finding a survivor. Just one – one was enough. Then he wasn’t that useless.
The man’s steps turned into a sprint and before long, he came to a stop once again. What he saw wasn’t a survivor, no, that had probably been too much to ask for, but two men in black clothes. Each of them wore masks that were hiding the lower half of their faces. Their black capes had an emblem on their chest, it were five red stars around a bigger, white star – not that the tall man noticed.
An almost animalistic roar escaped the man’s throat as his despair and helplessness turned into fuel for his anger. His dark eyes turned even darker and a ruthless expression appeared on his face. The two clothed individuals – members of the organization that was responsible for the massacre that had taken place in Harris Village – turned to face the origin of this odd loud, both frowning under their mask as they laid eyes on the man who looked no older than seventeen.
“I guess they skipped one.”
Just as the two of them were about to laugh, one of their heads was cleanly cut off. It was an action that was made by the teenager who was now holding on to an old sword. His breath fastened as adrenaline rushed through his veins. The other person who was still alive didn’t waste a single second as he quickly took out his sword and began to face the teenager, certain that the kill of his partner had been pure luck.
Yet, their duel didn’t go on for long. Be it because of the teenager’s raw strength or battle experience, perhaps even because of his unique swords-art, but the member or the secret organization that was responsible for the events that unfolded here was pushed back within seconds, before he too was ruthlessly killed due to a clean sword cut separating his head from the rest of his body.
Seeing that now there was no one left alive – or to question – the teenager fell to his knees as he looked around the village, the whole situation in front of him kicking in again. His sight became blurry and immediately, the teenager hit his face behind his hands.
He had lost everything again.
As if waking up from one day on the other in a strange forest filled with monsters hadn’t been bad enough and living there for at least a century before coming out and finding a village with human beings had been nothing more than a joke, he now saw the people he came to like as soon as he met them dead.
It was unfair.
He had been a normal student going to high school.
He had normal parents, who loved each other and him dearly.
Everything had been fine!
So why was he here?
Forgetting everything, including his parent’s voices and looks?
And to make matters worse, he even killed somebody.
He had killed lots of monsters back in the forest, but that was different to killing real human beings. But was it wrong to have killed them?
The teenager stopped hiding his face in his hands as he looked up at the separated head in front of him. Glassy eyes were widened in shock and disbelief, staring back at him in pure fear of death. A few seconds before his death, this very man had chuckled, as if all of this was nothing but a game to him.
He deserved to die.
So did his partner.
The teenager nodded to himself, then got up from the ground. He had to bury the villagers, give them a final resting place so that they could rest in peace for eternity. While beginning to dig holes in the dirt, the teenager then recalled the village elder talk about a certain city – Rain City was it called, he believed – a few days traveling time down south, where a certain ‘territory lord Henituse’ would reside, who was responsible for the Forest of Darkness and Harris Village.
He would have to inform the territory lord about the genocide that had taken place in Harris Village tonight.
He nodded his head.
That would be Choi Han’s next traveling destination and the start of his journey.
~
A frown appeared on a certain, crimson haired man’s pretty face. Even though he was technically an adult now, his features had a rather feminine and youthful touch, making him appear younger than his age. His sharp, reddish-brown eyes were cold and expressionless as he looked down on the letter in his hand that had been handed to him by his boyfriend a few minutes ago.
He had read it thrice already and recorded every single word he saw in front of him, even if he wanted nothing more than to forget this letter and its contents for the greater good. Nevertheless, he read it once more, before he finally put it down on the clean coffee table with a sigh escaping his lips.
He was tired already.
“Cookie prince, why is the human sighing like that again?”
Sitting opposite of Cale Henituse, the eighteen year old man who behaved just like he had when Alberu first met him ten years ago, the golden haired and azure-eyed crown prince let out an amused scoff as he patted the young, six year old dragon that was sitting on his laps while eating one cookie after another – something he and his favorite person had in common. His curious, midnight-blue eyes looked up at Alberu and gave the crown prince no other choice but to answer.
Who, after all, could dare say no to such a cute and curious young child?
“Probably because he has to do something and can’t continue just rolling around in bed all day.”
A slight smile made its way to Alberu’s lips as he looked away from Roan, locking eyes with his pouting boyfriend.
“Isn’t that right, Cale?”
The redhead rolled his eyes.
“Just so we’re clear, I’m doing more than just rolling around in bed.”
Alberu couldn’t help but chuckle at Cale’s words while Raon nodded in agreement. Well, the young dragon was always on Cale’s side, what did he even expect?
“That’s right! The human is also eating and breathing! And he always teaches me new things or plays with me! The human also helps you, cookie prince!”
Upon hearing Raon’s words, Alberu couldn’t help but laugh. The young dragon shook his head and flew over to Cale, who immediately patted his head. Both he and his human were looking at the crown prince as if he was crazy; after all, everything the human did was an extremely important task, and if the human wouldn’t do that, everything would be much worse!
“Human, the cookie prince is odd.”
Cale simply hummed in agreement at Raon’s words. He was aware of how strange his boyfriend could be at times like these – it wasn’t like Cale was ignorant or approving of it – but he was also aware that it was no use to try to change it. Alberu’s humor was certainly rather…well, it took getting used to it so that people didn’t cringe when he laughed at the oddest of things.
But oh well, it was better than Eruhaben’s strange habit of keeping Cale near him at all times whenever he wasn’t out – which was the majority of the time. Ron was just as bad, if not worse, though he had always been like this. Ever since the ‘poisoning incident’ about two years ago, everything had gotten much worse though.
Now that Cale was thinking about it…
He glanced at the still chuckling Alberu and how the young dragon was shaking his head at him.
….Alberu had had it the worst. Aside from his cracked humor, nothing major had changed though – besides his fear for whenever Cale was about to leave the room alone. Perhaps the ‘talk’ he had had with Eruhaben, Ron and Beacrox had also something to do with it, but Cale didn’t know since he hadn’t been present. (Well, and naturally none of them would ever reveal the talk’s contents to Cale since it was mostly threatening Alberu because of his new relationship status with Cale).
Not a lot had changed though, now that Cale thought about it. Even though the day on which Choi Han would return from the Forest of Darkness wasn’t far now-
“Fuck.”
Realization hit Cale like a truck as he remembered the letter Alberu had handed to him, the one he had read at least five times before finally putting it away.
Alberu stopped laughing and looked up, so did Raon upon hearing Cale swear.
“What’s up?”
Cale didn’t answer his boyfriend’s question and simply shook his head in utter disbelief. The letter was nothing more than a ‘forced invitation’ that told him to visit the Henituse Estate. Naturally, Cale would have ignored it just like all the other letters he had received from his father and stepmother, but this one was a bit different.
Alberu rolled his eyes as he realized that Cale wouldn’t answer him and simply bent forward to pick up the letter from the coffee table. It was the fanciest of papers with the fanciest of inks written on it in a beautiful font. But something like that didn’t concern neither Alberu nor Cale.
At first, the crown prince didn’t realize the problem. He noticed that the Count was ready to give Cale a massive amount of money if he would visit – an amount Cale would never refuse, no matter how much of an amount Alberu would pay for him not to go, especially since all of his money was now technically Cale’s as well – but aside from that, it was the Count’s usual invitation to urge his son to visit his Estate.
“What…”
Alberu trailed off as he noticed the date on which Cale was told to visit the Estate. The 4th of April.
Cale didn’t talk a lot about the contents of ‘The Birth of a Hero’ with Alberu, and if he did, only events that were incredibly important for the kingdom’s future. For example, Alberu knew that there was a certain organization that was scheming something, he was aware that there would be a civil war in the Whipper Kingdom. He knew of the terror plaza incident that wasn’t that far away now, and he was also informed about the heroes of the book who were Choi Han, some wolf-tribe member Lock and their old friend Rosalyn. Cale’s Intel on her future status two years ago was probably the only thing that made him establish a friendly relationship with her, one that still went on, even today.
While Alberu didn’t know about the Mermaid and Whale Tribe people conflict that would soon become a major thing, or about events like the Jungle Fire, he was aware of one extremely ‘useless’ event – the beating of the original Cale Henituse on the 4th of April, the day the hero of this continent would return from the Forest of Darkness.
But Cale wasn’t the original Cale…
No.
It didn’t matter.
Choi Han was a crazy maniac – at least in this point of time – and there was no way Alberu would allow Cale to accept this invitation. The crown prince put the letter down and looked up at Cale, who was obviously calculating something – probably his chances of avoiding Choi Han and not getting beaten.
“Just decline this like the other ones, no need to get involved, Cale. You have a lot of money already, and in comparison to that, this sum is laughable.”
Cale rolled his eyes at Alberu’s words. He patted Raon’s head who was intently listening. The six year old, great and mighty dragon knew when it was okay to talk and when it was better to stay silent – like right now.
“Don’t say that. Money is money.”
As Cale said that last part, a bright smile appeared on his lips and his eyes shone brighter than before, almost as brightly as when Beacrox handed him cookies and sweets while Ron prepared a sweet tea.
Alberu scoffed in disbelief, but let out a resigned sigh nevertheless. He knew that when it came to money, or rather obtaining free money – be it through looting or the more ‘legal’ way – Cale was unstoppable.
“Fine, but do you really want to risk getting beaten?”
At those words, Raon’s head jerked up and he frowned, misunderstanding Alberu’s words.
“I won’t allow anyone to beat my human! Not even you, cookie prince! I’ll tell goldie gramps and gramps so that they will beat you instead! And good cook Beacrox will make you the nastiest food!”
Raon’s intense stare met Alberu’s eyes, and the crown prince defensively raised his hands while Cale was only smiling and petting Raon’s head, seemingly choosing to ignore Raon’s statement that was based on the young dragon misunderstanding Alberu’s words. Well, what did he expect from Cale in the first place?
“I’m not saying that I will beat Cale, Raon, you should know better than that. This is an invitation from Cale’s father-“
“Human! Is the cookie prince telling the truth?! You can’t go back to him! He’s so stupid and dumb and selfish! I won’t allow it!”
Now it was Alberu who was smirking while a slight frown made its way to Cale’s lips. He shook his head.
“That’s alright, Raon. It’s not like I will go there for long in the first place. And most probably, someone will accompany-“
“Of course human! I will always stay by your side! As always!”
Cale smiled upon hearing Raon’s words and simply nodded.
“But of course.”
He was saying it, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Alberu couldn’t help but feel astonished. His boyfriend’s ability to calm people down was truly on a whole different level, and the way he always kept calm…
Haaa, if Cale wasn’t that dense about his own safety and well-being, he would be perfect indeed (though in Alberu’s eyes, there wasn’t anyone more perfect that Cale). Back then, when Cale had woken up after staying unconscious for a week after swallowing the letum-serpra’s poison, he had reacted very confused as everyone had been waiting for him to wake up. He reacted like this because he truly thought him passing out and nearly dying (all hail to the Vitality of the Heart) wasn’t something that bad and certainly not dramatic.
To Cale, everything was fine because he didn’t realize how much his family actually cared about him – and knowing Cale, he probably never would.
Shaking his head, Alberu ignored his thoughts and instead focused back on Cale.
“I’ll tag alone as well, then. It’s only fair.”
Cale raised his eyebrow as he finally looked up from the six-year old dragon sitting on his lap. He had trimmed his hair a bit, now it was only a bit past his chin in length, but still as gorgeous as it could be. It was tied up in a high ponytail that moved along with his head as he titled it a bit to the left side.
“You can’t though?”
Alberu frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He felt like a petty child that wanted a candy while his parents said no – ridiculous and childish in other words.
“Why shouldn’t I can?”
Cale furrowed his brows, pointing towards his boyfriend’s office desk a few feet farther back. He was still petting Raon who was silently listening to the couple converse.
Alberu followed Cale’s gaze and let out a deep sigh, frowning ever so slightly upon seeing the stack of papers on his desk, waiting for him to go through each of them. It was a mixture of administrative work and royal letters from his supporters as well as the organizational work of the King’s birthday banquet in a few weeks.
Just looking at the paper stack made him feel tired and lifeless…
Shaking his head, Alberu quickly turned around to face Cale, who was watching his every movement with raised brows.
“I-“
“You will be extremely busy the next couple days. I’ll take Eruhaben and Beacrox with me, so don’t worry about me, nothing will happen.”
Alberu knew that Cale’s words meant that he would avoid Choi Han and not get involved with him in the first place. But it wasn’t like he already knew that. What was important was the first half of his boyfriend’s sentence.
“What about Ron?”
Cale gave Alberu a bright smile as he shrugged.
Realization hit Alberu and he immediately shook his head.
“Na-uh, not in a million years; that old man hates me more than cockroaches.”
Alberu recalled Ron’s chilly gaze whenever the old man looked at him after the poisoning incident. Just as the crown prince thought that his relationship with that old butler was improving, it hit a new rock bottom.
Cale let out a sigh as he had noticed that too.
“C’mon, Ron’s a nice person. I know he seems intimidating-“
“You call him intimidating? He looks at me as if he was ready to kill me the very second you look away and the way he always sharpens his knife while looking at me… I swear, if you leave me alone with him, I’ll be nothing but a dead man when you come back.”
Cale rolled his eyes at Alberu’s ‘exaggeration’ and so did Raon.
“Human, the cookie prince has gone mad.”
Cale nodded in agreement.
“Ron’s not like that, don’t be like that Alberu.”
Alberu wanted to scream at Cale that it was indeed like that, but in the end, he simply swallowed his protests. Sure, Ron wouldn’t kill him because of Cale, but he certainly would make those few days that the two of them would spend on their own a new kind of hell for the crown prince. Just as he was thinking about that, a smile formed on Alberu’s lips that Cale didn’t miss.
“What now?”
The quarter-dark elf simply shrugged.
“Dunno, but what if Ron doesn’t want to stay back and wants to come with you instead?”
Cale raised his brows, knowing that Ron would be fine with it, but he didn’t have to take Alberu’s last bit of hope after all – at least not right now.
As Alberu was smugly smiling, looking as if he had won the lottery, Raon and Cale exchanged gazes, both knowing the truth already.
And in the evening, as Ron, Beacrox and Eruhaben returned and Cale stated his plans, Alberu’s little bit of hope was crushed as the old man smiled benignly and nodded, agreeing to stay back and ‘take care’ of the prince.
Alberu got the chills as the old man was giving him his coldest of gazes.
~
Looking up, the tired, young man was able to see the rising sun. His clothes, hands and face were all covered with dirt and mud, all caused by the holes he had dug, which had then turned to graves as soon as he put the villagers’ bodies in them. Burying the people that had taken him in in the time he needed it the most, the people that had shown him peace and hope, that had reminded him of what it felt like when someone was surrounded by people who cared, had taken much longer than anticipated.
It probably was caused by the seventeen year old’s slow but careful and steady movements and his precise work in which he designed the graves not to just be simple holes in the ground. On each one of the graves, he had placed a wooden cross that he had built by himself too – to honor the dead.
To be honest, the young man did not want to get up from his kneeling position in front of the many graves. He had his head down, hung low as he waited for his tears to come. But they didn’t. They never did. All he was feeling was emptiness, which found its place not just in his heart, but also head. His mind was foggy and he couldn’t think clearly. The faces of the ever so friendly villagers were a bit more blurry than they had been yesterday – a similar thing that had happened with his memories of his parents and family from earth, where he actually came from before waking up in some weird forest filled with monsters.
But one memory, one the boy wished to forget more than anything else, remained as clear as ever, no; perhaps it was even clearer compared to when he had first experienced it, now, as a memory. It were the two faces of the two bastards, whose heads he had sent flying. Their sneering and arrogant expressions, the looks in their eyes that showed no remorse despite their cruel genocide…
But he had already taken care of them – killed them.
Looking back at it, perhaps he should have made them suffer more, instead of just cleanly and quickly cutting their heads off. Make them feel more despair, experience more fear before slowly making them suffer through torture and then kill them as painful as possible-
No, what had happened had happened, there was no way to change it now. The teenager changed his kneeling position into a half-sitting one, until he simply lay down on his back, staring into the pink sky that was continuously changing its color while the sun was rising. The weather seemed cheerful and pleasant – the utter opposite of what the young man was currently experiencing on the inside.
His conflicting emotions made it difficult for him to process what was happening. He knew that his anchor to reality was now gone and he was certain that he was, once again, back to drifting into a bottomless pit of madness and insanity. He also knew that he should get up and start moving. He should report the death of the villagers to the territory lord – Count Henituse, was he called the young man believed.
He should get moving, so that he could arrive at the city – Rain City – at the same day.
But he didn’t want to.
No, perhaps that wasn’t the right way to say it.
He wasn’t able to do it right now. Everything was passing by in either slow-motion or a sped up pace, making it impossible for him to understand anything. Even as the sun was high up in the sky, the birds flew happily around in the air, singing as if today was a day as any other, the teenager was not able to notice any of it – or grasp reality in his current state altogether.
At some point, when the sun was beginning to set down again, with the ever so clear, blue sky turning darker, shades of orange and pink separating the light blue from the dark blue, the teenager began to wonder what would happen even if he was to do as he had planned.
Would the territory lord even care that people had died?
Knowing people sitting in high positions, they were nothing but self-absorbed, arrogant assholes that had no further interests apart from money and power. What were a few lives to them? The answer could only be nothing.
And even if the territory lord did care – which the teenager honestly doubted – what could he do? What would he do? The only thing that was reasonable, would be to record the deaths of the villagers, but did he even know their names? No, because the villagers of Harris villagers lived in the outskirts of his territory, on the border to the Forest of Darkness, he most probably would not know any of their names.
The young teenager recalled a conversation he once had with the town’s elder, a certain old man called Magnus. He was supposed to be long dead – wasn’t it for the teenager who ventured into the Forest of Darkness to look for a specific plant that would cure his illness with time.
Magnus, a man older than most people, loved gossip and tales; one of his favorites, that somehow combined both of these aspects, was the life of the territory lord Count Henituse. Even the habitants of Harris Village had heard about Count Deruth’s trouble with his firstborn trouble-maker son who had run away from home – at least, so the rumors said. Magnus, who was an old man, who, despite his love for unrealistic things and gossip, always reasoned with wisdom, said that the boy hadn’t run away and the fault lay within the territory lord, though he didn’t go into much detail any further.
The young (or not so young) teenager did not doubt Magnus’ words.
Why couldn’t he simply remain here, lying like this for eternity until he would end in a peaceful death – which wouldn’t be happening for the next couple centuries?
No, he should get up. And he should also report this issue to Count Henituse. As the territory lord, he had a right to find out about the genocide that happened here. Rumors and gossip remained just that – the talk of people who didn’t have better things to do than to spout their personal thoughts based on false assumption which got mixed with their personal beliefs.
Yeah, that’s right.
And he will do just that, but he could do the same tomorrow as well.
Yes, for now, Choi Han just wanted to sleep.
~
“Tsk, unlucky bastard, whatcha doing with that mana-filled communication device if you have two mighty dragons with you, huh?”
Cale looked up from the communication device that had been gifted to him over nine years ago by his boyfriend. Spending most of his time since then together with Alberu, he didn’t find much use for this thing, but given that Alberu had so dearly insisted that he took it along, it left him no other choice but to comply. While Cale usually wasn’t one to give in, especially since he knew that he had left his boyfriend in very capable – Ron’s – hands, but the desperate glare the crown prince had given him, that was borderline mad, made him agree and take the orb with him.
Shaking his head upon recalling the way Alberu had grabbed onto him, refusing to let go until he took the communication device which even non-mages could use, given that it was filled with mana beforehand for a handful of uses, the redhead looked up to face the ancient dragon sitting on the couch opposite from him.
Currently, their party was only a few hours away from Rain City and hence the Henituse Estate. While it would only be reasonable to go their right now, given that they would arrive before nightfall and dinner at that, neither Beacrox nor Cale really wanted to do so. As the two of them were the only ones who had truly experienced the might of Deruth Henituse, they had come to an agreement to stay here and finish their trip on the following day, that was supported by Eruhaben, given he still freshly recalled the ‘instructor’ incident three years ago, and the way he had stabbed Cale with a fountain pen.
The young Raon, whereas excited to see Rain City again after having been here as a young child so long ago, couldn’t help but do as he was told, especially since it had been his human’s wish.
“It’s nothing personal, Eruhaben-nim. You know Alberu, he’s-“
“Unworthy of being your boyfriend? He certainly is, glad you finally realize that.”
Cale rolled his eyes as he listened to the ancient dragon’s complaint. His voice was laced with disdain that he had voiced for the past two years, ever since Alberu and Cale had told the others that they were in an official relationship as lovers. Given that he wasn’t the only one that was giving the two of them a hard time, and that his complaints were heavily supported by the old butler Ron, Alberu had had a rather hard time even hugging Cale.
Given that all of this could only be traced back to the poisoning incident two years ago, which not even the great and mighty ancient dragon or the ever so perfect assassin Patriarch could have prevented, it wasn’t a fair thing – and actually, the two old best friends knew it too. But that didn’t stop them from giving backlash, probably because Cale was a bit too dear to both of them to simply hand him over to someone like Alberu, who, in both of their eyes, was an incompetent fool.
Beacrox was the only one who wasn’t opposed to the relationship of the two of them. While he wasn’t fully supporting it, contrary to Raon (naturally, only after an argument, in which the young dragon had declared that his human was still his and not the cookie prince’s), he didn’t mind, which was the same in the cook’s language. Not that Cale would ever mind any of their opinions regarding that matter though…
“Eruhaben-nim, we went over this many times already, let’s not do this again.”
The ancient dragon rolled his eyes. In the end, he was only worried about the boy he had long since accepted as his child. If Cale didn’t have the Vitality of the Heart…There had been by far too many accidents, even in the palace where he would have been severely injured if not killed – was it not for that ancient power. And someone as frail, as weak, as sacred as him should be handed over to someone like the crown prince, who was always busy with his paper work and big ambitions? In his heart, both Eruhaben and Ron knew that they weren’t actually as opposed to their relationship as they pretended to be. They were only afraid to see their child grow up, get married and everything that belonged to that category – not that Cale would ever marry Alberu!
“Fine, do you have a certain plan for tomorrow? Should I make things look like an accident?”
Cale frowned as Beacrox’ head quirked up, his usually deadpan expression brightening a bit as he chimed in.
“Why make it look like an accident if we can leave zero traces behind?”
Listening to the torture expert and vicious ancient dragon talk – Eruhaben truly spent way too much of his time with Ron – Cale got the chills. He turned to look at the on the bed sleeping Raon, glad that he wasn’t able to listen to this crazy conversation.
“Haaa, we’ll only stay there for a few hours, just for lunch to show ourselves, then go back.”
Eruhaben scoffed as he shook his head.
“Tsk, you unlucky bastard, whenever you make some sort of plan, something goes wrong. I don’t like this.”
Cale rolled his time at that and crossed his hands in front of his chest. He did not understand what may go wrong with his plan, given that he had thought it through. Choi Han shouldn’t make his appearance until evening – a time where Cale would be sitting in a comfortable carriage, going back to this inn, where Eruhaben would teleport them back to Alberu.
Before, he would arrive in the late morning, just a bit before lunch, eat lunch, get the money which had been promised him for being there, then go. Easy peasy – nothing could go wrong, contrary to what the ancient dragon believed. Absolutely nothing – it was a foolproof plan.
~
Choi Han, worn out from the long trip, looked up at the vast gates. The guards didn’t let him enter without identification, which was why he would have to climb over the wall. Looking at the tall thing, it wouldn’t be a difficult thing to do. With a nod, he finally entered Rain City after spending such a long time in a forest without having people around him.
It was early morning.
Notes:
Hi!
I don't have much to say today. My school life is treating me shittily (mostly groupwork and my groupmembers are too lazy to do any of the work, leaving most of it to me, and like an idiot, I'm doing it for the grade), my best friend is sick and while I have other friends too, no one gets me like my bestie does...
Haaa, sorry to dump this on you.
I've been thinking on going on a break from this fic, like you encouraged me to, but I won't. This fic is to me the same as it is to you, something consistent that gives me some peace of mind. I suppose this too is some way to escape reality of some sorts.
Please don't worry about me though.
I'm certain that everything will pass by and it's just a shitty week.
The chapter definitely helped lightening my mood (the main reason why I wrote and finished it despite my extremely busy schedule.
We also have a lot of info-dumping this week about the next to and last years of my school career, so yeah, probably some fears about my future are gonna surface here, hahaha.BUT THIS MAKES ME HUMAN; SO DON'T YOU DARE PITY ME OR I'M NEVER GONNA SHARE NEGATIVE STUFF AGAIN (sry, I'm really stressed and tired and I didn't eat yesterday and whegrheihg, you get the gist of it)
Well then, I hope you liked this chapter in which I pured all my frustration and stress.
I'm really hoping that my mood will lighten this weeks - I'll keep you updated in the notes of the next chapter, if you're interested)Anyways, as always, I hope you liked this chapter!
Until next time (where my mood hopefully lightens just like I hope for my workload!)
Chapter 44: 42. Not according to plan (2)
Summary:
The beginning is nearing~
Notes:
No trigger warning this time! While Deruth is mentioned, he won't spout any bullshit in this chapter (not yet) so it's safe for everyone to read it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Eruhaben was an old, almost thousand year old dragon, and in his life, he had already experienced countless of things. Be it times of war, times of peace or anything in between. While he had been living a secluded life until that fateful day, where he had been picked up by a young, fourteen year old brat, who was looking at him with indifference and treating him like any other person, had picked him up and included into his family, he still was an ancient and hence great and mighty, absolutely powerful being.
His senses, while he hadn’t been using them as much these years, were sharper than any other person’s and he was second to none in terms of power. As a dragon, a being above any other, he too had an exceptional gut feeling, one that was never wrong. He usually always listened – if he didn’t, something beyond bad was guaranteed to happen.
So why was he currently standing behind that foolish, unlucky bastard, in front of the Henituse Estate that was filled with horrifying memories from one end to the other? Why wasn’t he taking that poor-decision making brat, flying away with him in his hands? Why was he still supporting his every action and decision, beginning from stupid missions, going all the way up to being in a relationship with the crown prince and now arriving here, where the ancient dragon was about to accompany his child into the lion’s den?
Eruhaben was no omnipotent being, contrary to what everyone said about dragons, he probably knew better than anyone else, and as such, he was definitely not perfect. As a non-perfect being, there was no guarantee that he would be able to handle himself behind those thick doors, inside the fancy halls of the Henituse Estate. There was no way to tell whether he’d not simply blow up the building and escape as quickly as possible with his precious child in hand, and the chef cook.
“Haaa, let’s get this over with quickly. Alberu still needs my help and asks us to hurry up quickly.”
While Eruhaben usually would have snorted at that, he was, for once, thankful for the crown prince. His words of protest had little influence over that petty brat that Cale grew up to be, but Alberu’s… He didn’t want to admit it, but the crown prince’s words could move rocks, if used correctly on Cale.
But sometimes even rocks were not strong enough to overcome the heavens itself – like the vast Estate and the people who were currently residing inside. After all, not even Alberu managed to convince Cale to stay where he had been.
As if the king’s fiftieth birthday that was approaching quickly and mandatory to attend for all the nobles – including Cale – wasn’t bad enough of an event (naturally none of the royal family’s banquets were pleasant events, after that last one), Cale now even had to visit his asshole of a father.
Eruhaben shook his head, stopping his train of thoughts. It was, this time unfortunately, not his decision. No, it had never been his decision. He was only here to support Cale in whatever he wanted to do and prevent him from getting hurt.
Nodding, the ancient dragon looked up at the vast doors that were currently opening. Behind them, a tall man with cat-like features exited the Henituse Estate. He wore a black butler’s suit and had his light orange hair tied up in a ponytail. His unusually, clear and green eyes scanned over the three visible individuals standing in front of the Henituse Estate. His expression was friendly, yet somewhat firm and also proud – making him out to be a high-ranking servant in the Henituse Estate, and probably a newer one at that, judging that he didn’t recognize Cale right away.
He descended the few stairs and stopped a few feet in front of Cale, Beacrox and Eruhaben. He bowed down politely, then cleared his throat.
“Good morning, gentlemen. May I help you with something? This is Count Henituse’s Estate, the lord of this territory. If you are lost-“
Cale raised his hand, stopping the servant of his biological father’s county from continuing with whatever he had wanted to say. The young man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, slightly furrowed his brows, but didn’t say anything further.
The eighteen-year old noble was one of the fewer known nobles, no, actually, no one really knew about him – or at least anything with certainty. It was a well-known rumor that he was living with the crown prince of the Roan Kingdom, but the royal family never made an official statement and during royal events he never appeared either, turning the once very known rumor into something akin to gossip. A few years back, when the youth first moved in with the crown prince, the rumors were as good as true, but as always, public lost interest and hence it was never specified what was going on with Alberu Crossman and Cale Henituse.
As time passed – and since the poisoning incident was never made public – Cale Henituse became nothing more than the spoiled and rotten brat of the marvelous Count who always wanted too much and only troubled the generous Count, who then left his father because he gave him too little money. Neither Count nor Countess Henituse cared to clear up the obvious lies, so the rumors that circulated were always there.
Seeing that this servant wasn’t employed back when everything had taken place three years ago, he probably didn’t even know how Cale looked like, given that the redhead didn’t make any public appearances. But it was fine. It was better that everyone thought that he was trash – since that’s what he actually was.
Cale nodded to himself, making both Beacrox and Eruhaben exchange confused frowns, not that he noticed that though.
-Human, you’re looking like you got served the cookie prince’s cookies? Did something good happen?
Cale ignored Raon’s question, only giving a slight shake of his head in the hopes that the young child would understand. Turning his attention back on the silently waiting servant, Cale gave a bright smile. Raon, who was invisible, frowned and sat down on the ancient dragon’s shoulder.
-Goldie gramps, is the human going to scam someone?
Eruhaben, after taking at Cale’s bright smile, could only let out a long and tired sigh. Well, to break things down, they were only here to “scam” Cale’s birth father and “loot” a lot of money under the impression of being here only for lunch…
“Greetings, we were formally invited by Count Henituse to join him for lunch today.”
The servant raised his brows as he looked Cale up and down, then let his gaze wander to Beacrox and Eruhaben. While Beacrox was clothed in a personal attendant’s clothes, Eruhaben had his guardian knight’s gown on him, looking just like his persona ‘Haben’ back in the day.
Naturally, the new butler couldn’t find any fault within these people, yet he couldn’t quite believe the words coming out of the redheaded youth’s mouth. All of the Estate’s servants had been informed that the Count’s firstborn was coming home today – the bastard from the rumors – but the man in front of him didn’t look anything like the Count. His handsome, pretty face made him appear incredibly feminine, especially with his narrow shoulders and slim waist. His pale, white skin was nothing like Count Deruth’s tanned skin. Count Deruth was the very definition of a strong man. He had a muscular body – and a very different hair and eye color.
The man in front of the butler though had unusual, crimson hair and reddish-brown, piercing eyes, even more so than his guardian knight. His sharp face was the total opposite of the Count’s and all in all, the two of them looked nothing like father and son – meaning he couldn’t be Count Deruth’s son.
The butler nodded at his conclusion and then looked at the young man in front of him again. He was a noble, his elegant and graceful posture revealed that much about him – nothing like the trash of the Henituse County.
“Well, good sir, please excuse my question, but could it be that you’ve come on the wrong day? We are currently expecting a guest that is very dear to my lord-“
Eruhaben snorted at those words, causing the butler to look at him sharply before continuing as if nothing happened.
“-and are hence unable to house any other relevant guests.”
Cale frowned. He knew with certainty that it couldn’t be him that was meant with ‘very dear to my lord’, leaving out the possibility of him arriving on the wrong date. But could it really be?
No, it wasn’t the wrong day.
Cale had recalled the record of Count Henituse’s invitation, and today was the right day.
He smiled at the butler and shook his head.
“I doubt that to be the case. But if the Count is busy today, he can simply hand me the promised amount of money and I’ll be on my way.”
Both Eruhaben and Beacrox nodded, ever so slight smirks appearing on their lips. Neither one of them wanted to enter that cursed Estate of the Henituse County and would really prefer to not meet with that selfish prick, also known as Deruth Henituse.
The butler, on the other hand, gave a slight frown.
“Sir, you were…paid to be here? Excuse my question, but could you be the mercenary from the El’Osa guild?”
At that, Eruhaben snorted and stepped forward, in front of Cale.
“Apologies, but you’re wasting our time. Either let us in, or give us the promised sum of money and let us be on our way. We don’t have all day to stay here and chat.”
Hearing the ancient dragon’s – disguised as a casual guardian knight – words, the butler gulped and quickly nodded his head.
“To do that, I must ask for you to identify yourselves. Please do that, and tell me the sum of money you were promised, I will get it after having a quick discussion with the lord.”
Eruhaben frowned. He would have liked it better if the servant wouldn’t have to talk to Deruth, giving that pest of a father no chance whatsoever to see his son yet again.
He was just about to introduce his child again, as the doors were flung open once again, three hurried figures emerging from within the Estate. Two of them, were figures Cale was very familiar with, while the last one, the smallest of all of them, was a face Cale hadn’t seen before, at least not all grown up like that. And even then, he only rarely saw Count Henituse’s only daughter when she was much younger than she was now.
How old was she now? She was the same age as Raon, so she would be about six years old. Her dark, brown hair was that of Count Henituse’s, so were her chocolate colored, and her tanned skin, yet she had the soft but sharp and elegant features of her mother – Violan Henituse. She looked…like a strong, young woman.
Next to her, a young teenager who was about fifteen years old. Compared to when Cale had been fifteen, the boy – Basen – actually looked fifteen. His formerly childish features were almost adult-like. His light, brown hair and dark brown eyes seemed to be staring into the depths of Cale’s soul. While his younger sister, Lily, seemed excited and over-all friendly, Basen seemed to be either judging Cale- no, it wasn’t Cale who was the receiver of his deathly stare, but the servant who had greeted him.
Basen was almost as tall as Cale, probably only an inch was between the two of them. His shoulders were boarder and even though he had much paler skin in comparison to his sister, he had a muscular stature, being the utter opposite of his older step-brother. Seeing Basen look so healthy and Lily look so energetic, Cale couldn’t help the small smile on his lips. While he himself didn’t notice, the people around him sure did. The smile softened his sharp and seemingly cold features a bit.
While Cale had looked unapproachable just now, he looked a lot less distant now that he was smiling.
It was the third person who had hurried out of the Henituse Estate, a tall woman with light brown hair that was tied up in a perfect bun without even a single loose strand and ice-blue yet warm eyes who spoke first. The smile on her usual frowning face was as small as Cale’s, yet it seemed to brighten her whole face.
“Cale, it’s nice to see you again after such a long time. Please excuse Hans here, he’s very dedicated to his job here and didn’t know that you were the special guest we have been awaiting. Hans-“
Before Violan could finish her sentence properly, the butler – Hans – quickly bowed down in a proper, ninety-degree bow and apologized to Cale for the inconvenience. Well, in his defense, Cale truly didn’t resemble Count Henituse – not even a bit.
Waving his hand in dismissal, Cale’s usual stoic expression returned to his face now that the ‘reunion’ was over. He knew that it wasn’t a bad thing, seeing his half siblings and Violan again, but that also meant that he would have to meet Count Deruth. Deruth Henituse was no one important to Cale. After all, back in his life as Kim Rok Soo, the redhead had had it so much worse in comparison to the few years of ignorance Deruth had sent him.
But that, by no means, meant that he liked the Count. No, by all means not. He found him rather annoying than anything else, and also quite unpleasant to be with. Shaking his head, Cale turned his attention back to Violan, who was smiling at him despite the worried look in her eyes.
“Don’ worry about it.”
With those words, Cale was about to enter, when his legs were hugged by a small figure. It was Lily, technically his half-sister. Frowning, Cale looked down at the in the novel as ‘shy’ described girl. Why was she so straightforward, partly bold with him right now?
He didn’t know.
But she sure as hell wasn’t the only one. Shortly after Lily let go, Cale was once again pulled into a tight hug by Basen – another action he did not understand.
But all the adults, Beacrox, Eruhaben and Violan – as well as Hans for this matter – did. No, not just the adults in this case. The invisible dragon, who was still sitting on Eruhaben’s shoulder, smiled. He knew how amazing his human was. Anyone who talked to him for more than two seconds would feel the same.
~
Alberu frowned as he stared at the communication device in front of him. It was already afternoon and Cale was supposed to call him any minute now. It was nerve-wrecking, waiting for his love to finally call. After all, despite having a torture expert, ancient dragon and powerful young dragon with him, anything could happen to Cale.
Argh! Why did he let that troublemaker go again? It was way too risky! There was still this mad dog called Choi Han on the wild! What if something did happen to his precious love?!
Without meaning to, Alberu had jumped up from his chair, his fingers clenched into fists. No, let’s not think about that. Shaking his head, the crown prince sat back down on his chair again, looking at the stack of papers in front of him. It was useless – staying behind he meant. The only thing he could think about was his love, and nothing else. Most probably, he wouldn’t get done with any of those documents and papers, at least not until Cale finally called.
Letting out a resigned sigh, Alberu contemplated over calling him, yet his thoughts were disturbed by his doors being thrown open with a loud sound.
Entering his office, was the not benignly smiling old butler who was practically glued to his love – to the point where he seemed more like a worried father – or grandfather, if one considered his age – than a simple servant. And let’s be honest, he was more of a father to his boyfriend than anyone else.
In his hands, Ron held a hot cup of tea and a plate of food – it was Alberu’s lunch. In all honesty, despite the old man’s obvious hostility towards him, he took care of all his needs and fed him three times a day, just like he had promised Cale.
Putting down the hot tea and plate of food, Ron hesitated, before looking up at Alberu and making direct eye-contact with the crown prince. Usually, their interactions were only Ron bringing Alberu food and shooing him into bed when it was past ten pm, without any talk or conversations involved. Yet, right now, it seemed like Ron wanted to say something to Alberu.
The crown prince really didn’t want to hear it, to encourage Ron to speak – but he did it nevertheless.
“Is something the matter, Ron?”
The old butler’s brows furrowed ever so slightly and he put his hands behind his back. An odd expression made its way to his face – something that told Alberu that something was definitely the matter.
“Please speak freely in here.”
The old butler frowned, then he scoffed, a slightly annoyed expression making its way on his face.
“You punk, still have zero respect for your elders, haaa.”
Alberu had spoken as respectfully as he would talk to other nobles of the highest ranks possible, but chose not to reply to Ron’s accusations, only listen this time.
“But that doesn’t matter right now. Do you remember our conversation?”
It was now Alberu, who was frowning. He didn’t converse many times with that scary butler, but there was one time he wouldn’t and couldn’t ever forget, even if he wanted to. It was almost five years ago, wasn’t it? When Cale was in a coma for four entire weeks?
Back then, Ron had talked to Alberu and told him a short story about his life and how he encountered Cale’s mother – Jour – because he had to flee from his home, as he was betrayed. But that was only the first part of their conversation. He straight out warned Alberu that he would be able to kill him – if he put Cale in danger that is.
Alberu’s graceful posture changed and he leaned back, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He looked at the old butler, a snort escaping his lips. All of his respectful attitude that he wanted to keep up with Ron, mostly since Cale loved him like a grandfather of some sorts, collapsed that very moment.
“What, you wanna kill me now, old man?”
Hearing those words, Ron rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“You punk can be so incredibly stupid, sometimes. Do you really think I would kill you if my grandson loves you?”
Alberu swallowed and gave his best to hide his surprise – which he wasn’t able to, at least not in front of the talented assassin. Ron rolled his eyes again, snorting.
“Tsk, you stupid punk, don’t you understand that my precious grandson would never get in a relationship with you if he didn’t love you? And don’t try to hide that you love him either, tsk, it’s more obvious than a fire at night.”
Alberu took a sharp breath, leaning forward again.
“What do you want, old man?”
Ron’s lips quirked upward, yet his entire body-language told a different tale, contradicting his amusement.
“Something will happen soon, won’t it?”
In all honesty, Alberu wasn’t surprised that Ron knew – honestly, he had expected the smart and cunning old man to find out even sooner. Perhaps Ron even did, but he only decided to talk about it now. Since there was no use in hiding it, and more people around Cale, protecting him, were always better, the crown prince simply nodded, leaning back again.
“Indeed, at least all the odds are hinting it.”
The old butler, who had seemed as confident as always, let out a deep breath, letting his tense shoulders slump over. He sat down on the chair opposite to Alberu’s, then made eye contact with the crown prince.
It was at that moment that Alberu noticed that the old man, who always had the same benign expression on his face, wasn’t as strong as he always appeared to be. He seemed to have aged a couple years, now looking a lot more tired than anybody else. But before that, he looked worried sick for his grandson.
“You punk you…you really love that troublemaking grandson of mine, don’t you?”
When was it that Ron had started to consider Cale as his grandson? Was it before or after his mother’s death? The old man didn’t remember anymore, and it didn’t really matter. Looking up, his brown eyes met the crown prince’s clear, azure ones. Alberu met the old man’s gaze without flinching, since the words that had left his mouth were nothing but the truth.
“I do.”
And without any ounce of hesitation, Alberu also replied to Ron’s question.
The Molan Patriarch who was known to be the best assassin on both the Eastern and Western Continents couldn’t help but chuckle. He nodded his head, as he had already known the answer. It was obviously written all over the crown prince’s face – as Ron had told him before.
Letting out a deep breath, Ron broke their eye contact and instead looked past Alberu, out the vast window. He didn’t know if what he was currently doing would be the right thing-
No, it would be the right thing. Especially since he knew with certainty that Cale would never talk about things like these, given his stoic personality and habit to keep all things to himself, thinking he would be a bother to other people.
“Then listen well, you punk.”
A smirk appeared on Alberu’s face, as he raised a single brown.
“Don’t tell me you stayed back just to have this conversation with me?”
Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes, feigning ignorance – but Alberu really hit the bull’s eyes. But that meant that…
“Just shut up and listen, you punk!”
Alberu’s smirk got a bit wider as he nodded his head, yet couldn’t help but make another one of his remarks.
“Does that mean that you’re fine with Cale and me dating?”
Ron let out a grumbling sound. He was just about to tell Alberu his opinion as he let out a resigned sigh in the end.
“You shameless and disrespectful punk, you haven’t changed even after all these years, haaa.”
It meant yes.
Alberu’s eyes widened in disbelief and his smile slipped away, revealing his disbelief – which quickly turned into something more akin to thankfulness. He didn’t need to say anything as he silently listened to Ron’s rumbles as the old man tried to gather all of his thoughts. In the end, he looked up from Alberu’s desk and made eye-contact with the twenty-three year old crown prince again.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t kill you if you ever hurt my grandson, you useless punk. If anything happens to him, it will be your fault, so you better do everything to protect him. If he ever feels hurt by you, I will come for you. And it won’t be just me, understood?”
Alberu sat up a bit straighter and nodded his head. For some reason, he felt like he was a stupid loser talking to the overprotective father of his date – which was practically the case. The only difference was that Ron didn’t have a shotgun, though he did have his dagger.
“Yes, I understand.”
Ron nodded, obviously satisfied. He let out a long sigh, signalizing that he wasn’t completely done just yet.
“You punk, you…are a good…match for my grandson. He is…happy whenever he is with you. I will only say this once, so you better listen well.”
Alberu immediately nodded, moving in closer to Ron while intently listening to him. The old man took another deep breath. It was difficult to have this talk with Alberu, but for some reason, probably even because it was Alberu and no other person, it was also fine.
“That child, he is very frail. You will know it better than me, but he keeps many secrets, from me, from Eruhaben-nim and also from you. So don’t pressure him – ever, you useless punk can at least do that. If he ever tells me that you pressured him to do something I will kill you immediately, no matter where you flee to! E-hem, what I was trying to say is to give him space. You are…a good kid.”
Ron closed his eyes for a split second, before opening them up again, shocking Alberu even more than with his last words.
“I will now approve of your relationship. I’ve been against it for long enough already.”
Alberu’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Ron, yet the old butler simply got up from his chair, ready to exit the room. Before he opened the door though, he turned around again, looking at Alberu.
“Whatever it is that will happen in a few days, I am certain you punk will protect my precious grandchild. And don’t be so nervous, my son and Eruhaben-nim will take care of him. My grandson, even if he doesn’t notice it, is loved by all of us, even more than I thought was humanly possible.”
Ron pressed down the door handle, yet hesitated once more. This time, he didn’t turn around though and only mumbled a few words that were very clear to Alberu before finally exiting the room.
‘I am getting too old, haaa. So sentimental, that must be a new record.’
Alberu didn’t think so. Ron wasn’t getting old – he was learning. The old man had lived as an assassin for practically his entire life until he fled to the Roan Kingdom and was taken in by Jour. But his early years wouldn’t ever be replaced – similar to how Cale’s childhood from that other dimension he was from would never completely fade away. But Ron opened up more. He…accepted Alberu. After such a long time, he really didn’t mind the crown prince any longer.
Wow…
Alberu felt…better than before. He even stopped waiting for Cale’s call, instead focusing on his paperwork. His talk with Ron really did help.
~
Cale frowned, a displeased expression on his face. Lunch went smoothly – contrary to his expectations. But that was only the case because Deruth Henituse, his body’s biological father, wasn’t present. He had worried for a bit that he wouldn’t get the money, but after dessert had been served and eaten, Violan told him that her husband – his father – wished to talk to him in private, after which he would receive the money and get to leave.
While Cale didn’t want to have a private meeting with Count Deruth Henituse, he didn’t see any short cut this time – which meant that if he wanted the precious money, he would have to talk to Count Henituse alone, meaning without either Beacrox or Eruhaben. Naturally, Raon was included into his package. Since the six year old dragon was invisible, he was practically not there and free to accompany Cale.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
Eruhaben’s low mumble was ignored as Cale followed Hans’ lead to Deruth’s office. It was the same way he remembered, but when Violan tasked the deputy butler Hans with the task of guiding him here, he didn’t care to explain.
“Mhm, something’s wrong. This feels like a trap, young master-nim.”
Frowning, Cale slowed down his pace, now walking between Eruhaben and Beacrox.
“Don’t worry about it. Nothing bad can happen since Raon’s with me. I’ll get the money, and off we go. Easy, right?”
Neither Beacrox nor Eruhaben cared to explain that Cale’s “easy” plan wasn’t easy at all. Too present were the memories of the day when Cale had been stabbed by a flying fountain pen. The culprit was that prick of an instructor, but the one who hired him was Deruth. He was definitely not innocent.
“You unlucky bastard, I really do hope that you are right.”
Cale rolled his eyes at that, choosing to ignore Eruhaben’s low complaint. He sped up again, quickly following behind Hans again.
-Human, I don’t like this either. Your daddy is stupid.
Cale nodded his head. He didn’t need to reply to Raon, as the young dragon quickly continued.
-If he does do something like goldie gramps and good cook Beacrox say, I will make him pay!
Again, Cale only gave a low nod. Then, their little group already arrived in front of Deruth’s office. Just as Hans was about to knock on the door, Cale raised his hand and shook his head, shooing Hans away. With a bow, the deputy butler walked away, making place for Cale to enter. Talking a deep breath, the redhead got ready. He didn’t turn around and knocked on the door, hearing a low ‘Come in’ from the other side from the door.
‘I’m doing this for the money.’
Cale nodded at his thoughts. That’s right; he was doing all of this for the money.
‘Let’s get this over with, go to Billos, then return to Alberu.’
Cale opened the doors.
~
“Meow~”
“Meow, nya~”
Two kittens, one with silver, the other with reddish fur crossed the streets, ending up in front of a bookstore. The two of them exchanged glances as they nodded, then entered the bookstore. After all, it was one of the few places where the owner was nice enough to hand two lost stray cats milk and food.
Notes:
Hi!
How is everyone? I'm definitely feeling much better compared to last time! I'm not down anymore, and I'm feeling way more energized than at the beginning of this week! Today will also be a big manhwa-reading/Simpson-watching marathon (I will first read my beloved manhwa "Solo Leveling" until midnight, then continue to watch "The Simpsons") so I'm looking forward to that!
I'm also glad I managed to finish this chapter today, meaning I will have a bit more time tomorrow to do my homework and finish the last bits of my school related tasks!
This chapter is a lot like a bridge, so nothing very relevant (let's exclude the Ron-Alberu talk) happened.
But I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless.I promise, the next chapter will be a lot more eventful, and probably more to your liking, since it will be quite the highlight! Also, I bet you will love the beginning (at least I do)!
I'm not gonna spoil anything other than that what I've already written down is really interesting!Then, until next time!
ξ\(´▽`)/ξ
Chapter 45: 43. Not according to plan (3)
Summary:
Money~ Money~ Money~
Must be funny~
In a rich man's world~
(No idea whether that's the real lyrics or not, but let's just go with it cuz' I think it is and it pretty much describes the whole chapter :))
Notes:
Attention please! This chapter contains a massive amount of Deruth Henituse!
Read with care, as it could be that his behavior/thoughts/actions may be sickening to some!
Stay safe
ξ\(´▽`)/ξ
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Choi Han furrowed his brows as he made eye contact with the person Count Deruth Henituse introduced as his son. There had been a lot of rumors surrounding that person, so it was really surprising to see that the trash Cale Henituse had an air around him like no other person Choi Han had ever met before. There was such grace and confidence that he showed in his every single step he took and he did not look like some mindless drunkard. Choi Han was many things, but he was not a bad judge of character.
Cale’s calculating glance that only briefly went over him did not look like the kind of expression a trash would make. And there was also this strange powerful presence that seemed to be sticking to him…
Choi Han felt chills running down his spine as he realized that that odd presence was most likely stronger than he was. His gaze wandered back down to the man sitting next to him, behind his vast desk. He had a bright and cheerful expression on his face, obviously overjoyed to see his son again.
While he didn’t make the impression of a bad person, Choi Han couldn’t help but notice how a few things about his personality were off, almost as if he had split personalities. Shaking off that kind of thoughts, the swordsmaster straightened his back and held his chin up high, standing silently there almost as if he was not in the room.
But he was.
‘Fucking shit, how unlucky can I be!?’
Cale was cursing inwardly at his misfortune and bad luck about situations like these. Ever since coming to this world, he had had a plan – a plan that had gone to shit after meeting the kingdom’s crown prince Alberu Crossman. But that was fine, really, since Alberu was now more than just some useless, scheming crown prince, given that he was Cale’s boyfriend. But besides keeping Ron and Beacrox by his side – two powerful individuals that were nothing like the novel ‘The Birth of a Hero’ described, Cale planned to avoid all to the plot relevant people. There was a war coming, for god’s sake.
All he needed to do was to sit back and let Alberu take care of it – as the two of them had discussed. Cale had given Alberu numerous clues like about the Plaza Terror Incident and how to handle Choi Han best – or rather how he had done it in the novel. Given that Cale changed the crown prince’s personality quite a bit ever since coming here – had prevented him from experiencing a cold and completely isolated childhood – that was a given, despite him still being a cunning man.
That was why Cale trusted that powerful boyfriend of his – he knew that everything would turn out well even without his intervention. And even if something did go wrong – which was very unlikely – he still had his ancient powers, Ron, Beacrox and Eruhaben, not to forget the young Raon. All of them, besides Cale, were a force to be reckoned with, the redhead thought.
Well, it seemed that this plan was also going to shit.
‘No, it still might work.’
That’s right, he simply had to avoid Choi Han to not get beaten and hence involved with him. He had zero interest in becoming acquaintances with that bomb of a person, given he was driven mad by several incidents that had happened in his life so far. Well, perhaps that was a good thing right now. Cale ever so slightly furrowed his brows as his thoughts were running wild, looking for a solution.
Choi Han was not in the right state of mind. There was no way he would pay much attention to Cale, especially since there were numerous vicious rumors surrounding him.
-Human, you look like you just tasted something bad! I can tell that that person is strong! Are you afraid of him? I can kill him, weak human! I can kill your daddy too!
Cale ignored the vicious Raon’s words, already used to them, as he ever so slightly shook his head. Naturally, the intelligent six year old picked that ever so slight motion of his weak human’s head up immediately, hence calmed down a bit.
-…Alright human, I will not kill them right now. But if your daddy even looks wrongly at you-
The young dragon did not finish his sentence, but Cale chose not to give it too much thought. He cleared his throat, waiting for his father to say anything to break the awkward silence, but as nothing happened, he let out a resigned sigh.
‘Ignoring Choi Han is the best option right now. Let’s get this over with.’
“I greet Count Henituse, the Lord of the territory.”
Deruth’s brow flinched ever so slightly; it sounded awkward and wrong when his son was calling him ‘Count Henituse’ instead of ‘Father’ like in the past, though that past was many years ago, now that Deruth thought about it. Hm, when was the last time that Cale actually and genuinely called him father? Deruth couldn’t remember.
Choi Han, who found it odd as well, how a son was treating his father at an arm’s length away, frowned. He didn’t care about his odd feeling about Deruth and instead glared at Cale. It probably had to do with him not being able to remember his parents, let alone his memories of how they had been together, but he knew with certainty that they had sincerely loved him – like all parents loved their children.
Cale, who did not appear to be bothered by Choi Han’s scary glare, listened to a vicious six year old’s threats against the very person who was daring to look at him like that. It only caused him to let out a resigned sigh as he waited for Deruth’s reply patiently. He did not have all day, making it hard to wait so long, especially under these circumstances.
“E-hem, yes, welcome back, son.”
Deruth, who had returned to his “usual” self, cleared his throat and looked the young redhead who was his son, a spitting image of the woman he once loved. Now that he looked at Cale, with his incredibly feminine yet sharp features that were screaming how weak and fragile and yet dangerous he was…no, he wasn’t the spitting image of his former wife, he was the opposite of her and yet the two of them had the same impact on the room.
The cold glint in his eyes that seemed unapproachable, the calm yet graceful and collected as well as calculated attitude, Jour had been a wild spirit, seemingly naïve as she immediately tended to trusted everyone. She wasn’t the least bit cold or unapproachable, and she seemed a bit clumsy even, and yet, the young, eighteen year old redhead in front of Deruth reminded him of his former, long dead wife.
How was this possible?
Clicking his tongue, Deruth decided to abandon that thought. Jour was in the past; he needed to win over Cale, not to lose him like he lost her.
“Well, how are you son?”
Cale, giving his best not to roll his eyes in annoyance, replied as coldly as he could – which gave the two people inside the room, even Choi Han, the chills. Only the young dragon was calm, somewhat proud of his weak human.
“I’ve not died yet.”
Deruth did not how to reply to that statement. He decided that not dying meant something good – well, Cale was only eighteen years old, how could he die already in the first place? – and thus replied accordingly.
“That’s good, son.”
-Tsk, human, your daddy is so stupid! Not dying is a must! I want to chop off his head and burn him alive!
Cale had no idea how Raon got the idea to chop off someone’s head and then burn him alive, given he didn’t experience four years of torture unlike in the novel, but decided that it was his own fault for always taking the young child along with him anywhere he went – which included dangerous, not-children-safe missions like the complete annihilation of the Mercenaries Guild a couple years back so that they could make Bud Illis the Mercenaries King.
“Well, it’s nice you came here. How is the crown prince? You’re still living with him, right? Is he treating you well? Are you getting enough food? You look thin, you must absolutely eat.”
Cale, who had gotten quite irritated by Deruth’s words, ended up straight out frowning. Alberu was taking more care of his boyfriend than himself. Sure, the quarter dark elf loved teasing the noble youth that had stolen his bed for eternity away from him, but besides that, he was always making sure Cale ate three times a day and didn’t stay up for too long.
He also always made room in his busy schedule to be with the redhead who really didn’t mind waiting until the evening. He was…
Cale stopped thinking about what luck he had with Alberu and instead thought about how to best reply to Deruth while also make it clear that he did not want to have any kind of conservation with him. Best would be if his answer also made it clear that he wanted to get away from here as quickly as possible.
The money was the only thing that had taken him here – that was why he had come here.
“Count Henituse, I fear that I am not allowed to share any information about life in the palace.”
That was a lie and Deruth knew that.
Hell, why should someone not be allowed to speak about what happened in the royal palace?! That was where most rumors had their roots! Servants observed and talked! How else would the citizen have found out that Zed Crossman had so many concubines (naturally the king didn’t, he simply housed a couple women to let those kinds of rumors spread)?
But Deruth could not openly defy Cale. The message the young noble in front of him delivered through his words was more than clear. But that didn’t mean Deruth accepted it.
“…I see. How unfortunate.”
Choi Han frowned. He didn’t know much about royalty and etiquette, but why should a son be not allowed to talk to his father properly. His sharp eyes got even darker and the disdain in them for Cale got bigger-
Suddenly, Choi Han felt a cold chill run down his spine and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The powerful aura surrounding Cale Henituse that didn’t seem to be his own was right behind him. It was invisible and too powerful for normal humans like Deruth to sense, though Choi Han did not about Cale. But Choi Han knew that it was more powerful than him, no, not just more powerful, it would wipe him away in seconds.
Lowering his gaze, Choi Han stopped staring at Cale, and the suppressing aura quickly disappeared. That was probably why he didn’t see the odd expression on Cale’s face as he listened to Raon’s proud bragging about him showing the strange human.
-Human! Did you see how amazing I was?
Cale gave a slight nod, a slight frown appearing on his face. It was difficult, dealing with the main protagonist and his supposed “father” at the same time. Dealing with just one of them was already exhausting enough, naturally for different reasons, but with both of them being here…
Cale could not treat Deruth like just some person, since he knew how much Choi Han cared about the value of family despite all that had happened to him. And Cale was also aware that his body’s biological father would definitely take this opportunity.
“Indeed. Count Henituse, I am in a hurry right now, if you’d please hand over-“
“Yes, yes, I’ll give it to you later. Let us catch up first!”
Deruth’s expression said it all. While he didn’t know why Cale was behaving so unusually, he wasn’t a stupid man, no matter how much everyone sometimes wished he was. The only difference between today and their usual conservations, despite Cale being overly kind and following proper etiquette, was Choi Han. Deruth naturally seized that opportunity like the self-serving bastard he was.
“There will be a celebration for the king’s fiftieth birthday soon.”
Deruth’s whole demeanor changed as he brought that up, a slightly scheming glint in his eyes. Cale got the chills; he immediately knew that something was wrong.
In the original novel, Basen had been sent as the County’s representative, and Cale didn’t intend to change that, especially since the plaza would be safe this time. There were two almighty and powerful dragons, two assassins who were stronger than even Lock and there was still Alberu, who had his dark elves aides – all strong and almighty existences who would be made aware of the terrorist’s attack in a few days, not to reveal Cale’s former knowledge. Naturally, Alberu and Raon knew about it already, but that wasn’t the point.
What was, was that the plaza would be safe. Basen would absolutely not get hurt if he went there – and with this being said, Cale had absolutely no intention of going there instead of him. Perhaps that and the little detail that he and the Henituse family didn’t have the best of relationships, or rather he and the lord, with each other, made Cale blurt out his thoughts as bluntly as he did.
“I will not be attending that event.”
Deruth frowned, but his expression was quickly replaced by a seemingly genuinely smile. He stretched out his arms, as if to make a welcoming gesture that looked a lot more like he was trying to catch something in a cage.
“My son, you have no reason not to. I know that your younger brother Basen usually attends these kinds of gatherings, but with all those vicious rumors going around, saying that you’ve been disowned since you moved in with the crown prince for reasons unknown, it would be the perfect opportunity to show the world that that’s not the case.”
Hearing that, Choi Han finally raised his gaze from the ground, looking at the father and son conversing so “casually”. He was surprised because he recalled the chief elder, a woman in her late eighties, runt about those rumors, saying that something had to be wrong there. It appeared like she was right.
“But that’s the case?”
Choi Han’s slowly lifting mood fell and hit rock bottom as he heard Cale’s next few words. They sounded cold but also surprised – surprised that Deruth had said something so strange and untrue.
The Count furrowed his brows, his expression darkening ever so slightly. This was definitely not the kind of conservation to have in front of anyone, especially not a stranger who wasn’t even affiliated with this family, but neither Cale nor Deruth were caring about that. Well, they wouldn’t have been alone anyways.
-Human! Your daddy wants you in the plaza when the bombs go off! Cookie prince especially said that you have to be resting then! Human! I want to kill your stupid daddy!
Cale ignored Raon outwardly, but slightly agreed with at least one thing the young dragon was saying – not the killing part naturally. What Deruth had done wasn’t good, sure, but it wasn’t bad either. He had just ignored Cale – that was all. As the Count kept silent, watching Cale with that dark expression, the redhead chose to elaborate.
“I’ve left the family a long time ago, Count Deruth. Besides my last name, I have no more affiliation with this family. If it’s bothersome, I’m certain that a fallen noble like myself has various ways to get rid of-“
“Cale!”
It was the first time Deruth had called out so desperately, cold sweat on his forehead.
“T-there’s no need to do that! Absolutely not! I forbid it!”
Cale frowned. Both he and the man sitting in front of him, fear written all over his features, knew that there was absolutely nothing Deruth could have done. If a noble wanted to get rid of his last name, he could always do that. Going down was easy, as the saying went. Usually, any fallen noble would get stripped of his family title immediately, but since Cale was never officially kicked out, he also never officially got stripped of his title.
Despite the process being easy, Cale still wanted to avoid unnecessary drama with the wealthy Henituse family, hence decided to give up on laying down his last name.
“Alright, then I won’t do that.”
-Human! Don’t give in! You can always marry the cookie prince to get his last name!
Hearing the young dragon say that, Cale trembled a bit, alerting Choi Han as he quickly looked around for danger. He had seen the split second in which Cale’s expression had turned horrified. It was for two reasons that he reacted that way.
‘Tsk, Raon’s spending too much time with Tasha.’
Ever since Alberu and Cale started ‘secretly’ dating (which meant they didn’t exactly keep it a secret, but didn’t tell it to anyone either), the quarter dark elf’s aunt revealed herself to them, congratulating them and what not. At some point last year Alberu asked Cale to reveal Raon to her, which the redhead naturally complied with. After all, there were things he could trust Alberu and Alberu’s subordinates with.
Well, Tasha, in her excitement that her nephew was finally getting romantically interested, naturally involved the young dragon in her daydreaming delusions – like marriage.
It was too early. While there was no doubt on Cale’s mind that he absolutely loved Alberu, a wedding would be too quick. Especially at times at war, joyous occasions shouldn’t be held. And furthermore, which was the majority of the reason that Cale got the chills at Raon’s supposition, getting the ‘Crossman’ family name was a pure horror.
No way Cale would get involved into something like that.
Clearing his throat to steady himself, Cale paid more attention to the Count who was carefully thinking about something. Then, all of a sudden, his expression brightened up, a victorious grin on his lips.
Cale did not like that expression that told him that the man in front of him had thought that he already won. No, more than just thought. Deruth seemed to be certain.
He folded his hands, supporting his chin with them as he observed his son’s every so little movement. Then, before Cale could speak, he opened his mouth.
“How about you do go, but don’t do it for free?”
Cale, who was taken off guard with that proposal, raised one eyebrow, not immediately getting what Count Deruth Henituse meant. But then, the very next second as the man looked into Cale’s eyes knowingly, it all seemed to be too clear.
How did he get Cale to show up in the Henituse territory after the redhead refusing to come for so many years?
-Human, I do not like your daddy’s expression. I have a bad feeling.
Ignoring Raon’s words, the gears inside Cale’s head were running faster than most of the time. His heart beat in excitement while his brain reacted partly annoyed but also interested.
He did not want to go against his boyfriend’s wishes of staying back and doing nothing all day – hell, that was what Cale had wanted to do all life! Having Alberu take care of everything was so reassuring and he knew that the crown prince would do an amazing and perfect job. With Eruhaben and Raon at the scene, and all of his boyfriend’s helpers who wouldn’t reveal themselves while looking for the bombs in advance, Cale also knew that nothing would go wrong.
Even if he was to go.
Alberu was needlessly worrying, but also giving his boyfriend an opportunity to slip out of a bothersome event he knew Cale would hate.
Cale wasn’t officially a fallen noble, but everyone thought so – which was to their advantage. It meant that Cale didn’t have to attend mandatory events like the king’s birthday and the royal banquet that would be held a month in advance.
But for the right sum…
Cale might change his mind.
It was safe, after all.
And having more money was always better, despite him already “owning” all of Alberu’s money.
‘But only for the right amount.’
Deruth who seemed to understand Cale’s gaze without the youth having to say something, raised three fingers.
Frowning at the not so little but very little amount of money, Cale frowned. Deruth, who immediately noticed, quickly explained what he meant.
“I’ll give you thirty billion gallons.”
Cale stopped his frown, a blank expression on his face as Choi Han, who didn’t know much about the currency of this world but was still aware of how much thirty billion Korean won were worth, opened his mouth in disbelief. So much money just so…this rumored drunkard attended an event?
Just for the record, Cale had been given thirty million gallons to come here, which was a very large sum of money already. Cale had expected to get something like that, which would have been enough for him to go already, but thirty billion gallons…
The money crazed Cale couldn’t help but smile for the very first time that time; and in front of Deruth at that. It was a genuine smile, which made Raon wonder whether he was going to scam someone, and a smile that made Deruth feel like he had done the right thing. That’s right, the wealthy Henituse family could spare a few bugs to buy their son back, so why shouldn’t they? Thirty billion gallons was no small amount of money, even for the wealthy Henituse, but it was still something the Count considered ‘little’.
So it should be fine.
“So, what do you say? Will you go there and be our representative?”
While Cale wanted to immediately agree, he held himself back, clearing his throat before speaking; his usual stoic expression on his face.
“What about Basen?”
Deruth waved his hand as if that wasn’t an issue.
“I’m certain Basen will be overjoyed if he hears that his older brother is taking his place this time around.”
Cale simply nodded, silently and wordlessly accepting Deruth’s proposal. It didn’t matter that people would start associating him with the Henituse County again, hell; with thirty billion gallons nothing would matter, even if people started to associate him with the bad guy! For thirty billion gallons Cale would gladly bark like a dog, roll around in whit and swim in lava – which shouldn’t be a big problem given that he had both the Fire of Destruction and Vitality of the Heart.
“Alright, I can do that, I suppose.”
Deruth nodded, satisfied.
“That’s very good. If so, then I suppose I can tell you to do one last thing, can’t I?”
Cale, deciding that it wasn’t worth the risk to refuse, simply nodded, waiting for Deruth to take out a batch of papers, handing them to him.
“The northeastern nobles, your friends Lady Amiru Urbarr, young master Eric Wheelsman and young master Gilbert Chetter are planning on doing something on the northeastern shoreline for which they want our investment.”
Deruth held out the documents, waiting for his son to take them, which Cale reluctantly did. He quickly looked through them, recording every single word and looked up at Deruth again, waiting for him to continue.
“I want you to take a look at their project and assess whether investing will be profitably. You can get that prince of yours to help you. But you have to come back and tell me, after; you will get the thirty billion gallons.”
Cale, who was ready to do anything for that amount of money, even to come back to the Henituse territory to talk to Deruth, didn’t hesitate as he agreed, making Deruth smile ever so brightly as if it was him who had gotten the most profit out of this deal.
As if he was just remembering something, he hesitated before handing Cale the check for him coming here, the thirty million gallons. Cale, frowning and wondering whether there was something wrong, waited patiently, believing that Deruth wasn’t the kind of person to attach some shady conditions to things.
“Before I forget, I want you to take this young man with you when you go return to the capital.”
Deruth then handed his stunned son the check with a bright expression on his face.
“He is a very skilled individual and can serve as your guard during the ride. I know you already have one, but having two guards was never something bad.”
Deruth nodded, as if he had said the smartest thing any human being could ever think of. Choi Han also didn’t look like he had been forced to travel with some disgusting excuse of a human as he nodded, somewhat proudly, and attempted to shake Cale’s hand when he stepped forward.
Cale simply glanced at it and didn’t shake it – for obvious reasons. Getting involved with the hero was never good – nor was it his plan, for god’s sake!
Choi Han didn’t seem to mind as he simply gave a small smile.
“My name is Choi Han. Thank you for agreeing to take me with you to the capital. I look forward to traveling together with you, young master Cale.”
Cale actually wanted to go hide in a corner and cry.
No, strike that, Cale wanted to return to the palace, annoy Alberu and complain about his shitty life to his greatly loved boyfriend. He wanted him to take care of things and make Choi Han disappear so that he wouldn’t bother Cale anymore. Yes, that’s right, it would be better to have Alberu deal with troublesome things in the first place!
-Human! That person, Choi Han, doesn’t seem so bad now!
Cale, not replying to the young Raon who was sounding especially excited, simply nodded, looking back at the Count, who seemed satisfied, and then the check of the thirty million gallons.
Getting this check and the thirty billion gallons had nothing to do with taking Choi Han with him, which was why Cale was shortly contemplating whether he should actually say that he couldn’t take Choi Han with him for a few reasons like not having enough teleportation scrolls or something like that. He did not want nor need to get involved with Choi Han.
That madman had been on the young noble’s blacklist of people – always standing in the first place (followed by people Cale wouldn’t be able to live without).
But Choi Han was different than Alberu, Ron and Beacrox. He was…insane. He was crazy, not normal. After everything that had happened to him, how could he be normal?
No one would be normal.
Right now, Choi Han was like a mad dog, always able to bite whenever he deemed it fit or necessary. Each second he found Cale to be annoying he could straight up beat him up or worse-
-Human! Can we please take Choi Han with us? He seems nice! I like his smell, now that he isn’t glaring at you like that! I think he’s learned his lesson well!
What was Cale worrying about?
He had already run into Choi Han, hadn’t he? He had Raon with him at all times, and outside stood Eruhaben, who was even more powerful than Raon – at least for now. Even if Choi Han wanted to attack Cale, he wouldn’t be able to.
And Cale had Alberu as his backing. No matter how important Choi Han would be in the future, he couldn’t act out in front of the Roan Kingdom’s crown prince. Not now, at least.
But the biggest reason for Cale wavering was the young dragon who was sounding excited as he clenched to Cale’s shoulder. While the redhead didn’t see it, he knew that the young child had a bright and curious expression on his face.
Who was he to say no to a young child like Raon?
Wouldn’t it be like Alberu forbidding him to eat cookies and chocolate – no, even worse?
Cale gave a slight nod, enough for Raon to understand that they were taking this strange human with them. Then, just as Choi Han was about to give up trying to talk to Cale, the redhead gave him a cold but confirming look.
“You don’t have to call me young master, Choi Han.”
The moment Cale opened his mouth to say that to Choi Han in a calm and unwavering voice, Choi Han felt a bit strange. He furrowed his brows, before quickly returning to his smile.
“Alright, Cale-nim, then I won’t.”
Cale frowned as he shook his head.
“Just Cale will be fine.”
Choi Han’s answer was a smile. Ever since then, he began to call Cale by ‘Cale-nim’. Perhaps it had been his senses that told him that this person, despite his dilemma earlier, was a bit different compared to all the humans he had met before. The air around Cale Henituse, disregarding the strong presence around him, was unusual.
Special.
Unique.
Choi Han’s interest, which the not so young but teenage looking man thought couldn’t be piqued anymore, had shown him that he wanted to find more about Cale Henituse.
And oh well, he had to go to the capital either way. So this would be a win-win situation, no?
Cale, listening to Raon’s excited screams and yells, sighed. He would have to call Alberu to tell him about the change of plans, especially since he now had to travel back – instead of teleporting back, how annoying.
But even before that, he still had to take care of business with Billos.
That’s right, for Cale’s next plans that even Alberu didn’t know much about just yet, he would need the bastard of the Flynn Mercenary to cooperate with him.
-Human, are we going to scam someone?
This time, Cale couldn’t help but nod. There was no other word that could describe what he was about to do with Billos.
Notes:
Hi!
I KNOW THAT I AM LATE! AND YES; I AM TOTALLY SORRY!
I found like THE best fanfiction in the world and I was so absorbed in it that I only read it when I had the time instead of working on this chapter (please forgive me, I am only human and cannot resist sloth and a good fanfiction, alright?)
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
E-hem, anyways, I also had a math exam today, topic were vectors. I had to study for it (sadly) and hence couldnt work on anything since wednesday! But oh well, I still managed to bring you a chapter this week (which I told you would me my minimum!)
So please don't be too disappointed!
Next week, there will be another exam, this time in german, but I will still try to update twice next week (hopefully it will go according to plan, which it mostly doesn't, but who cares?)
Anyways, so yeah, I hope the chapter made you somewhat happy, since I think I've had a lot of fun writing it! Finally, Choi Han is in the group! Haaa, at first I didnt know how to connect him to Cale properly and make Cale go to the Urbarr territory, but I've figured it out!
I've finished the fanfic too, so I don't think I'll be this engulfed (is that even a word?) in anything else.
Tho I am thinking of another fanfic, though it will be more like a side-thing, so you don't need to worry!Also, thank you for your patience! I hope this chapter was enough (for now only!)
Until next time, then!
°\(^▿^)/°
Chapter 46: 44. Not according to plan (4)
Summary:
Off we go (Part 1)~
Notes:
Short trigger warning: This chapter contains Deruth at the end! Read with caution!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was already getting dark, and Alberu had a scowl on his face as he stared at the large bed that had once been his but now “belonged” to his boyfriend. Oh well, there was nothing he could or would do against that. Still, it was strange that that certain redheaded youth still hasn’t returned.
After all, he had been the one that said ‘I’ll be back before sun sets’, not Alberu!
“Aww, is my young nephew waiting for his loved one?”
Alberu, rolling his eyes at his aunt’s teasing statement, did not reply and instead looked down on his paperwork. It had gotten significantly less since he was actually able to get something done, knowing that Cale was safe, even if he was at the Henituse territory. After all, Raon would be with him at all times, and there was still the reliable, ancient dragon guarding him with his life.
But there was this odd feeling that something had gone wrong. Alberu couldn’t help it. Wherever Cale went, trouble seemed to be following his every step. Be it the secret organization that was something he would have to take care of in the near future or something as simple as extremely strong individuals – not like Alberu wasn’t one of them.
Cale, despite his past and all, was someone incredibly special.
“My dear nephew, if you stare so lovingly at the bed, I can’t help but wonder when your wedding will be~”
“Auntie!”
Snapping, Alberu turned around to give his aunt a glare that showed her that he did not want to talk about the topic of marriage.
Alberu and Cale – the two of them were destined for each other, that much was clear to even Ron Molan, but a wedding at times at war was no option. And despite Alberu knowing of Cale’s past as Kim Rok Soo, he could also tell that Cale had the emotional maturity of a child, even younger than the smart Raon. He was…absolutely innocent. No way Alberu was gonna force him into a marriage before he wasn’t absolutely sure that Cale wouldn’t experience the least bit of pressure.
But that was a topic that would be important in the far away future – and nothing Alberu even slightly stressed about right now. He knew that he loved Cale and Cale loved him – and that was enough.
“I was just asking.”
Pouting, Tasha rolled her eyes as she was already imagining children with Cale’s red hair and Alberu’s brown skin and eyes. They would look absolutely adorable!
Alberu, who had no idea of whatever his aunt was thinking (and would rather not want to know if possible, judging by her light squeal and excited expression), let out a deep sigh as he looked at the communication orb in front of him. He always could contact Cale, after all, no problem there.
Contemplating that for a split second, Alberu chose not to do it. If something came up, he trusted Cale to call him. Perhaps he was just busy with that ‘business’ he had to take care of before returning. Well, it was Cale, alright?
“But my dear nephew, both you and young master Cale are of marriageable age, so shouldn’t you-“
And then Tasha couldn’t say no more as a sound barrier appeared around her, silencing her immediately. The dark elf frowned for a while; then broke out in a loud fit of laughter, especially after seeing her nephew’s expression. Alberu wasn’t someone who got embarrassed quickly or easily, not at all, and yet, his face was a bright red color and he tried not to meet his aunt’s eyes
Well…there was nothing she could do there. Since the sound barrier Alberu cast with a swipe of his hand was strong, extremely strong even, she decided to quiet down for the time being and wait for her nephew to release her – which he, a few moments later, also did.
Annoyed, Alberu turned his attention back to the documents lying in front of him. He still needed to take care of all of them, and preferably do the work of the next couple days, given that Cale would come back. They-
Suddenly, his communication device started to light up in a bright red color, which it only did when one person was calling him. Suppressing the big grin that was about to spread on his face, Alberu cleared his throat and cast a glance at his aunt. Tasha raised her hands defensively as she slowly stepped back to walk out of the room.
Having taken care of that, Alberu connected the call, smiling his usual princy smile as his boyfriend’s face appeared on the screen of the communication orb. Cale was, for a change, frowning at him, as if he had eaten something bitter.
-Hyung.
Alberu, choosing not to care for Cale’s bad mood for now, waved his hand.
“My dear Cale, how nice of you to finally call me~”
Alberu’s words were spoken with such lacing voice; Cale immediately knew that he had called a bit late for his boyfriend’s taste. The redhead coughed as the young Raon appeared next to him, not noticing the tension between the two boyfriends, as he greeted the crown prince properly, with a bright smile on his face.
-Cookie prince! Cookie prince! We did something amazing today!
Alberu, choosing to push back his dissatisfaction about Cale calling so late instead of coming here, immediately smiled gently at Raon’s words.
“How nice, and what did the two of you do~”
Before Raon could reply, Cale raised his hand. He could tell that while Alberu was acting nice, he didn’t feel very friendly right now. It was perhaps because Cale had told him that he would return like an hour ago, but was still caught up in Rain City.
-E-hem, hyung, we ran into a complication today.
Alberu’s brows wandered up as he looked at Cale, waiting for the younger to elaborate. After a while of silence, though, Alberu couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Judging by Cale’s expression, he wasn’t going to say anything, well, at least not without a little push.
“Cale, how about you elaborate a bit further?”
Cale’s face turned a bit paler; something that would have gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for Alberu’s trained eyes. Frowning, Cale tapped his finger on the desk right in front of the video communication device, a thoughtful expression on his face. Just as Alberu was about to try to push Cale even further, the redhead sighed, letting go of his stoic expression. Now he looked just tired – tired and extremely annoyed. The frown on his face and the partly desperate look in his eyes told Alberu all that he needed to know: Cale had run into trouble.
-Tsk, you know the person I desperately needed to avoid, right, hyung?
Alberu nodded. Choi Han, the main character of the novel Cale read as Kim Rok Soo and in which he ended up becoming Cale, was introduced to the novel with the event of beating Cale Henituse to a pulp – which was why Cale had planned to desperately avoid him. But if Cale already started like that…
“Did he do anything to you!?”
Cale startled, his usual stoic expression returning to his face as he looked at Alberu as if he said the biggest nonsense anyone could have spouted. Alberu couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief. That’s right, that dense boyfriend of his could be oblivious, and beyond, sometimes.
-Huh? What are you talking about? Why would Choi Han beat me?
-Cookie prince!? How can you say that about the nice Choi Han!
-Nya, who is that?
-Cale-nya, why is he insulting the good Choi Han?
Alberu felt like he was getting a headache after hearing the voices of two children that were seemingly a part of Cale’s zoo-kindergarten or something. Well, the redhead did have two dragons already. Haaa, just how many children would that troublemaker attract, huh? The very next moment, two kittens jumped up on the redhead’s desk, glancing at Alberu before looking up at Cale again. They saw how their youngest, Raon, had revealed himself to this person, so they didn’t think that revealing themselves would be a problem – which it wasn’t. Cale would have to tell Alberu anyways about the new addition(s) he made to his group.
“Cale…you better thoroughly explain. And who are those two speaking kittens?”
Cale smiled ever so slightly before his expression returned to his normal one.
-You see, when I went to Count Deruth to pick up the money, he offered me a proposal.
Alberu frowned. If Cale was talking about the proposal then it must have something to do with his involvement with those two kittens – or the “nice” Choi Han.
“What kind of proposal?”
Cale scratched the back of his head, looking a bit helpless as he was doing that. In the end, he simply shrugged.
-Well, it turns out that I have to do three things, and in return I will get money.
-Cookie prince, that’s true! The human’s daddy said that the human is going to get thirty billion gallons in return!
Alberu lost all calm composure as Raon spout out the sum Deruth offered him. But it also made his suspicious. To be offered that large amount of money…
“To what did you agree, Cale?”
Alberu knew that Cale wouldn’t say no to that amount of money, not ever. He was a bit too money crazy to do that. But he wouldn’t do things he would find bothersome either. He had Alberu and hence Alberu’s bank account which was the royal treasury. Still, even though that was the case, Cale accepted. So it wouldn’t be something dangerous, would it?
-I don’t think that I can simply stay back during the approaching banquet and the king’s-
“What? No, I don’t allow it, not even for thirty billion gallons! For what reason would you need to participate in that for that Count anyways?! You aren’t even affiliated with the Henituse County anymore!”
Cale let Alberu rant as he simply shrugged.
-I have to go there as the representative of the Henituse family. To look good in front of the citizen, I suppose. It really isn’t that big of a deal, especially since I trust you to take care of everything in advance either way, regardless of whether I participate or not.
Cale cleared his throat – and action that immediately caught Alberu’s eye. It was unusual that the redhead hesitated to say something, but he currently clearly was.
“Spit out the rest already, and then explain who those two are. It can’t be that you’ve opened a, mm.”
Alberu managed to prevent his true thoughts regarding Cale’s zoo-kindergarten from spilling as he watched his boyfriend hesitate once more.
-Hyung, before I continue, you know I love you, right?
Upon hearing Cale’s overly friendly words, the two kittens, one silver one red, turned around to stare at the smiling redhead in shock. During their short stay with him, they didn’t believe him to be a very emotional person, and yet here he was walking around, letting out words such as ‘love’.
Wait…if that was the case, just who was the person on the other end of the video communication device?
“…My dear dongsaeng, how nice to hear those words from you at a time like this~”
Alberu’s tense voice gave Cale the chills as he gulped and simply shrugged. Well, he’d have to get this over with anyways, so it’d be better to just spill the beans quickly. And just like that, the redhead had explained the second part of his deal with Deruth Henituse and mentioned the project which he planned to turn into a naval base, given that the future of the kingdom didn’t look very promising right now. He also quickly explained how he had met the two kittens and how he originally visited the Flynn merchant bastard Billos to get a couple magic devices that would help in the upcoming incident.
Alberu silently listened; each of Cale’s words was calmly accepted with a nod. Still, the way Count Deruth wanted Cale to represent the Henituse Family rubbed him the wrong way. Just what could that old geezer want from his boyfriend? There was no way the Count would want to build a relationship with Cale, if he did, he would have managed to find Cale’s weak spot for money a while earlier.
But the crown prince did not voice his suspicions or concerns for that matter. And knowing how much money meant to Cale…
“Haaa, you’re driving me nuts Cale, you’re really driving me nuts. About the celebration, we will talk about that once you arrive at the palace – and no, staying at the Henituse residence is not an option. If Count Deruth opposes-“
-He will not oppose.
Cale’s nonchalant and partly confused, yet laid-back attitude, together with his confident gaze made Alberu chuckle. Well, it was true. Alberu’s palace was more than just a palace to Cale, it was his home. The Henituse estate on the contrary, no matter if it was in Rain City or the capital, was nothing more than four walls, a floor and a ceiling.
The couple continued to exchange a couple words with each other while the three children lost interest and went to play on the ground. Soon enough, the call ended. While Alberu leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his lips, Cale let out a long and tired sigh.
He would have to hurry up back to the capital, no matter what. He still had to take care of many things, to make both his and his boyfriend’s lives easier. But before he could do any of that…
“Choi Han.”
A tall, seventeen year old looking man entered Cale’s room with an embarrassed expression on his face. Naturally, he had listened to each and every single word, but that wasn’t important right now, at least not to Cale. If he had talked about something confidential, Raon would have cast a sound barrier.
“Yes, Cale-nim?”
The redhead rolled his eyes ever so slightly, but chose to ignore Choi Han’s bothersome words.
“We’ll be heading out tonight.”
The swordsmaster frowned upon hearing Cale’s words. He was in no position to oppose or anything, but leaving at night…
“Cale-nim, are you sure?”
Cale rolled his eyes. While Choi Han thought that this person that had talked to Cale just now was pressuring the redhead, it was actually the opposite – but it was none of his concerns. He didn’t know Cale Henituse well enough and all the stories that he’s heard about him, from both the servants and Deruth…
“Yes. Get ready.”
Cale’s answer was short. The swordsmaster gave a stern nod. His task was to follow Cale’s orders, not to question them – at least for now, until he arrived at the capital and could roam around more freely. And while he was curious about this redheaded person, he had no intentions whatsoever on staying with him.
Little did Choi Han know; he would not leave Cale’s side again after this.
~
A few hours prior…
Billos was smiling while looking at the catalogue of the books and items in his shop and storage. Despite being part of the Flynn family (even if it was as a bastard son), Billos had to make his own business even though he was still part of the Flynn Mercenary. He was a small man with a pig-like, pink face and fat cheeks. His blonde hair was combed out of his face.
The smile on his face turned a bit wider after he realized that he made quite the profit last month. Ah, times are looking great~
Ding. Ding.
Billos looked up as he heard the surprised and utterly astonished gasps of his customers. He followed their gazes to the entrance of his bookstore. While he was inwardly frowning, he managed to put on a welcoming smile on his face as he greeted the trash of noble society.
“Welcome, young master-nim! How may I serve you today?”
‘This trash, is he going to destroy my shop? Why is this person who ran away from home even here? Isn’t this trash supposed to be with the crown prince in the capital?’
Billos did not speak his true thoughts; neither did he let them show on his face. But his smile got strained after just a couple seconds in which Cale’s chillingly cold, reddish-brown eyes were looking down on him. His gaze; it was only the kind of gaze overly confident people could have. He was looking down on Billos with arrogance and an air around him that spoke for itself.
While the two people Cale had with him were pretty impressive two, Billos’ gaze was glued on the pale and thin man’s omnipotent expression. Cale naturally didn’t notice what kind of effect his usual expression had on the people around him that didn’t know him, hence didn’t understand why cold sweat was starting to run down Billos’ forehead.
Eruhaben and Beacrox, who were standing behind the redhead, while not confused, were equally annoyed. The ancient dragon clicked his tongue while the head chef turned his head away and looked around this shabby place. Tsk, there was dust everywhere, no matter the owner of this establishment was equally dirty.
Cale, ignoring the iffy feeling he got, listened to the young Raon’s words as he was talking about how amazing all of these books were. Well, despite having lived in Alberu’s palace for the biggest part of his life, Raon still hadn’t visited the library there. Cale made a mental note to go visit the library with Raon later.
Choosing to ignore the young dragon’s astonishment for now, Cale took out one gold coin and slowly placed it on the counter. His stoic expression became a bit brighter but also more chilling when he smiled at Billos.
“I’m going to stay on the third story today, bring me some novel to read.”
Just as the redhead was about to turn away and walk up the stairs, he held in his tracks, a frown appearing on his face as if he was listening to something strange. And he actually was, though it wasn’t strange at all – as he was listening to two dragon’s requests at the same time.
-Human! I want cookies! Tell him to bring cookies!
-Tsk, you unlucky brat, tell him to bring one more novel.
Cale, sighing, turned his head back to Billos as he pulled out another gold coin. He looked deep into the mercenary’s eyes as he added something to his request.
“…Make that two novels and some cookies. Also, bring some sweet tea.”
Billos began to sweat even more as he nodded his head. He didn’t care to say that Cale had overpaid him; hence he just bowed down and watched the redheaded human to walk up the stairs.
Cale Henituse…he was a lot calmer than expected.
But then again…
The sparkling gold coins in his fat hands made the piggy-bank-like man smile. The other guests had long since disappeared, run away since they believed the vicious rumors surrounding this person. Well, it wasn’t like Billos didn’t believe those rumors, he simply decided that making two months’ worth the profit in a single day was worth not kicking that person out.
Also…
Billos shuddered as he recalled the vicious expressions of the two people behind the trash of the Henituse County.
While Billos put the two gold coins away and prepared two novels as well as some cookies and tea, Cale furrowed his brows as he looked at the couch he wanted to sit on – a couch that had been occupied by two kittens that were eying him with suspicion in their eyes. But their eyes wandered from him to the head chef standing next to him, then to the ancient dragon who disguised himself as a guardian knight and was already sitting down on an armchair.
Meowww~
Meow!
Tsk.
Clicking his tongue, Cale listened to what the ancient dragon was telling him about these two kittens. While he seemed disinterested, he actually wasn’t.
‘Cat-tribe children, huh?’
Cale couldn’t help but be annoyed upon hearing Eruhaben say that they were mutated and hence probably abandoned. Both kittens appeared unusually thin and underweight. Children had to eat, not hunger. Cale, with his past as Kim Rok Soo, couldn’t help but pity those two children.
‘Perhaps I should give them some food-?’
His thoughts were interrupted by a young dragon yelling inside his head.
-Human! They look nice! Can we take them along?!
Cale, who had many great talents but couldn’t say no to Raon, clicked his tongue once again in annoyance. He made a shooing motion with his hand at the silver kitten so that he could sit down on the couch – something the silver kitten fully ignored.
-Ho.
Eruhaben scoffed inside Cale’s head and the redhead immediately noticed how Beacrox had turned his head away as well, obviously amused by the kitten’s resistance. Even the red kitten that was a bit smaller than the silver one seemed to snicker at him.
-Human, I can lift that cat with magic!
Cale shook his head at Raon’s words (at least Raon was on his side). He then looked at the silver kitten, whose golden eyes were not leaving his, not even once. The suspicion that was written all over her face was something Cale could understand rather well, being an orphan himself and all.
A slight, genuine smile tucked at the corners of his straight lips. It was an action that the silver kitten didn’t miss.
Meow.
She was asking him something Cale could not understand, but he also didn’t need to.
“Move, and I’ll give you some food.”
-Human! You said that those cookies were mine! I wanted them! I will not share!
Cale ignored Raon’s words, knowing fully well that he was going to share with these two kittens, and if not them, he would surely hand Cale a cookie or two which he could pass on. The silver kitten’s suspicious eyes clouded over for a split second but she didn’t move. Cale sighed and ignored the light chuckles of Eruhaben and Beacrox – seriously, he didn’t believe that the two of them would ever laugh at him.
“I’ll give food to the both of you.”
At that, the silver kitten immediately got up and moved to the other side of the couch, watching Cale sit down with his usual frown in place. There was something familiar about him which made the kitten trust this person’s words. The silver kitten, On, couldn’t help but watch as the shopkeeper, Billos, entered the third story and handed Cale two novels while putting down a tablet on the coffee table, one with tea and cookies.
Of those cookies, some quickly disappeared without anyone noticing. She frowned as she looked around, trying to find out where those cookies went, yet quickly turned her attention back to the redhead who handed one of the books to the beautiful man who resembled a knight while keeping the other for himself. The tall man with the deadpan expression was standing behind this redheaded person while observing her with a slight smile? Was it a smile? On couldn’t tell.
Cale opened the book as he watched Billos walk back. He would deal with him later, right now…
“Don’t you want to eat?”
Cale did not look up from his book as he asked this question. On startled and she and her younger brother, the red kitten Hong, exchanged looks. While she was a bit more hesitant, especially after seeing those cookies disappear, her younger, less observant brother, immediately walked forward and took one of the cookies, quickly eating it before talking the next one.
On frowned while watching the redhead’s lips flinch ever so slightly. She was certain that his full concentration was on the book he was reading, so he shouldn’t be able-
“What? You don’t like cookies? We can get you something else too.”
The golden haired knight snorted. He too wasn’t looking up from his book, but he was obviously amused by this redhead’s actions. Well, he knew this person for four years already, and while he was definitely spoiled rotten (and sometimes certainly acted that way) he was still a beyond decent and generous human.
The redheaded man’s frown deepened and he was about to put down his book to look at the silver kitten when On quickly stepped forward and took a cookie for herself too. As expected, Raon didn’t have anything against sharing despite his words and hence, Cale managed to get the three children to eat together peacefully. Eruhaben, who was only pretending to read, as well as Beacrox had knowing smiles on their faces as they watched one cookie after another disappear, be it through Raon’s magic or the silver and red kittens.
It was a peaceful sight – one that continued even after Cale departed with Beacrox to talk to Billos about the business he came in here for. Eruhaben finally put down his book, his smile widening ever so slightly. He made eye contact with the silver kitten and it immediately flinched and stopped eating the cookies.
“Ho, the two of you are no normal animals, no?”
On flinched once more, her widened, golden eyes started to shake in terror which was answer enough for the ancient dragon. He put on a gentle smile on his face as he let out a deep sigh.
“Don’t worry your secret is safe with me. Actually…”
Eruhaben’s smile widened ever so slightly. For some reason, On felt uneasy after watching the guardian knight of the redhead look so relaxed and friendly.
“The two of you don’t have a place to return to, do you?”
And that was how, while Cale was discussing the purchase of a magic disturbance device with Billos, Eruhaben was inviting the two kittens On and Hong to join them in the future. Naturally, Cale was taken by surprise when he returned and Eruhaben requested him to take these two children along.
And not just that…
When Cale returned to the Henituse estate, Choi Han ran into him, looking like a lost puppy as he said he couldn’t find Cale. The redhead was annoyed, but what could he do against that? That was also when he decided to give Alberu a call, and oh well, everything unfolded pretty much as expected.
That is until their departure.
Cale frowned as he watched the Count stand in front of him, his arms crossed in front of his chest while he looked down on Cale with a very odd expression on his face. Next to him, Countess Violan was shaking her head; a similar expression to Deruth’s was on her face as well. It was a mixture of a frown and something else.
Choi Han, who was carrying the kittens was standing next to Cale with his head down while Eruhaben and Beacrox had very similar expressions on their faces – dangerous expressions that were telling anyone who looked at them that they would rip them to shreds if they weren't able to get through right now.
“Cale, while I admire your ways, please don’t depart right now. It’s already night time and-“
Raising his hand, Cale stopped Violan from saying useless stuff that no one wanted to hear to begin with. He had two dragons with him, one torture expert and Choi Han, what could happen to him?
The Countess frowned and looked at the boy that wasn’t her biological son but sure felt like it. He was weak and looked incredibly sickly. She did not want him to head out right now, especially since it was close to midnight already. Well, midnight was still a couple hours away, but you get the idea.
The Countess, while convinced that Cale’s people weren't weak, didn’t know the true capabilities of the guardian knight and Beacrox or that there was an invisible dragon with the eighteen year old at all times for that matter.
She furrowed her brows as she watched the redhead wave his hand with his usual stoic expression as he got on the carriage with the golden haired knight and the two kittens on Choi Han’s shoulders quickly following him. She frowned even more after watching Choi Han close the doors and get on a horse while Beacrox sat down as the driver of the carriage.
She had a very bad feeling for some reason.
“Countess, don’t worry about the young master-nim, he is in good hands.”
Beacrox’ stoic goodbye did not make Violan feel any better. She let out a long sigh as she looked at her still-husband. When this was all over…
She knew what would happen then.
There would no longer be a need for her to keep up the façade.
Then, and only then, would she finally be able to get the divorce she dreamed about so much.
Deruth, who could practically read his wife’s mind, couldn’t help but scoff.
“Are you happy now? Everyone will think he’s still in our family.”
Violan rolled her eyes. Ever since she discovered Deruth’s true nature, everything changed. The man who loved his other two children dearly yet couldn’t even stand Cale was such a ruthless person.
The invitations for Cale Henituse, the money; it all was Countess Violan’s idea. And while Deruth had changed a lot compared to the past and actually experienced regret…he had not changed.
Violan felt disgust as the man next to her smiled at her. It was not a good smile. She did not like it at all. The iffy feeling in her stomach got even worse after seeing that kind of expression of her husband’s face.
Notes:
Hi~
I know I planned to post two chapters this weak, but life's been exhausting and it seems like it wanted to fuck me up real bad this week. Let me tell you, so, we had this group work last week and in my team (of three) we were assigned different tasks in order to do a presentation. My and my friend's task was research while our third group member had to make the presentation on PowerPoint after we sent him our notes - which I did.
To keep it short, that bitch didn't do shit.
This project was graded.
I hate my life.
I hate him.
щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ
Anyways, you get the gist. The teacher was pretty nice and gave our group a second chance, and now I have to do the PowerPoint. I don't have time, like not at all, but no one cares now, do they? I don't trust this teammate to do it, and my friend is busy as well, so I guess...Argh, why must life fuck me up this week especially?!
The only good (or bad) thing is tomorrow - we might get our math exams back. She usually goes through them pretty fast and I really want to know how I did - at the same time I really don't!
ಥ_ಥ (you get the idea)
Anyways, well, this is my life in a nutshell, haha.Moving on to more important and less annoying stuff, I'm thinking about actually going on a break. My health seems to be declining a bit (only a tiny bit, so don't worry at all!) and I'll also visit my grandma, so I hope you understand. It will be after next week for two weeks. For now, I'm still not sure, so I'll use this and next week to think about it more thoroughly.
For now, would this two week-break be okay with you?
I think all of you noticed how my chapters aren't as good as they were in the past (which is caused by exhaustion probably and since I have very little time to write) so I really believe that this break will return the quality of this fic again.
I know most of you support my decision, but I'd like to know what you think about this break nonetheless, since it would also affect you.
Thank you very much for your support and kind comments!Then, this would be all.
I really hope you still likes this chapter! I pulled through, hahaha!Until next time, then!
◡‿◡✿
Chapter 47: 45. Not according to plan (5)
Summary:
Slacker life's beginning to wave goodbye~
Notes:
No trigger warning here, it's a very trigger-less chapter before I go on my break (with a bit blood in the end, but it's Cale~)
✿乂◕‿◕乂
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was dark outside. Cold winds were making the trees’ leaves shiver. It wooed in an ominous way, making the two kittens inside the carriage flinch. The up and down of the carriage wasn’t of much help either. It was a pretty bumpy passage that the carriage was currently on, not a paved path but rather something akin to a land route filled with rocks and holes. A few hours ago, the carriage had to stop as one of its wheels had fallen into a very large hole.
It’s been already over six hours since this trip to the capital started and while most expected a carriage to go rather slowly, this one didn’t. One might wonder how the people inside – or rather one of the people inside – were sleeping so peacefully as if nothing was currently going on.
On, who was sitting next to the quiet ancient dragon Eruhaben – something the kitten found incredibly shocking as his identity was revealed – looked up at him. The man that had the beautiful appearance of an elf clicked his tongue as he looked down on the silver kitten too, making not-accidentally eye-contact with her. With her big, golden eyes being almost the same shade as the ancient dragon’s, the two of them could be considered almost the same yet at the same time also total opposites of each other, given that her eyes were wide, filled with curiosity, while the old dragon’s were filled with wisdom and experience.
“What is it?”
The old dragon’s voice was heavy – it was the voice of a great and mighty dragon. The young, silver kitten wondered how the sleeping man managed to talk to this dragon so casually, treat him the same as a family member and anything other than respectful besides the ‘-nim’ which he added when saying the ancient dragon’s name.
On, who was young but not stupid, could tell that this group of people that she and her brother decided to accompany was no normal group of people. These people were dangerous. Ignore the kind-hearted Choi Han who was just as new to this group as them, but the head chef Beacrox who took on the position as driver was incredibly powerful, On could feel it in her bones. He had the body of a trained martial artist and his hands were filled with calluses – calluses that were unlikely coming from cooking.
And then there were these two dragons, one young but incredibly cold and one old and incredibly calm one. Dragons – On knew – were the strongest beings in existence with the exception of gods. They were creatures that lived alone, and did not flock together because they were so great and mighty. They were arrogant and selfish beings, filled with pride and dignity. They would never follow someone, and yet…
On looked away from the ancient dragon without replying. Her gaze swept to the sleeping man. His crimson hair was of shoulder length and his long, black lashes were making his whole face get a feminine touch – well, even more of a feminine touch. He had a sharp jawline and cherry colored lips. His skin was as pale as it could get, to the point of looking a bit sickly even. He was thin, incredibly so, but seemed to eat well.
Right now, while he was sleeping with the young dragon curled up on his lap, and that peaceful expression…he seemed like a kind and good person. He probably was a kind and good person, given how everyone cared about him – On didn’t question that one bit. While he was sleeping, this person, Cale, seemed very approachable.
When he had been awake on the contrary, he was not. He had felt cold and difficult to be with. That’s right; there was this strange aura around him that made this person a very difficult person. It had to do with the way he was looking at and seemingly inside you, the way he spoke incredibly calmly and slowly and how his expression never changed from a stoic or frowning expression to a normal expression like a smile.
When he had been talking with that blonde, handsome person though, he seemed different.
‘That person must be lucky.’
On couldn’t help but think that way. She didn’t know this person, Cale Henituse, for a very long time – actually, she didn’t even know him longer than a day – but she could tell that he was more than he let on. While she had been suspicious of him at first, right now…
“Whatcha looking at, huh?”
Startled, the silver kitten frowned as she made eye-contact with two midnight blue colored eyes. It were the young dragon’s; a dragon who was four years younger than her. His name was Raon Miru and he had been by this strong but weak person’s side for a very long time it seemed. The way he had been eyeing her ever since Cale had told him to reveal himself since they would be spending lots of time with each other from right now…
She knew that he was afraid of getting replaced or something akin to that – something he didn’t need to be. He had been acting cold and ignorant towards her and her younger brother Hong, who was currently asleep as well, lying right next to her. This dragon was actually the reason Hong didn’t dare approach Cale.
On could hear Eruhaben clicking his tongue, yet the ancient dragon did not say anything. Raon frowned in a similar way to Cale as he rolled his eyes, still not looking away from the silver kitten.
It was true, what she was thinking. Ever since Raon was born six years ago, he had been with his human. Day in and day out with only short periods of time where the two of them got split up – which wasn’t really a problem given that nothing between the two of them would ever change. But now, with two new young kids with them – Raon did not know. His human was a very difficult and complicated person, so what if he didn’t like him anymore – or worse, likes these two newbies more?
Raon did not care that he was being selfish and that these two kittens were abandoned orphans. In situations like these, his nature as a great and mighty dragon was coming through.
Eruhaben, who was probably the only one who knew about this, couldn’t help but let things play out. He knew just as well as anyone else that no one would ever be able to replace him in Cale’s heart – or be more important to Cale. But that didn’t have to mean that the young dragon knew too.
“…Nothing.”
Raon snorted at the silver kitten’s nonchalant and delayed answer. He gave her only a look a great and mighty dragon could possess that was saying the same as “hands off my property”. On’s frown deepened as she looked past the young Raon and tried to look at the sleeping Cale. Well, she tried to.
“Ey silver tail! Don’t look at the human!”
On furrowed her brows as she sat up properly instead of casually lying down – paying more attention to the six year old Raon now. She didn’t think that she was an intolerant person, but even she didn’t want to be stopped from looking around freely.
She wasn’t the only one who thought that way though.
“Little kid, calm down. No one’s taking away that brat from you.”
Raon’s cold glare turned to Eruhaben and the silver kitten could see the young dragon’s eyes get warmer and become less intimidating, perhaps it was because the two of them knew each other for a very long time.
“Tsk, goldie gramps, but-“
“Little kid, enough of this. The cat-tribe child won’t do anything to you, or the brat for that matter.”
Raon frowned, then pouted in a similar way Cale did with Alberu, then buried his face in his weak human’s lap, not paying any more attention to On, the sleeping Hong and Eruhaben. The ancient dragon couldn’t stop himself from sighing. He patted the silver kitten’s soft fur. While his expression didn’t change, his eyes seem to have become softer. On felt a lot more welcomed, for some reason.
“Raon is not bad or usually like that. It must be because he doesn’t like strangers too much.”
Eruhaben did not smile, but his words managed to cheer On up nonetheless. Perhaps it was exactly because the words of the ancient dragon weren't meant for cheering up though. The silver kitten nodded in understanding. She had noticed the special relationship between Cale and Raon before too. It was different from the relationship he had with the blonde man from the video communication device – though it was also a kind of relationship that wasn’t easily shared between two parties.
“Don’t take what he says too much to heart. It will get better.”
Eruhaben continued to pat the ten year old girl’s head until she too fell asleep. Being the only one left awake in the carriage, the ancient dragon sighed, then looked at the redhead who was peacefully sleeping. There were not many occasions in which the redhead seemed peaceful.
That’s right, now that Eruhaben was thinking about it; the path this brat had chosen was a difficult one. Unable to hold back his fatherly instincts that he had developed over the years for this young child, Eruhaben patted his head. He was just eighteen years old, and was still behaving like he always had – unnaturally mature. He was always frowning, always scowling or staring at something with that stoic expression of his. Haaa, he should have just acted like the child he actually was.
Eruhaben couldn’t help but smile at that thought. Cale acting childish? What a silly dream indeed.
The carriage drove over another deep hole, making the people inside hurl forward. With magic, the ancient dragon prevented his child from hitting anything. Luckily though, no one woke up.
The remaining carriage ride during this night was quiet and peaceful. It reminded the ancient dragon of the old times where life had not been that easy for Cale – and Alberu for that matter. Four years ago, when Eruhaben had first met Cale and the quarter dark elf, he had thought that this puny, petty little brat was a dragon.
He had the same attitude, the same gaze and a similar personality as a dragon.
But he was no dragon.
Yet, he was still faced with countless hardships.
Life sure was an unfair concept, especially to the weak.
The ancient dragon who had lived many years already did not want to think about the past event which caused him to stay with Cale. He didn’t have many years left, five to ten at best. He should make the best out of his remaining life.
‘Why is it that I have to meet such interesting people when I’m so old already, huh?’
The ancient dragon couldn’t help but wonder, but perhaps this could be described as fate too.
Fate…huh…
What a funny little concept.
Shaking his head, Eruhaben finally closed his eyes as well. He could feel the presence of Choi Han and Beacrox. He wouldn’t sleep, not while the two of them were still working. With his sharp, draconic senses though, he didn’t need to keep his eyes open either.
The swordsmaster, Choi Han, was incredibly suspicious. He seemed nice and all, but every time Cale looked away, there was something off about him. The way he sometimes spaces out, looking into nothingness, Eruhaben was convinced that something had to be wrong with that person – perhaps he even had ill intentions towards Cale. It was not impossible, given that Deruth had hired that asshole of an instructor, Simon van Augustus, last time to torture Cale each lesson through different methods.
The ancient dragon subconsciously clenched his fists. He would certainly not let such a thing happen again – not ever.
~
Yawning, Cale got off the carriage. His legs felt weak due to him sitting over two days in the same position while only stopping to eat for a couple times. But traveling for such a long and consistent period of time did have its benefits. They have already arrived at the border to the central region and Huiss City, the capital, was only two days away now – well, at least if they continued to take the carriage.
Currently, since everyone – especially Beacrox – was tired from the long and continuous trip, Cale decided that it’d be best to rest for a day before continuing. That day of rest would happen in a small village similar to Harris Village that was overseen by Duke Orsena – not one of Cale’s favorite nobles.
“Young master-nim, I will prepare the food.”
While Cale would usually not oppose, the redhead shook his head.
“That is not necessary, Beacrox. Just relax and lean back, eat some food.”
The head chef frowned. There was no time; they had to return to the capital as soon as possible, that had been their main objective the entire time! Yet, after seeing Cale’s calm and confident demeanor, Beacrox couldn’t help but comply. The redhead already said that it wouldn’t matter, since today would also be the day when he would send Choi Han somewhere – like he had discussed with the crown prince over the video communication device when Choi Han had been away with Eruhaben to make sure that he truly wouldn’t hear – as if a simple sound barrier cast by Raon wouldn’t be enough.
-Human, the strong Choi Han seems to be happy.
Cale ignored Raon as usual as he watched Beacrox lean back in the armchair while taking one of the cookies displayed at the coffee table a bit hesitantly. The redhead couldn’t help but sigh as he watched the two cat children do the same, yet in a much more fierce matter than the head chef.
At that moment, Cale could feel a heavy weight pressing down on his shoulder. Naturally, it was the young Raon. He had been doing this rather often these last few days. Oh well, since it was Raon, Cale couldn’t even mind.
-Human, do we really have to send the strong Choi Han away?
‘Yes. If we don’t, the plot will change completely and then I won’t be able to make as many predictions as I was able to right now.’
Cale did not speak his mind as he only gave a slight nod, something that only Raon managed to notice. Despite being in the room too, Choi Han was currently packing his bag and preparing for this special mission Cale had given to him.
He didn’t know why, but the way Cale said it made him want to do it too. It was a mission the redhead didn’t say much about – he simply said to head down southwest and be led by instinct until he would arrive at a village where his help would be needed. Choi Han did not like going against someone’s orders, but he believed Cale to be…more capable in making such decisions. At some point during their trip together, his opinion of Cale had changed. Oh well, it was for the better anyways, so it didn’t matter.
“Cale-nim, where should I return to?”
Cale furrowed his brows upon hearing Choi Han’s useless question. Wasn’t it obvious that he was getting rid of this swordsmaster while not changing the plot too much?
“…You can come to the capital, I guess.”
Choi Han smiled as he asked a more specific question.
“I know, Cale-nim, but should I return to the Henituse Residence there or-“
Cale raised his hand, a sign for Choi Han to stay silent for now. Letting out a deep sigh, Cale decided that if he wouldn’t be able to get rid of Choi Han, the swordsmaster could at least become someone useful for his beloved boyfriend.
“Come to the crown prince’s palace. I’ll wait there.”
‘Wait there.’
Choi Han’s expression brightened up as if he was a puppy and had been told how good of a job he did. The hope that had been as good as non-existent in those black eyes before was slowly starting to become more present with each minute the swordsmaster spent with Cale. He still hadn’t figured the redhead out, not at all, but his instincts were finally telling him that he should stick to this weak person – and Choi Han had no intentions of not sticking with Cale.
He was a good noble, nothing like the rumors said. Choi Han couldn’t understand how such rumors were going around in the first place. He was certain that Count Deruth was powerful enough to stop them from circulating, and if he was to say a single word, for example ‘Cale Henituse is my son’ everything bad would stop, no?
Well, it wasn’t like Choi Han was good in understanding politics…haaa…
“Choi Han, you should eat before heading out.”
The swordsmaster smiled a genuine smile as he watched the pale redhead sit down on the couch while waiting for the others to sit down on the table and start to eat. Cale would not be eating. While Choi Han was worried, the others were not, as they knew that Cale would eat later with Raon. It was his way of showing solidarity to Raon, who could not reveal himself to Choi Han, so that the six year old wouldn’t have to eat alone. After all, children should never do anything alone in the first place.
But Choi Han, who did not know about Raon, felt genuine concern. Still, he couldn’t just not eat – not if Cale was staring him down so intently with that sharp gaze of his.
That night was the last night Cale’s crew and Choi Han spent together – for the time being that is. Early the next morning, the swordsmaster departed with a smile. He made eye contact with the reddish-brown eyes of Cale who seemed as distant and as cold as always. Yet, for some reason, Choi Han felt like those eyes had turned a bit warmer.
Well, it was just his imagination mixed with the morning sun.
The ancient dragon, who was standing behind Cale, cleared his throat as he watched the swordsmaster depart. He had an iffy feeling about this swordsmaster but decided to shrug it off for now. There were a few more important things he would have to do right now, like teleporting back to the capital.
There were lots of things that still had to be prepared. Nodding, the ancient dragon followed the stoic redhead into their room in the small inn. It was time to finally head back, after three days of delay.
~
Alberu, Ron, Beacrox and Eruhaben were sitting around a table in one of the many guest rooms inside the crown prince’s palace. All of them had serious expressions on their faces as they were glancing at each other.
One week from today would be the royal banquet that the crown prince was officially holding, mostly to observe his royal subjects as he had done in the novel that his boyfriend read prior to coming here, and two weeks from today would be the king’s fiftieth birthday celebration, or the Plaza Terror Incident caused by a secret organization filled of troublesome punks.
Naturally, both of these events had been taken care of – at least it was like that four days ago.
Cale was supposed to attend the banquet to show the world that he was with the crown prince. While neither of them wanted to showcase their relationship, they didn’t mean to hide it either. They would behave like usually – with the big exception of Cale sitting on the same table as Alberu. It would warn the nobles from trying anything funny and furthermore announce the crown prince’s power for the world to see, at least a tiny bit of it.
Then, when the terror attack would happen, Cale was supposed to play sick and relax in Alberu’s palace. He would be able to do that because he had been with Alberu prior. As a “fallen noble” Cale wouldn’t have to attend either of these events in the first place, but given that the king personally invited him, this was the only thing both of them could do. And since Cale had been with Alberu before, no one could say anything against the noble being sick – especially since he had no ties to any family and hence no responsibilities during this banquet. Alberu would tell one of his disguised dark elves to take care of Basen Henituse to make sure he wouldn’t get hurt and with Eruhaben’s help who would pose as a highest grade mage, they would get rid of the bombs before they could even explode. They had found quite a few of the bombs that had been implanted in the ground and got rid of them already!
Everything had been planned out.
Everything was supposed to go well.
Everything had been thoroughly made so that Cale would do absolutely nothing.
So why did he have to attend as the representative of the Henituse County? No, Alberu knew why his money-obsessed boyfriend was doing so. He wasn’t crazy over money and would never do something he found too bothersome, which meant that while Cale didn’t particularly enjoy being associated with the rich Henituse family, he wouldn’t mind for 30 billion gallons. In all honesty, for thirty billion gallons, a massive amount of money that only the royal family has (well, besides the Henituse Family), Alberu wouldn’t mind that many things either.
Still…
“Tsk, what use is being the crown prince if you can’t even make it so that guards are allowed inside the banquet hall, huh?”
Alberu let out a deep sigh as he brushed his face with his hands. He felt tired. Currently, it was the middle of the night. It was the middle of the night because the four of them couldn’t meet during the day without raising any suspicion from Cale.
Right now though, Cale was deep asleep. The two of them were sleeping together in the same bed, but it wasn’t unusual for the redhead to go to sleep earlier while the crown prince would come to bed much later, being too busy with quite the patch of paperwork. And since Cale slept like a rock, he wouldn’t notice if Alberu exited the room to meet up with someone.
“Eruhaben-nim, this law-like rule was put down by a king of many centuries ago, I fear not even my father, the current king, would be able to allow guards to enter the banquet hall during a royal banquet.”
The ancient dragon clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The poisoning incident from two years was still present in his mind. He had absolutely no intentions of leaving his child to the vicious, loudly barking dogs that were also called aristocrats.
They still had absolutely no clue about the culprit, for all they knew it could be one of the kingdom’s nobles that were going to attend this banquet again – trying to repeat their job once more.
“Eruhaben-nim, please don’t worry and leave the young master-nim’s safety to me and my son.”
Ron was lightly but reassuringly patting the ancient dragon’s shoulder while having a benign smile on his lips. While it didn’t look much different from the old man’s usual benign smile, to the three people inside this room it looked reliable. Yes; reliable indeed.
The ancient dragon cleared his throat and nodded his head. While he didn’t completely trust Alberu with Cale’s (Alberu’s boyfriend’s) safety, he did trust Ron. If Ron, who would pose as one of the palace’s servants, said he would take care of it, he meant it. Eruhaben could put his trust in Ron, no question there.
“Alright, if that’s the case, I will guard him during the incident then.”
Eruhaben was puffing his chest in a similar way the young Raon always did, with the big difference that on him; it did look majestic and dragon-worthy. Ron sighed as he shook his head while Beacrox stayed silent while glancing at Alberu who had a strained smile on his lips.
“…Eruhaben-nim, actually there won’t be allowed any guards either.”
Just when the ancient dragon was about to resort something, the crown prince continued with an awkward smile on his lips, that didn’t change anything on his serious expression. Naturally, the ancient dragon felt annoyance. Hell, he was a dragon, and he felt like Cale was his child – meaning he had to protect him at all cost! What puny little laws should prevent him from doing what he wanted?
As an almost 1.000 year old dragon who had lived for more than nine centuries, the words that a king that had lived when he was about three to four-hundred years old should not matter! Damn, as a great and mighty dragon, an “absolute” existence, he should do whatever he felt like doing.
But Eruhaben was still here, sitting with the crown prince as well as Ron and his son, Beacrox, discussing the procedure of those two days. There was still the variable of Choi Han, who planned on returning to the Cale after he was done with whatever he was doing right now. Eruhaben was not stupid; he could tell that Choi Han was not your average human. He was a strong human, no, strike that, he was an exceptionally strong and talented human. He was at least at the swordsmaster level if not even above.
Having such a strong person around when the terror organization struck, someone who didn’t seem to care much about laws would be promising. The Choi Han that Eruhaben got to know was a man filled with justice, even though he seemed a bit dark and depressed at times. But he felt like a good kid.
The ancient dragon nodded his head at that. But Choi Han was, as said, a variable they couldn’t count on.
In the end, after another thirty minutes of sitting around and trying to come up with a solution, these four people who had met in the middle of the night and cherished a certain, sleeping redhead more than anything else, came up with a plan.
While Ron and Beacrox would take care of the banquet, Eruhaben would disguise himself as Alberu’s servant and stay by Cale’s side at all times. It would be possible if Alberu treated Cale like usual at the banquet and, despite Cale representing the Henituse County, brought him over to his table. Then, no one could say anything against him having his servant with Cale at all times – giving Eruhaben, who had been adamant on being with Cale, the chance to do so.
Naturally, the invisible Raon would also stay with Cale, but the ancient dragon preferred being sure-sure. (As if one great and mighty dragon wasn’t enough, two great and mighty beings who could destroy the entire western and eastern continent in a night should be okay as Cale’s guards, huh?)
Seeing that everyone was satisfied with that, the four individuals returned to their rooms. Alberu had to be the most cautious out of everyone, given that while Cale slept like a rock and Raon would be too busy being curled up next to him, the crown prince’s boyfriend’s two new additions were quite sharp. Tonight for a change though, these two kittens were nowhere to be found.
Alberu frowned as he glanced on the bed, only to see that Raon wasn’t inside as well – and Cale wasn’t sleeping, but instead sitting up while crossing his arms. He looked tired and the moon hit just right to make him seem even paler than he already was. It annoyed Alberu – both that his boyfriend didn’t just appear to but actually was unhealthy (did anyone see how much sugar he ate without gaining any weight, huh?!) and that he was caught tonight.
Cale, who was still under the blanket, given that despite it being summer and hot during the day, the nights were quite fresh and cold, frowned as he waited for his boyfriend to get in the bed. Alberu naturally did.
Taking off his shoes and shirt as well as pants while changing into more comfortable clothes to sleep in, the crown prince finally slipped into bed next to his boyfriend. He had an awkward smile on his face as he looked down on Cale who was still a head smaller than him. The redhead, whose hair was of shoulder length, clicked his tongue.
“You look like you did something. Should I pretend to be a worried boyfriend who suspects you of cheating or should I get to the point right away?”
Alberu let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. Naturally, both he and Cale knew that there was no way he would ever dare to cheat on the redhead.
“…It was just the adjustment of a couple plans we made.”
Cale raised his brows, his frown slowly but surely turning into a cute pout – something he only did whenever he was near Alberu. It was something the crown prince found too adorable.
“Well, you could have discussed this here as well – or even better, with me.”
While Cale wasn’t exactly wrong, Alberu would prefer it to keep him from doing troublesome things, or even thinking about troublesome things. The Roan Kingdom’s times of peace would soon end, and then Cale wouldn’t get the chance to relax as much as he did now.
“Yes, we could have, but wouldn’t that be annoying?”
The smile on Alberu’s lips said it all – he knew that he was right and his boyfriend wasn’t able to say anything against it. Letting out a defeated sigh, Cale moved closer to his comfortable human-pillow- e-hem, boyfriend, leaning against him and his warm body.
(He was not just a human-pillow, but a heated human-pillow that was extremely comfortable to sleep on.)
“…Alright, but you didn’t agree to anything too bothersome with the others, did you?”
Alberu had a soft smile on his lips, though Cale couldn’t see it. With gentle movements, the twenty-three year old was going through his beloved boyfriend’s silky hair strands. He only replied with a low ‘hn’ as he was getting sleepy.
Well, it had always been like this. When he was with this particular person, he felt safe and incredibly happy, as well as secure. Cale, who stayed awake a bit longer contrary to usual couldn’t help but think about the future events. He couldn’t help the iffy feeling he was getting all of a sudden – the feeling that was telling him that his slacker life was slowly but surely distancing itself from him, waving him goodbye.
“Urgh, what a horrifying thought.”
Cale couldn’t help but shake his head as he finally closed his eyes and decided to go to sleep as well. After all, he had done everything for his slacker life, so no way it was waving him goodbye, right?
~
Yeah, right.
A certain redheaded youth was currently standing in the middle of the plaza with all sorts of people surrounding him. His hands were raised high into the sky and slightly shaking due to him being so overly weak.
Blood was dripping down his chin while he had a dissatisfied expression on his face.
Why did Cale always have to attract trouble, huh?
Notes:
Hi!
This is the last chapter you're gonna get for now.
For the next two and a half weeks, I'm gonna go on a break. If I do publish a chapter, it's probably since I was getting bored or something, but in case I don't, don't think of it as something strange! I'm really looking forward to this break! I even think that this chapter's quality has already improved compared to the last one, at least I had a lot more motivation while writing it!
ξ◕◡◕ξ
Well, I guess with the knowledge of me being able to rest after working so much (not just for school) really motivated me! I'm so looking forward to spending time with my grandma and her cats. The two of them, Leopold and Koshka, are the two most adorable animals in the universe (you can't change my mind!). I'm also looking forward to spending more time with my mother instead of in front of the screen of my computer. She has been asking me to go watch a movie with her for a while.
(ˇʃƪˇ)
Don't worry, I've got plenty of time on my hands even with publishing weekly chapters. Writing, be it fanfiction or something else, is my passion, but with all the schoolwork, I really had to make a decision between my passion and friends and family. Though I don't regret it.
And after this break of mine, I'll make sure to return as new as possible again, hahahaha!
°\(^▿^)/°I guess I left you on yet another cliffhanger once again, tho~
Well, enjoy it I suppose~ Hahahaha!
Anyways, I guess with this, your two weeks-wait begins.
(◦'ںˉ◦)
Don't forget me or this fic during my break (or I will cry щ(ಥ◡ಥ)щ) !
I will make sure to come back with the most amazing chapter in a while (promise!)
Then, I hope you liked this chapter!Until after my break, then!
(And thank you so very much for all the support you've shown me in the comments! I really appreciate you guys and your positivity! For all my dear readers that aren't feeling so great right now, take a step back and take it slow! I'm sending all of you lots of love, lots of hugs and lots of luck for the future! Also, don't forget to stay positive! If you've got no one, you have to know that you've got me. I'll always be waiting for all of your comments, then read them while giggling like a madman, then spending lots of time to reply in the best way possible)
ƪ(♥ﻬ♥)ʃOh my god, this now sounds like goodbye...
THIS IS NOT GOODBYE!
IF IT WERE; I SWEAR I'D CRY OR SOME SHIT!
THIS IS MERELY A MINI-GOODBYE SINCE I WON'T BE UPDATING IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!BUT I'LL COME BACK WITH THE BEST SHIT YOU'VE READ SO FAR (hopefully!!!!)
I'll miss y'all!
Until next time, then!(ღ˘⌣˘)♥ ℒ♡ⓥℯ ㄚ♡ⓤ
Chapter 48: 46. Troublemaker (1)
Summary:
Troublemaker Part 1
Notes:
Surprise chapter!
Today is the 27th of March (currently it's 1am), and one of my dear readers celebrates her/his birthday today! So I decided to do a nice thing and publish this chapter! I didn't see her/his comment under the last chapter, so I really hope that you see this!
Of course, I hope that all of my other readers like this chapter as well!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Have you heard? This year, it appears that the Henituse County won’t be represented by young master Basen.”
“Is that so? Who else could represent it then, huh?”
Neo Tolz, the noble who was sitting next to Taylor Stan, frowned as he looked up at young lady Kaisel. The daughter of a Viscount that was wearing a fancy dress and looked all innocent, the same as usual, had a devilish expression on her face. Her long, blonde hair was put up in a perfect bun that was decorated with fancy accessories and jewelry. Her clear, blue eyes that made her look more clueless and innocent than she could ever hope to be were empathized with modest make up. Yet, the malicious smile on her lips and the amused glint in her eyes were more than enough to reveal her true personality to anyone who looked even a tad closer.
“Young lady Janette, do you know something?”
Taylor, who wasn’t interested in such things under normal circumstances, leaned in closer to the smiling noble. Since it was about the Henituse County, it would have something to do with Cale Henituse, no? And while he hadn’t seen Cale Henituse in a while after he had come warn him about Venion three years ago, the man was the one who had advised him to go to the temple of the God of Death to meet a priestess – a priestess who was now his best friend. So wouldn’t it be more than just normal for him to want to find out about all rumors that were related to such a person even in the slightest?
Janette, the evil glint in her greedy eyes not disappearing, nodded her head. Currently, the three of them were sitting inside the royal banquet hall, waiting for all of the other nobles to arrive so that the crown prince could enter and the banquet begin. She pointed at the northeastern noble’s table. Currently, only Eric Wheelsman, Amiru Urbarr and Gilbert Chetter were sitting there, no sign of Basen Henituse whatsoever. Usually, the fifteen year old boy was the first to attend such events, being present minutes if not hours before any of the other nobles could hope to arrive.
“There’s a rumor going around that the fallen noble and trash of the Henituse County, the bastard son of Count Henituse, isn’t a fallen noble and only moved out of the County after having an argument with the benevolent Countess since he still isn’t over his late mother’s death.”
Janette’s eyes got a bit darker and the smile on her lips became wider. Neo Tolz couldn’t help but gulp. He had never met Cale Henituse in person, but the rumors that were surrounding that person were more than just…well, let’s call them vicious and negative. They portrayed him as the worst scum humanly possible; it was so bad that Neo wondered whether something like that was even true. Taylor Stan, on the other hand, had actually met Cale Henituse. He was aware that the rumors around such a person couldn’t be true, but he stayed silent and let the future Viscountess continue.
Chuckling, Janette did.
“That person is supposed to represent the Henituse County.”
After she spoke what was on her mind, Neo Tolz had a frown on his face, similarly to Taylor. The other northwestern nobles on the table though, all of them had sneering expressions on their faces. It was because a noble with those kinds of rumors around him had to be a black sheep – a target they could bully freely.
Nobles, in most cases, were similar to wild dogs – ones in a higher position could even be compared to wolves. If they saw someone weak in noble society, that weak person would not survive for a long period of time. If one didn’t have a title, one had to have the manners and charisma. If one didn’t have the manners or charisma, one had to have the title. If one didn’t have either, one should have a strong backing with money.
In Cale Henituse’s case though, he had neither – or at least not that the other nobles were aware of it. He was the perfect target for all of their frustration – at least it seemed that way right now.
Naturally, Taylor wasn’t thinking that way, and while he knew that Cale wasn’t a person who would let others tarnish him, especially not with the crown prince standing behind him, he was still just a Count’s son. (Little did Taylor know…)
It wasn’t soon, then the rumors of the nobles subdued. It was because the knight on the door stopped standing there so casually and straightened up. There was a partly confused expression on his face, which he quickly managed to disregard. Nevertheless, many nobles noticed. And while they didn’t understand at first, they quickly did.
Raising his hand to stop the knight from yelling out his name and title, a gently smiling and incredibly charismatic man with brightly shining golden hair entered the vast banquet hall. His bangs, for once, were carefully combed out of his face, revealing his forehead which made many female nobles stare at him in a lovingly manner. The tall man, who had a lean but muscular built and was at least a head and a half taller than the average man with the azure eyes that were framed by long, golden lashes, was wearing a white suit with golden details like the cufflinks on his jacket or the shoulder patches. He was walking with a graceful air surrounding him that spoke of his elegance and dignity. He was the very definition of a noble. With clear, light skin and that princy expression on his face, he was indeed the very epitome of handsomeness and masculinity.
And yet, the nobles’ gazes were pulled at the person that was walking next to the gently smiling man. With shoulder long crimson hair tied up in a half-up-half-down ponytail, his bangs were faming his incredibly pale face. Next to him, even the blonde man’s skin seemed quite dark actually. His sharp jawline did not make him look more masculine as his face and stature gave him a relatively feminine touch despite him being a man. He had narrow shoulders and an incredibly slim waist – something that (thank god) wasn’t something the nobles could see due to this special jacket a certain designer had made. But while the man’s crimson hair and pretty features as well as slim body were not bad, it were his reddish-brown eyes that were pulling people’s gazes to them. Framed by dark lashes, his calculative and clear eyes were not looking at anything in particular, contrary to the man he was walking with.
And contrary to the blonde man, he wasn’t smiling. The stoic expression on his face was unmistakable, and while nobles – who immediately recognized that person because of his distinctive features – wanted to sneer at him or attack him in some way, they weren't able to. The air around this person, it was an aura that was so similar and yet so different from the man he was walking next to.
The two of them were, naturally, crown prince Alberu Crossman and the ‘fallen’ noble Cale Henituse.
One was appearing incredibly approachable and friendly, the other cold and distant. And yet, the two of them were walking next to each other (with one being a head and smaller) with such a chemistry and familiarity…
The nobles couldn’t help but recall an old rumor that had circulated a very long time ago.
Was this rumor that almost no one believed actually true? If that was the case-
The nobles’ eyes widened as they watched Cale walk forward with the crown prince, not stopping even after passing the second and third prince’s tables and ascending the stairs to the highest standing table, which was naturally reserved for the crown prince. Now that the nobles were looking at it, the first prince’s table was twice the size of his brothers. Was it because the royal family knew about this?
It couldn’t be, right? A Count’s son could never sit above the royal family, could he? No, the other two princes would certainly complain about this and-
Cale sat down, not caring that Alberu and his two siblings that entered after the two of them were still standing. He had been on his feet for a long while and it was annoying. Furthermore, the young dragon that was still sitting on his shoulder despite being so big was weighing quite a bit – too much for Cale to remain standing without shaking for much longer.
Some nobles immediately gasped at the display of such shameless behavior, yet didn’t dare show any kind of expression after seeing the crown prince meeting their eyes soon after. So the rumors were true indeed, huh?
Alberu’s lips twitched ever so slightly as he listened to Raon’s voice complaining inside his mind about how weak Cale was that he couldn’t remain standing even after such a short while. Naturally, no one – not even his dear boyfriend – managed to notice that short smile that the twenty-three year old suppressed just as quickly as it appeared.
Well, Cale’s ancient powers could only do so much about his body.
Choosing to ignore this for now, Alberu waited for his siblings to sit down too so that he was the only one to remain standing. The nobles all had confused, surprised or partly angry expressions on their faces as none of them had been aware of the relationship between the crown prince and the ‘trash’ of the Henituse County – which they still weren't. But Alberu ignored it.
Why should he send his beloved down there to these barking dogs, huh? Why shouldn’t he use the power he had, ah? He wasn’t a crown prince just in title, not anymore. The king himself had agreed to let Cale accompany him onto the stage – and if he hadn’t, well, he would have to talk to Ron and Eruhaben.
Opening his arms wide with his smile becoming a tad wider and friendlier, Alberu began his opening speech. Naturally, it was incredibly boring to Cale and Raon who knew how Alberu truly felt about this gathering and what his actual objective today was.
-Human, you gotta give me the tasty steak and cake later! Good cook Beacrox said that he prepared it the way I like it today!
Cale nodded ever so slightly so that only Raon would notice, then clapped his hand like all the other nobles after Alberu finished his speech. The least he could do to support his boyfriend right now was to pretend to be a well-mannered person who wasn’t bored out of his mind.
Alberu sat down next to Cale and watched the nobles start eating; naturally all of them glanced over at the couple every so often (while thinking that the crown prince and Cale wouldn’t notice). The princy smile on his lips got wider and he leaned a bit closer to Cale – something that went unnoticed by anyone but two very observant servants that weren't actual caterers today.
“You know, I’d love to kiss you right now~”
Cale, used to his boyfriend’s half-serious, half-teasing words, simply rolled his eyes. Instead, he handed one of the two steaks on his plate to the young, invisible dragon under the table who was eagerly awaiting the meal.
“It’s really amazing how you spout such words with such a straight face.”
Alberu couldn’t keep up his royal demeanor and chuckled, yet quickly caught himself before anyone – including his two younger brothers – could notice. Instead of picking up the fork to eat, the crown prince lifted his hand to play with his boyfriend’s silky hair. Cale’s hair was so soft and beautiful; if the two of them hadn’t been in the banquet hall right now, he would have pulled his boyfriend closer and kissed him indeed.
The redhead rolled his eyes but didn’t push Alberu’s hand away. He didn’t care about the gasps that escaped the noble’s mouths as they watched the crown prince and ‘trash’ of the Henituse County interact with each other.
“Mhm, sometimes I really wonder that myself.”
Cale turned his head ever so slightly in his boyfriend’s direction, only being inches apart from his lips. Under normal circumstances, Alberu would have pulled the redhead closer and kissed him passionately. But he couldn’t do so right now, sadly. Argh, annoying banquet! The redhead’s cherry lips; they alone were temptation enough! Cale himself naturally didn’t know anything about Alberu’s inner struggles.
-Human! Give me the potato thing too please!
Smiling, the redhead stealthily handed Raon Alberu’s potatoes which Alberu naturally didn’t mind – since it weren't Cale’s potatoes. His boyfriend should eat properly, after all.
“You know, perhaps I should make you wear a bag or something when you go out. And dye you hair too, into some ugly ass color.”
Cale who liked his appearance pretty much, frowned as he turned back around to Alberu, not understanding where the crown prince was coming rom at all. And of course, Alberu had already known of his oblivious and sometimes stupid boyfriend’s dense behavior – regarding himself that is.
“Why?”
Alberu simply shrugged, finally stopping to play with Cale’s hair and picking up the fork and knife to cut the meat on his plate.
“Dunno, just for fun I guess? Can you imagine, my beloved boyfriend walking around in nothing but a bag in front of me~? Oh wait, that’s a really great idea~”
Excitement was written all over Alberu’s face as he turned his head to look at Cale. Inside his mind, he was imagining his boyfriend looking all sexy with all of his clothes nowhere to be seen. Actually, that was a really good idea. When thinking about that, another thing quickly appeared on Alberu’s mind. Ah! Then there was still that thing that couples always did…
Alberu’s ears turning red was not something Cale missed. The redhead furrowed his brows; quickly looking up at Alberu just to make sure that he was fine – which he didn’t look like. His cheeks were red too, though not as clearly as his ears. Was he running a fever?
“Hyung, you’re alright, right? You’re not sick or-“
Alberu immediately shook his head, scoffing as he quickly disregarded his inappropriate thoughts about a certain thing. It could still wait, after all, couldn’t it? Cale was still young and so was he and-
“I’m not sick so don’t worry about it, love. You’re pretty dangerous though~”
Cale, who couldn’t understand his boyfriend’s words no matter how hard he thought about them, simply shrugged, deciding not to care about it in the end. Since Alberu said he was fine and – with the exception of his red (blushing) face – he really seemed to be, Cale was fine with it.
Letting out a sigh, Alberu resumed to eating just like his beloved boyfriend. The two of them kept eating in a comfortable silence; that is until the first noble decided to walk up to them and greet them.
“Your highness, it is an honor to meet me.”
The brightly smiling noble bowed down in front of Alberu and his boyfriend, hiding his irritated gaze upon making eye contact with the stoic Cale. He felt uncomfortable, especially since Cale had a very…intimidating expression on his face. But the Count Phil wasn’t here to talk with that ‘trash’. His smile grew bigger as he looked away from Cale and made eye contact with Alberu, flinching away immediately.
While the crown prince was still smiling as he had done before, there was a dangerous glint in his eyes – something that told Bernard Phil that he had just done a big mistake. He swallowed hard and his outstretched hand began to tremble ever so slightly. The crown prince did not take it.
“Count Phil, it’s such a surprise to see you here today. Doesn’t young master Henry usually represent your family?”
The Count swallowed hard and broke up in cold sweat. The crown prince, he was an intimidating person to the peace-loving Count. He immediately nodded his head – still not greeting and disregarding Cale while keeping his hand outstretched for Alberu to take it, which he didn’t do.
After eyeing it for a few moments, his smile got a bit wider as he put an arm around Cale.
“Count Phil, I haven’t introduced my good friend young master Cale, have I?"
Alberu had a very odd smile on his lips, one that Count Phil couldn’t exactly tell what it was or meant. It was a smile he did not want to see, not at all. It was giving him the chills. He quickly turned around to look at a certain redheaded man who was sitting next to the now standing crown prince – he did not even look up! Count Phil quickly recovered from his shock after seeing Alberu’s gaze and unconsciously let out his usual, arrogant expression. Yet he couldn’t keep up that kind of expression for very long.
Cale Henituse.
Count Phil was certain that he was nothing more but the bastard trash son of Count Henituse. The rumors that were surrounding him were proof enough of that. Those kinds of rumors would not surround a good and normal person – hell, not even a scary person. So why was he getting this cold feeling after locking eyes with this rumored trash? Why was he feeling even worse than when the crown prince had had that scary smile on his lips? Why was he feeling as if he had done one of the – if not the – biggest mistakes in his life?
Cale’s eyes were cold and void of any emotion or feeling. It was his usual, stoic expression. He was neither smiling nor frowning – which was progress. The reddish-brown color seemed deeper than when Count Phil had looked at this person from the distance.
Bernard Phil.
While he was a tactless person who was the very definition of a barking noble dog, he wasn’t exactly stupid and knew when he met someone of a higher standing. And Cale Henituse, that rumored trash, was definitely that kind of person. While he hadn’t noticed as the two of them had entered before, the aura that was surrounding this person…it was unreal. It was to the extent that Count Phil bent down in front of Cale Henituse, even deeper than he had bowed down to the crown prince, and quickly but properly introduced himself again to the ‘fallen’ noble.
Cale, already used this kind of behavior from his days as Kim Rok Soo as he had been working for the company, simply nodded, not saying something else. Alberu was used to Cale behaving this way, especially since he knew quite a bit about Cale’s past as Team Leader, but Count Phil didn’t. To him, Cale treating him so casually was proof that he was more than what he seemed to be (as if him sitting up here next to the crown prince of the kingdom wasn’t proof enough of that). He gulped down, unable to look away from the redheaded noble who had turned his face away from him, looking up at his boyfriend instead.
Count Phil felt a deep sense of fear overcome him after he followed Cale Henituse’s gaze and looked into the crown prince’s eyes again. He chose not to discuss anything else as he had to get away from here as soon as possible.
-Human, that Count Phil is so stupid. He doesn’t even respect you!
Cale ignored Raon’s words and instead exchanged glances with his boyfriend. The two of them did not need words to understand each other.
‘That guy’s part of your faction?’
‘You think I’m an idiot? He’s not.’
The redhead smiled in satisfaction and went back to eating his food, occasionally he handed a certain six year old child some of the food who was hiding under the table. In the meantime, Alberu was busy greeting the other nobles. Naturally, most of them didn’t pay too much attention to Cale, though all of them, even the stubborn Duke Orsena, greeted him. It wasn’t until Taylor Stan decided to come give his greeting that Cale had to get involved in a conversation.
The man who was supposed to be crippled but was walking up the stairs on his own two feet had an oddly satisfied smile on his lips. As all the others before him had done, he bowed down and greeted the two nobles, yet instead of conversing with Alberu Crossman, the future heir of the Stan March turned his head to look at the eighteen year old noble.
“Young master Cale it’s been a long time since I’ve last seen you.”
Cale did not want to get involved with Taylor Stan, which was the reason for his frown that he had managed to suppress all the other times when the other nobles had come to greet Alberu. The redhead simply nodded, waving his hand as if to say that it was nothing. Taylor’s smile widened ever so slightly.
“I see; you haven’t changed at all.”
This time, Alberu was the one frowning. ‘You haven’t changed at all.’? Could someone like Taylor Stan who didn’t even know Cale say something cheesy like that? The crown prince doubted it. Besides that one time where he played sick as Cale had visited the Stan March to warn the firstborn Stan and prevent him from getting cripples, the two of them hadn’t met up. Certainly, they had met on a couple events after that, but didn’t converse for very long and at all times, Alberu had been standing right beside them.
“...Yes.”
And judging by the look in Cale’s eyes, he was in a similar confused state as him. The redhead looked over to Alberu, yet the crown prince simply shook his head ever so slightly, just enough for his boyfriend to notice.
“Anyways, young master Cale; I’ve heard a rumor saying that you would represent the Henituse County today. I didn’t believe my ears, but is it true?”
Just as Cale got ready to open his mouth and answer, his boyfriend did it for him. Alberu had his princy smile on his lips, which was incredibly similar to Cale’s scammer smile, as he nodded his head.
“Indeed, young master Cale is attending this banquet as the representative of the Henituse County.”
While Alberu was smiling and his voice was ever so gentle, the look in his eyes was cold and distant. It was a single warning, in other words. Taylor, who wasn’t the best but neither the worst in reading expressions, could tell that something was odd. He looked over at Cale, only to see that he was behaving just like he always did, either not noticing the crown prince’s odd mood or simply ignoring it. Yes, that was something Cale would definitely do.
“So it is true, I see. Does that mean that you’ve returned to the Henituse Estate?”
At that, Cale shook his head while Alberu scoffed, once again replying for his boyfriend (seeing that Cale was busy with eating).
“Young master Taylor; Cale Henituse is old enough to move out of the Henituse Estate.”
Just as Taylor wanted to ask something else, Cale swallowed his food, shaking his head as if to say that Alberu’s words were wrong. He looked up at Taylor, a strange and somewhat annoyed expression on his face.
“Young master Taylor, if I may say this; we are not friends, are we? My personal living situation is a rather private matter which is not important enough to bother you.”
Taylor, who should be offended or at least taken aback by a Count’s son’s words – as he was the future heir of the Stan March – , simply smiled. He then shook his head, as if to say that Cale had said something wrong.
“But young master Cale, how could I not be your friend after you’ve helped me out so much? You were also the reason I’ve met my best friend – for which I also need to thank you. I promise that I will introduce you to Miss-“
At that, Cale raised his hand for Taylor to stop talking. Alberu was simply watching his boyfriend go, a satisfied and proud expression on his face. He also thought that Cale was incredibly sexy right now – a thought that he pushed to the back of his head for now.
“There’s no need to thank me. As I said before, I’ve helped you on his highness’s orders. As he was sick at that time, he unfortunately couldn’t make it to warn you himself. And I only advised you to go to the temple since you seemed troubled at that time. Please do not read anything into my actions.”
Taylor was supposed to feel hurt, disappointed or at least a bit taken aback – none of which he was. Instead, his smile turned wider and brighter. As Cale had indeed not acted on Alberu’s accord (something the future Marquis would never find out), he still believed that Cale had been worried enough about him to advise him to go to the temple of death, something that wasn’t completely wrong.
“As you wish, young master Cale. But I still have to say that I am sincerely thankful to you, even if you have acted for his highness.”
Taylor Stan became a bit more certain after seeing Cale’s annoyance turn into something akin to confusion. He simply bowed down another time, telling Alberu that he would talk to him at the after party again, then he took his leave.
The smile on the young man’s face was radiant enough to make the other nobles wonder about what exciting topic he had just conversed with the crown prince. At the same time, Alberu sat back down, letting out a deep sigh while looking over to Cale. Unable to keep his distance from his boyfriend for much longer, he leaned against Cale, putting down his head on the redhead’s shoulder.
“You didn’t tell me anything about giving Taylor Stan a friend.”
Alberu’s voice sounded similar to a pouting child’s – something that made Cale smile ever so slightly. He patted his boyfriend’s head, forcing him to sit up straight soon after. It wasn’t that he was against their relationship becoming publicly known, it was just that Alberu’s head sure was heavy.
After Alberu sat back up straight, Cale shrugged as if it was nothing.
“It’d be stupid to not let the two of them meet. I’ll tell you later all about it, if you’re so curious.”
Of course Alberu was curious. He rolled his eyes and continued eating, this time handing his entire chocolate cake to the young dragon under the table so that Cale wouldn’t have to share his – something which made the redhead smile ever so slightly.
“Well, I am curious, but since I’m so amazing, I’m also willing to wait-“
Alberu was unable to finish his sentence as Cale fed him a piece of his chocolate cake to stop him from talking. Naturally, two very observant servants who were keeping their eyes on the couple couldn’t help but smile after seeing their precious young master-nim do something like that. The crown prince simply swallowed the piece, letting out a sigh as he accepted his fate.
It wasn’t soon, then another set of nobles approached the two of them – this time, it were three very familiar faces. A woman was standing in between two tall men. She had shining, green hair and friendly hazel eyes. She was smiling ever so slightly, as she locked eyes with Cale first, then Alberu. On her left side stood a brown haired and brown eyed man who still looked rather handsome. On her right side stood a tall man with grey hair and glasses. His sharp eyes were practically glued to a certain redheaded noble, yet no one paid it too much mind.
The three of them, of course, were no one but the three other northeastern nobles. It were Amiru Urbarr, Gilbert Chetter and Eric Wheelsman – the three friends of the original Cale Henituse, or at least playmates, who lost contact with Cale after the day of Jour Thames’ funeral. Yet, even after so many years of them being apart, all of them had a look of familiarity in their eyes after looking at Cale – something that quickly disappeared after they made eye contact with the redhead.
Uncomfortably, the future Viscountess [I know I’ve referred to Lady Amiru Urbarr as a Baroness’ daughter up til now, but after I started rereading the novel, I noticed that she’s the daughter of a Viscountess, so I’ll be referring to her as that from now on. Sorry for the confusion] shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she looked up at Eric Wheelsman who seemed in a similar nervous state as her. Gilbert on the other hand was standing firmly, looking down on Cale. The redhead on the other hand, simply nodded at them, not even saying anything else as he was aware that Alberu would take this over.
And take over his reliable boyfriend did.
With his glib tongue, the crown prince was praising the three nobles that still didn’t greet him, one after another. He smiled and kept up his princy façade as he had done before. After he was done, Eric, who managed to return to his usual self, smiled.
“We greet his highness the crown prince and young master Cale.”
He, just like the remaining two nobles, bowed down in a professional manner, having slight smiles on their faces. While they were still confused about Cale being with Alberu Crossman and a lot of other things, they knew one thing: If Cale was with Alberu, as the representative of the Henituse Estate, it meant that their tourist attraction project would most probably be accepted and supported by Alberu Crossman.
Well, it was half-way true.
The five of them (or rather Alberu and Eric) agreed to discuss the project matter in the following week before the king’s fiftieth birthday celebration. The remaining banquet went smoothly, and even the party after that didn’t bring any problems with it.
The discussion of the tourist’s attraction project also went by flawlessly, though Cale somehow managed to turn it into a project of a naval base, given that the weak Roan Kingdom would need the military support in the future.
The entire week went by without any issues. So how come on the king’s fiftieth birthday everything seemed to be going wrong that could possibly go wrong, huh?!
Alberu could not understand how his beloved boyfriend could be such a trouble-magnet; no, troublemaker!
Notes:
Hello~
I'm having like the best break in a while! I started rereading Trash of the Count's family again (well, I started a long while ago, like in fall last year?) but this is the first time I could read as much as I used to! And while writing this chapter, I also felt incredibly refreshed! I didnt look at the word count and simply wrote. I havent felt like this in a while, so I guess it's been a good decision to go on a break.Well, I'll keep this short since I want to continue to read.
All of you can tell me your birthdays as well, so I'll make it my personal mission to bring out a chapter then (if this fic will last that long, that is hahaha!). And if not a chapter, at least some special chapter or something!
Anyways, thank all of you for reading!
Then, I'll be heading back to my relaxing break that is already showing results (I really think that the quality of this chapter has increased again, but only you guys can tell!)I'll be expecting lots of birthday dates from you, hehe! It's a great feeling to surprise people with something special on their birthday!
(I love birthdays!)Then, I really hope you like this surprise chap!
Until next time, my dear readers!
Thank all of you for waiting!
(Hopefully this will make it worth it!)
Chapter 49: 47. Troublemaker (2)
Summary:
Troublemaker Part 2
Chapter Text
‘God’.
What was a ‘God’?
No, what did it mean to be a ‘God’?
The God of Time and Space had an impassive expression on his handsome face as he casually picked up one of the sixteen chess figures, a knight, then moved it accordingly. He had many things on his mind, and yet, today such odd thoughts were making him feel uneasy.
“Mhm-“
The god sitting opposite of him, a beautiful woman with radiating white hair that had a golden shine to it, rivaling the sun’s beauty itself, frowned as she looked down into her own white pieces. She had only fifteen left, and even though it was only one less than her opponent, the missing piece was bugging her immensely.
Her clear, azure eyes that were as clear as the summer sky, scanned the chessboard for a possible way to take any figure of the God of Time and Space, yet there were absolutely no openings on this lazy god’s side. His sixteen, obsidian chess pieces, despite standing in different and confusing places, were all untouchable – just as he was.
Brushing back one of her lose strands that had escaped her bun, the Goddess of Sun moved one of her pawns. She had been thinking about that move for a long time, and yet, almost as if the God of Time and Space had expected it, he moved his knight once more, taking her rook – a move she did not foresee, let alone notice. A slight smirk appeared on the handsome man’s face as he elegantly removed the shining, white rook, loosely holding it between his fingers.
“It’s boring.”
To the God of Time and Space, this chess game with the Goddess of Sun was boring. In his opinion, playing with the God of Death or the God of War was much more fun. The reason for that was simple: None of them thought much about their moves. No, that wasn’t quite true. They thought quickly, making the matches interesting. The Goddess of Sun, on the contrary, always thought too long for the game of chess to stay interesting.
Naturally, the Goddess of Sun was aware of her opponent’s preferred play style, but she did not care. A slight smile replaced her frown as she moved her queen to take the God of Time and Space’s pawn. She could see his eyebrow twitching and the corner of his mouth move up ever so slightly, before quickly moving down again.
But she had seen the slight smile on his lips.
There was a reason each of her moves took so long. While she may be someone who took a long time to contemplate things, once she had made up her mind…
The God of Time and Space moved one of his own pawns, after which she moved her remaining bishop, taking one of her opponent’s knights, before he moved again, a seemingly senseless move, after which she took one of his pawns. Then, after the God of Time and Space moved once more with a pawn, she took the opportunity to take one of his bishops.
…she did not hesitate.
The dissatisfied frown was now completely gone, replaced by a content smile on her lips. Eight points to eight – that sounded more like it. And while the Goddess of Sun was actually confident for once, her expression immediately faltered after seeing the God of Time and Space do something very unexpected, and very unpleasant.
A third, brightly shining chess piece that was taller and looked fancier than the two before, was lifted from the chessboard. The God of Time and Space had a calm yet slightly amused expression on his face as he looked at his opponent’s side.
Contrary to what his opponent believed, there was no strategy on his mind as he simply moved the chess pieces however he felt like. While he usually enjoyed playing a strategic game of chess, the Goddess of Sun was no opponent he needed to get serious with. Naturally, the goddess was exceptional in other things.
But it was certainly unusual for the God of Time and Space to go ‘easy’ on someone. Still, there was no other way, given that his mind was filled with thoughts about ‘god’.
He was a god, wasn’t he?
But he wasn’t the ‘God’.
What was ‘The God’?
He did not know.
The God of Time and Space who could look at any time, be it the future or the past, of any world of his choice, thus usually knew all answers to all of his questions, could not figure out this one question he had asked himself ever since he became a god.
He did not feel like a god, even though he was supposed to be one. Was it perhaps because for the first time during his existence, he was unable to look into the future of one particular world he tried his best to keep an eye on? The God of Time and Space did not know.
“Check!”
The Goddess of Sun suddenly called out in excitement, causing the God of Time and Space to glance at the board once more. He was getting tired of this, even more so now that he was thinking about that stupid world again. He elegantly touched the one piece he had not moved a single time before – it was the queen.
He put it in front of his king, yet he was not sacrificing her, as he was threatening his opponent’s king at the same time. The Goddess of Sun clenched her teeth, angry that she did not notice the most powerful chess piece on the board, given that her opponent had not moved it before. But it was too late.
“Checkmate.”
Indeed.
She had lost.
She had nowhere left to move her king to.
Sighing, the Goddess of Sun accepted her loss. She wasn’t good in such strategic games in first place, but she wasn't exactly bad either. She had stood her ground against the God of Time and Space, who was known to be unbeatable in chess, even if it was a match against the God of War. Naturally, the Goddess of Sun did not know that her opponent had not given much thought to a single move, and she didn’t exactly have to know.
“Good game, but don’t expect me to play against you any time soon.”
While the Goddess of Sun had spoken in an amused and jokingly voice, she meant what she said. She did not want to sit inside the God of Time and Space’s castle for hours while thinking about a good move not to get obliterated by him again. And the handsome man that wore a simple, white tunic with golden ornaments, revealing his muscular and pale yet spotless chest, simply smiled, accepting the goddess’ words without much thoughts.
Next time, he’d play against the God of War; that would be much more fun.
“Well, now that I’ve fulfilled your condition, can you tell me more about that strange child?”
The God of Time and Space’s lips curled up once again, this time he did not try to hide it. Naturally, the Goddess of Sun was not someone who would simply come to him while looking for a good game of chess. Her playing with him had been the condition of the quirky god for him to tell her the things she wanted to know, given that the Goddess of Life had locked herself up in her residence, not allowing any visitors. And the Goddess of Sun could not ask the God of Death either, given that he had a bad personality and was difficult to deal with.
The God of Time and Space on the other hand, despite living in such a rural region and being one of the three most powerful gods up here, was neither shutting himself off, nor difficult to approach. The only downside with him was his strange personality and habit of letting out key-information. He was the very definition of a real god, more so than anyone else up here.
He did not appear to care for mortals and only did his job that he was tasked with, abiding the rules of the gods. He only broke them one time, ten years ago, to help the God of Death – why, no one knew.
“Yeah, that’s why ya came here, no?”
The Goddess of Sun ignored the God of Time and Space’s informal and somewhat crude tone, just as she had done with his revealing clothes and lazy position.
“Indeed. That foreign child is always with my beloved child. I am curious about him since all of you have something to do with him.”
The God of Time and Space simply shrugged. While he didn’t seem to think much about the goddess’ words, he actually kept them inside the back of his mind.
‘Since all of you have something to do with him.’
All of you meant the three greatest and most powerful gods; the Goddess of Life, the God of Death and the God of Time and Space. Of course, the Goddess of Life was involved with the kid that had once been Kim Rok Soo and had now turned into Cale Henituse, as she had made him. The God of Death was involved because he was supposed to take that kid’s life several times already – even back on earth before he had transmigrated into the world of the ‘Birth of a Hero’. That was all the Goddess of Sun knew.
She did not know what the God of Time and Space had to do with Cale Henituse that was formerly known as Kim Rok Soo, but she knew that he had to have some kind of relation to him.
Usually, she was not one to get interested in such things, but since that child had gotten involved with her special child, she needed to know more about him, especially since the times of danger would soon fall upon his world.
The Goddess of Sun did not have many children. No, that wasn’t true; she did have many children, especially in the past as she had lots of love and power to give. Right now though, she did not have many children. She had two, one of which was a Saint, well, half-Saint. The other child though was no such existence.
That was why he was special and why the Goddess of Sun treasured him so much. And that was why she needed to know about the redheaded child that was making it difficult to look out for her special child.
“Nah, I ain’t got anything to do with that kiddo. I just participated in the God of Death’s schemes since it was fun~ Life’s boring without risks, ya know?”
The God of Time and Space was famous for not breaking any rules. He was also known as the most passive god of all who had not taken interest in a single existence, not even once ever since becoming a god many thousands of years ago. He was incredibly arrogant and your typical god out of a human’s story, and yet, he did not seem to hate, love or like anything. He was fulfilling his duties as the God of Time and Space, doing nothing more, nothing less.
‘Life’s boring without risks?’
That was why the Goddess of Sun found that phrase coming out of that god’s mouth to be amusing. Every god had broken the guidelines at least twice; many have done so more, mostly to help a special child they had the most interest in to defy their fate, given that variables under all existences were more than just a rarity. A human that was a variable had actually only come forth six times ever since the gods came to be with Kim Rok Soo being one of them. But that was not what was important right now.
“Ya look like ya don’t believe me~”
The Goddess of Sun did not reply and simply shrugged, somethings he regretted after seeing the God of Time and Space’s bright smirk that did not reach his ruby red eyes. His gaze was cold. No, that wasn’t exactly true, it wasn’t cold. It was a mixture of arrogance and mockery and something else that was making her neck feel cold and chills run down her arms.
The God of Time and Space.
She could not afford to forget who that lazy ass of an easy going god was. Even if he did not break the god’s guidelines, it did not mean that he couldn’t. If he actually wanted to- The Goddess of Sun could not imagine the chaos that would befall the world if the God of Time and Space actually showed an interest in even a single ant.
While there were three major gods who were said to hold equal power; that was not the case. No existences were equal: there was always someone who was stronger or weaker, even if it was just a tiny little bit. And while the God of Death and Goddess of Life were pretty similar in strength, almost equal, the God of Time and Space was more powerful.
Not many knew of that.
Actually, only the three major gods knew, with many others suspecting it. The reason for the God of Time and Space being more powerful than Death and Life itself was simple: Time could bring back the dead and recreate life as if nothing ever happened before.
The Goddess of Sun immediately changed her mind and believed the God of Time and Space’s words. That’s right; he could not have anything to do with the redheaded child, not possible. If he did…war would not befall the world he was in.
“Haiyaa, now ya changed ya mind again~”
The Goddess of Sun did not reply as she simply shrugged.
“I’m not stupid enough to think that such a lazy god would actually take his time to observe anything other than us gods.”
The Goddess of Sun would usually hit bull’s eye as that was what the God of Time and Space had done up til now…up until now that is. But he did not correct her. His smile became a bit smaller, yet the chilling gaze in his eyes disappeared.
“Well, it ain’t something I care about anyways, so spit out what ya want to know. A deal is a deal, ye?”
The Goddess of Sun smiled as she nodded her head.
“Right, I’m actually only curious about one thing about that child.”
The God of Time and Space could not read minds, yet he was almost certain what the goddess in front of him would ask about. And of course, he was right.
“The Goddess of Life and the God of Death have not given up on him, have they? They know that him being a variable means that he is fated for greatness, no? But him being meant for greatness; would it endanger my child in any way?”
The God of Time and Space smiled as he shook his head.
“Goddess of Sun, I don’t know what ya think about that kiddo and in all honesty, I don’t wanna know. But I will tell ya this, the God of Death put him there to save that ass old world. Ya child will live with him being there, much longer than he was supposed to.”
‘Because that is the power of a true variable.’
The God of Time and Space did not say that last part.
At that very moment, while the Goddess of Sun turned around, a satisfied and relieved smile on her lips, realization suddenly hit the handsome god who couldn’t help but sit up, not that the exiting goddess would ever notice.
‘A true variable.’
The God of Time and Space jumped up in a hurry he had never, not even once, experienced before. Ever since he remembered, even as he was still a human, he had never been in such a hurry.
‘God.’
The God of Time and Space felt as if he had found a key piece of the puzzle that he had been solving ever since he had been reborn as a god.
‘Six variables.’
The gods only knew of six variables – humans of different universes that defied fate, be it because they avoided death or managed to live a life of riches while they were supposed to die of hunger in the slums.
Every person was made with a specific fate, a life story the person would not be able to escape – be it a dragon, an ant or a human. A person that defied that fate and managed to change the fate of the people next to him or her was called a ‘variable’.
That was why the gods respected variables so much. In a way, they could be called gods as well, as they had the power over their own fate, and to some extent, over the fate of the people next to them too – which was why the God of Death had been so excited after finding out that Kim Rok Soo was a variable. A variable could change an entire world.
The God of Time and Space knew that better than anyone.
Given that he, in his life as a human, had been a variable too.
~
Knock. Knock.
Alberu groaned in annoyance as he watched his aunt enter his room. She smiled apologetically as she slightly bowed her head to her dear nephew, or rather the small dragon sitting next to him on his desk. She usually wouldn’t have come at such a late hour, especially since he knew of what kind of day tomorrow would be, but this was incredibly urgent.
“Good evening, my dear nephew, Raon-nim.”
Alberu’s frown deepened even more after hearing his aunt’s honey like voice. Usually, Tasha did not use such a gentle voice when talking to him, or even Raon for that matter. He wasn’t the only one that noticed this, as the young dragon that had been by Cale’s side for six years had picked up a lot of things from his guardian.
“Cookie prince, the kind Tasha is behaving oddly.”
Alberu could only nod in agreement. It was then that he noticed the piece of paper in his aunt’s hand. He raised his brows, a sign for Tasha to speak and, preferably, keep it short. The dark elf cleared her throat as she now fully entered the lowly light room. It was because this room which Alberu was using as his office was no actual office, but rather his bedroom (technically, it was his and Cale’s bedroom now) which meant that his heavenly bed in which Cale was sleeping was also located inside the room.
And while Alberu loved teasing his boyfriend, very much so, he did not enjoy waking him up from a good night’s sleep. It was bothersome enough that Cale would participate in the king’s fiftieth birthday tomorrow, well, today; so there was no reason to wake him up in the middle of the night.
But such a thing could not be helped, at least not tonight. Tasha’s apologetic smile became a bit sadder as she handed her nephew the note. That note was no simple note. It was a map in which hid address was written down in an unusual, strike-like form. It was the unique font of his beloved boyfriend. Alberu did not need to think twice about what was currently going on. At the same time, Tasha began to talk.
“My dearest nephew, there are three people waiting outside in the garden. All of them seem to be very strong while one is currently unconscious. He also seems to be in pain. Right now, Ron and Beacrox are taking care of them, but they refuse to do anything unless young master Cale comes down.”
Alberu did not need to ask who these three people are. He got up from his desk and took a look outside the window, immediately seeing the three people which were standing in front of Ron and Beacrox. One of them was a brown haired girl, but that brown hair was dyed. He could tell based on her body and face shape. It was possible because of the information his boyfriend had given him and because he had met this person before. It was the (former) crown princess of the Breck Kingdom, Rosalyn.
Next to her, standing tall and proud, was a raven haired kid that looked no older than seventeen. While Alberu couldn’t see his features as accurately, he knew who this man was – and that he was even older than Ron. It was the protagonist of the novel his boyfriend read, Choi Han. In his arms, he carried another main character, the future Wolf King Lock.
Alberu was starting to get a headache as he looked down on these people. Raon silently flew to his side, sitting down on his shoulders. While the young dragon had gained a lot of weight, he was not heavy.
“It’s the strong Choi Han! He took quite a lot of time to come back! Hey cookie prince, but why does he want the human to come down? Does he not know that people sleep during the night?”
Raon’s childish voice was very serious for once; since it involved Cale it was only natural. Tasha sighed as she looked at her nephew’s bed. There, almost unnoticeable due to his slim stature, laid Cale, covered by tons of pillows and blankets. She smiled upon seeing a child that was usually frowning sleep so carelessly and peacefully.
“Hm? Cookie prince, something is odd!”
Alberu already knew what Raon was going to say but let him be anyways.
“That woman! She is strong! She is almost as strong as the tip of my paw! She is stronger than the idiot Glenn! And that boy! He smells like the cats the human brought with him!”
Alberu simply nodded while his aunt had a disbelieving expression on her face. Naturally it was because neither her nephew now anyone else had informed her of who would be coming, let alone such strong people. She was also shocked for a different reason, but decided to push that to the back of her head.
“Cookie prince, the strong Choi Han is very nice. Don’t think badly of him because he is so stubborn! Let’s wake the human for now! Once the strong Choi Han sees him the weak human can go back to sleep!”
Alberu, who had been contemplating what to do, smiled upon hearing Raon’s plan. It was actually not a bad plan, no, not at all. It was a brilliant plan even. Knowing Cale, the redhead would quickly show up, take care of business, then return to bed – all of which would be done in less than ten minutes.
“Very good, let’s do just that. Raon.”
Alberu did not need to say anything else as the young, six year old dragon turned invisible. He was still sitting on the crown prince’s shoulder, as it was one of the young dragon’s habits. With steady steps, Alberu approached the bed, ignoring Tasha’s uncertain gaze. Gently, he then shook his boyfriend who slept like a rock.
Sighing, Alberu shook a bit harder and after a few strong pushes, Cale groggily opened his eyes while groaning in annoyance at the sudden disturbance of his sleep.
“…What?”
“Tsk, Cale, if you make a mess, you should take care of it yourself. Haaa.”
Alberu, who actually didn’t mean his words, given that he would always take care of his boyfriend’s messes, let out a deep sigh.
-Weak human! The strong Choi Han is here!
While Cale did not understand his boyfriend’s words, he immediately understood what Raon’s words meant. He felt his sleepiness disappear and he instantly sat up straight. He drove his weak hand through his messy hair, and then put on a pair of slippers, not caring that he was currently wearing pajamas.
“Tsk, that punk, haaa-“
Cale who did not finish his sentence grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. There was no way in hell he would not drag one of the few people that he could hide behind with him. But that wasn’t his only intention. He and Alberu had discussed this in advance.
‘Choi Han’, the protagonist and strong hero, was a great pawn to use in the future. To Alberu, it would be a great asset. That is why, as Cale didn’t manage to get rid of him or avoid him in first place, he simply had to hand him over to his beloved boyfriend. Since he had no intention of participating in the war besides a few times, it should be fine if he did it like this. Of course, Alberu did not know yet that his boyfriend planned to participate in the war yet (and Cale really didn’t want to, but given the future, he believed that it was necessary, especially with the Battle at the Henituse Castle).
The quarter dark elf sighed and the couple, with Tasha following behind them, quickly headed down. While walking, Alberu managed to fix Cale’s lose shirt and make him look less messy, and with Raon’s magic, Cale also didn’t look as sleepy, but nothing changed the clothes he wore – or the shoes for that matter.
Shortly before the exit, Cale let go of his boyfriend’s hand and instead pushed Alberu forward, making him the first person Choi Han would see. It would be good. Since the couple planned to use Choi Han, Alberu would probably smile his princy smile, looking like a very benevolent crown prince, which would make Choi Han want to be with him, or at least help him in the future.
What Cale couldn’t see at that moment though (and what he certainly did not expect), was the permanent frown on his boyfriend’s face, given that he did not like Choi Han. As Cale didn’t share all of his thoughts with Alberu, Alberu didn’t tell Cale every single detail either. The couple did plan to utilize Choi Han, and while Cale thought Alberu would do it in a similar way as he had done in the novel, Alberu had no intention of doing so, at least not after seeing Choi Han’s shameless behavior as he had arrived in the middle of the night, requesting Cale to come down here.
Of course, the swordsmaster had his reason for doing so – it being that he only trusted Cale Henituse. Choi Han, who had spent tens of years, no, more than an entire century, alone in the forest of darkness and who had given in despair more times than he could count, found it easily to trust people. Yet, after meeting Cale who had this special air and aura about him, Cale who had told him to head to a specific place where he met these two people he considered real friends, he decided to trust this person like his instincts were telling him to.
Naturally these two people who each had their own thoughts regarding this matter were bound to look at each other in a suspicious matter. If Cale had seen this, he would have cried, and if he had heard Choi Han’s thoughts about trusting him, he would have fainted.
“Young master-nim!”
Unsurprisingly, it was Ron who broke the silence first. He cleared his throat after seeing Cale peak up while still ‘hiding’ behind Alberu’s back, but it was enough for the old and quick-witted butler to understand. Cale, whose ‘mask’ had become useless as Ron could read him pretty well by now, furrowed his brows after making eye contact with the serious seeming Choi Han, who immediately smiling upon locking eyes with him.
He had a very bad feeling all of a sudden.
“Cale-nim!”
‘Why am I feeling as if my slacker life is waving me goodbye?’
After hearing Choi Han yell out his name in such a welcoming matter, almost as if he was a puppy, Cale felt as if his slacker life was going farther and farther away from him.
‘It’s just a feeling, right?’
Cale did not want to imagine what would happen if that horrifying feeling of his turned out to be the truth. Subconsciously, he gripped the back of Alberu’s shirt, causing his meat shield to turn around and look down on him. As Cale did not look up, he did not notice how Alberu’s frown deepened and the displeased expression on his face became more present, partly annoyed even.
“…Choi Han.”
Nevertheless, he had to take care of this. This was why Cale stopped gripping Alberu’s shirt and stepped forward, standing right next to the head taller crown prince. The two of them looked quite good together, which made a certain former crown princess who could read all kinds of situations very well, smile ever so slightly. Nevertheless, she decided to catch up later, as there was a more urgent business they needed to take care of.
Choi Han knew that too. That was why he kept his words short, bowing his head ever so slightly as he asked the one person he decided to put his trust in one thing that meant everything to him.
“Cale-nim, I did as you told me. I am late because I met these two people on my way back, but you see-“
But Choi Han’s concept of keeping things short was not Cale’s. The redhead, who was now furrowing his brows in annoyance, raised his hand for Choi Han to stop talking. He did not look up at Alberu as he gave orders as he usually did. Naturally, Alberu did not mind. What he did mind was the expression in Cale’s eyes. It was a gaze that told him that the redhead would not be able to return to sleep very soon.
“He’s about to go berserk, no? Follow me.”
Neither Choi Han nor former crown princess Rosalyn asked Cale how he knew who Lock, the wolf boy they were carrying, was. And they also did not question his orders. Choi Han did as he was told because he fully trusted Cale. Rosalyn did not say anything against it either because the feeling she got from Cale was a trustworthy one. Furthermore, she had met him before, and she could tell that he was a good person (and cute).
-Cookie prince, I think we should have dealt with the strong Choi Han by ourselves.
Of course, the young Raon noticed the annoyed gaze in Cale’s eyes too. He could tell that Cale did not plan on going back to sleep anytime soon. Ron and Beacrox, who were also frowning, knew that too. They’ve been by Cale’s side for long enough to know that.
Yes indeed, they shouldn’t have woken up the redhead in first place.
Notes:
Hello~
I am officially back (school started today as well) with yet another update and my weekly updates!
Thank all of you for being so incredibly patient with me and letting me get my rest (and motivation back) haha!
I really, really, really appreciate it!
( ื▿ ืʃƪ)
I feel so incredibly refreshed (more or less after school today...) but well yeah, anyways, I had a great break! I've spend lots of time with my mom, so it was definitely worth it (I have a really funny story that happened us, so I'm gonna share my mom's funny driving skills with y'all: Once, we drove to the super market, and while my mom drove, I told her a funny story, yk, the usual. Well, I think it distracted her, as she drove in the wrong = opposing lane! Luckily, we didnt crash with anyone, but it was incredibly exciting nonetheless (=meaning exciting for me while my mom was absolutely terrified))!
ƪ(˘⌣˘)┐ ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ ┌(˘⌣˘)ʃ
It was really~ fun to see her shocked face, I swear!
Well, anyways, enough about my vacation!
Back to the chapter now!So...
(*turning a bit more serious*):ONE IMPORTANT NOTICE: Would you mind if I skipped a few things, like the extinguishing the Jungle Fire/meeting Jack and Hannah/basically lots of preparation for the war when Cale's 19? (including the Hais Island raid where Redika was killed)??
It's not that those parts are "boring", it's simply that I won't change all too much about them. I'd rather not rewrite Trash of the Count's Family or describe what happens in my own words. If it's okay with you, I'd briefly summarize what happened prior to the chapter (like in a paragraph or the notes in the beginning).
If you have an event that you think I might skip but don't want me to skip, please feel free to write it in the comments! I'll do my best to try to keep it in then! (No promises here, the major plot of this ff is coming closer hehe!)
♉(ˆ⌣ˆ) ξ\(´▽`)/ξWell, hehe, coming back to less serious things, how'd you like the chapter? I hope it was satisfactory, since it'd been a while since I last published a chap! In all honesty, what do you think of the God of Time and Space? I'm really curious about your take on him! Like literally, do you hate him? Do you like him? Do you think he'd important or boring or stupid????
You don't have to tell me, but I'm a very curious person!
(ʃƪ˘ﻬ˘)
Then, this is it from me, I hope you guys stayed safe and healthy, that you're still doing great and didnt lose interest in this story just yet!
Once again, until next time~!
♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
Chapter 50: 48. Troublemaker (3)
Summary:
Troublemaker Part 3
Chapter Text
Lock’s berserk transformation was quite chaotic. Cale, who used Alberu’s training grounds to help the thirteen year old boy, was sitting on a chair behind Raon’s magical shield. His frown deepened every time he heard Choi Han and Rosalyn yell out sentimental words in order to make Lock return back to sanity.
“Meowww!”
“We don’t have to do that, nya, do we?”
The two kittens that were sitting on his boyfriend’s lap were carefully watching the action as Cale had told them to watch carefully and learn. The two of them did not understand at first, but at some point, they somehow did. Especially the ten year old silver kitten, On, figured it out rather quickly.
Alberu, who didn’t know much about beast people, looked at his boyfriend who still looked as annoyed and displeased as when he had first woken him up from bed. Cale did not answer the two kittens, which made them look up at Alberu who did his best to smile gently for the two children. After all, they were children, no?
He patted the red kitten’s surprisingly soft fur then did the same with the silver kitten. Surprisingly enough, those two new additions to Cale were quite the pleasant surprise, given that he liked both of them very much.
“Tsk, human-“
Raon did not continue to speak as Cale patted his head. The young dragon who was extremely jealous of On and Hong as he had spent his entire life by this weak human’s side and somehow felt like he would have to share something that was his for the very first time, did not continue the harsh words he wanted to say after feeling his weak human’s fragile hand pet him as he always did. Naturally, the young dragon’s worries were stupid and not something Cale realized. The redhead simply thought that Raon was getting bored after seeing Choi Hand and Rosalyn battle Lock for such a long while already.
It was two o’clock in the morning, after all.
The battle went on and on without a stop to it. Ron was going in and out, handing his young master-nim and the children all kinds of snacks while Tasha brought her dear nephew the documents he still needed to work on. During this time, the ancient dragon, who had been away for a bit to take care of some special “business” (which was to imprison one of the Roan Kingdom’s nobles so that he could disguise himself as the noble to stay close to Cale) also joined this underground training area after a bit.
He too had a frown on his face after seeing Cale’s pajamas and the slippers the redhead was wearing – without socks. It annoyed the ancient dragon, especially after he saw the strained smile on his friend’s face as he was sending his usual vicious glares at Choi Han, the swordsmaster he had met in the Henituse territory.
Eruhaben looked at Raon’s shield that was suppressing all sounds coming from them as well as preventing other people to look inside, nodding as he acknowledged his only student’s strength. He then furrowed his brows again. It was already three in the morning, after all.
“Tsk, you unlucky brat, how come you’re taking care of this instead of letting that punk handle it?”
Cale looked up. He had not noticed Eruhaben entering the underground training area. That was why his frown deepened, yet he quickly waved his hand to say it is not a problem. Just as he was about to ask about Eruhaben’s “business”, Alberu replied to Eruhaben.
“That bastard only wanted to speak to Cale, ask Ron.”
Eruhaben, who did not mind Choi Han and only thought of him as a pretty strong human he didn’t need to pay closer attention to, furrowed his brows upon hearing Alberu’s words. He then turned his head, following Ron’s glare and landing his eyes on the raven haired swordsmaster as well.
“He dares to-“
This time, Cale put his hand on Eruhaben’s hand, patting it as if to say he should calm down, as the young noble was too lazy to get up from his seat and pat the ancient dragon’s shoulder.
“It’s fine since we still have to discuss the plans with him and Miss Rosalyn, so I would have woken up either way. Anyways, Eruhaben-nim, did you take care of it?”
Cale did not look away from the ongoing battle as he asked Eruhaben. It was not because the battle was interesting or anything like that – actually, it was very boring even. It would only pose as a good learning experience for the two cat tribe beat people children. The actual reason why Cale kept his eyes on the battle was because he could not turn his eyes away from the wolf boy’s, Lock’s, desperate eyes. He did not why, hence chose not to care about it.
Eruhaben let out a deep sigh as he nodded his head.
“Indeed. For tomorrow, you should call me ‘Viscount Hanse’.”
Cale simply nodded, recalling all the records that had to do with Viscount Hanse. He was a lower-ranking noble despite being a Viscount. He had a wife and a child that was still young. His household was not special in any way and pretty average. He wasn’t part of the central faction, even though he lived in the central region. He held himself back in politics. While most of the central region supported either the second or the third prince, Viscount Hanse had shown interest in supporting the first prince even before Alberu had gained the official title of ‘crown prince’.
Knowing Eruhaben, he would have taken care of such a noble in a good way that did not put him to danger. The ancient dragon did not say anything else as he too observed the battle. After another ten minutes though, it was over.
Cale, who noticed that Lock’s eyes had changed, finally managed to look away. He turned his head to his left to look at the ancient dragon who had been observing him. He flinched ever so slightly as he picked up Raon (who was very heavy in his opinion, so heavy that his arms were already shaking) and got up.
“Raon.”
Cale did not need to say more as Raon turned invisible and disregarded the shield. He flew out of his human’s hands, instead sitting down on Cale’s feeble shoulder, something that Cale couldn’t possibly mind, given that it was Raon.
-Weak human, I’ll suppress my mana now! The strong mage will not notice me!
Cale couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly at Raon’s comment. He understood well even without him needing to tell him.
-Tsk, you unlucky brat, you picked up quite the interesting people with that bastard.
Cale furrowed his brows upon hearing Eruhaben’s voice inside his mind. He turned his head to look at the ancient dragon who was still looking at him.
“Eruhaben-nim?”
Alberu naturally didn’t know of their conversation and thus frowned upon hearing his boyfriend call out the ancient dragon’s voice with uncertainty. Yet Cale’s gaze quickly changed as he nodded, which made Alberu stop feeling worried.
-Do not worry about anything. I’ll take care of my children.
Cale felt, for the first time that day, like smiling. While, a couple years back, being regarded as a dragon’s child would have caused Cale to faint, the redhead felt relieved. Eruhaben, he was the closest to a parent (besides Ron) he ever got to experience. No, not just the closest, he was a parent to Cale. That is why, as Eruhaben told him that he didn’t need to worry, Cale didn’t.
“Cale-nim!”
Choi Han, who did not know much about the current situation and only saw the passed out Lock lying on the floor with the calm and confident Cale approaching, couldn’t help but let out a gasp in shock. Behind Cale stood ‘Haben’, his guardian knight. Choi Han had not seen or heard Haben enter the underground training area and he could not feel the knight’s level of strength, which made him certain that he was no normal guardian knight. Furthermore, before, Rosalyn had told him, there was magic involved. Could it be that, despite usually carrying a sword around, Haben was actually a strong mage – one that was stronger than Rosalyn given her reaction?
While Choi Han had planned to confront Cale and ask him all of these things, he unfortunately could not do so any longer, not after seeing the ever so small smile on the redhead’s lips.
“…Young master Cale, your highness.”
It was Rosalyn who spoke, not letting Choi Han say what he wanted to say. While she did not want to reveal her identity, she felt like she could do so after receiving help from Cale. She turned back her brown her, revealing her usual, fiery red color. It was a lot brighter compared to Cale’s and resembled fire, while the young noble’s looked a lot more like blood.
“It’s been a long time indeed, Miss Rosalyn.”
The runaway princess of the Breck Kingdom did not worry that Alberu was still remembering her. The crown prince had a gentle smile on his lips as he pointed at the passed out boy that was no longer on the floor as he had been picked up by Ron.
“Let’s chat after we take care of this first.”
Alberu’s smile in combination with Cale’s stoic expression seemed reliable. That was why Rosalyn nodded. She waited to head out, yet it seemed like Cale still had something to say. He looked at Choi Han who seemed to be hesitating to speak his mind. Cale did not care about the swordsmaster’s inner turmoil as he patted his shoulder. It was to show him that he had done a good job.
Alberu, who was used to Cale behaving this way (even though he didn’t want people to think good of him), could only sigh.
“Good job.”
That was all, then Cale turned around, grabbing his boyfriend’s sleeve while dragging him after himself. As Alberu was carrying the two kitten, that was all he could do. Ron and Eruhaben, who stayed behind to glare at Rosalyn, or rather at Choi Han, for a moment, quickly followed behind the two of them.
Cale did not notice his family’s vicious demeanors.
~
“Your highness, it’s been a long time.”
Calmly, the mage who was almost at the highest grade level sipped her sweet tea that she had been handed. Her fire red hair was framing her gorgeous face and with her piercing, red eyes she looked like the main character out of a fantasy story, which she technically was.
“A long time indeed, Miss Rosalyn. I feel a bit hurt that you didn’t inform me in advance that you’d be visiting the capital of the Roan Kingdom.”
Rosalyn couldn’t help but chuckle upon hearing Alberu’s words. Currently, she and the crown prince were sitting in Alberu’s room, mostly to catch up and take care of business. It was better this way, given that Cale already had his hands full with Choi Han and Lock. And furthermore…
“Your highness, I should be the one who’s supposed to make you feel guilty.”
…Rosalyn and Alberu were no strangers. Cale had told him that Rosalyn was a key player in the future, which was why crown prince Alberu had first approached the now runaway crown prince. Yet, after conversing with her on the banquet two years ago, he had actually come to like her as a person, very much so – which is why the two of them kept in contact. Naturally, it was only a letter here and there, but it didn’t change things.
“Is that so?”
Alberu casually took one of his boyfriend’s cookies, a slight smile on his lips. He knew exactly what Rosalyn was getting at, but decided to play innocent. The former crown princess naturally noticed, but decided not to care too much. Her smile got a bit wider as well as she put down her teacup. The old, benignly smiling butler behind her, naturally it was Ron, couldn’t help but sigh – something the other two people inside the room bluntly ignored.
“Yes, that is the case. Your highness, I thought we were friends.”
Alberu slightly nodded his head, picking up his own teacup to drink his warm tea. It was the same tea Beacrox usually prepared for Cale, which was probably why it was a bit (okay, by a mile) too sweet for him to handle, but Alberu’s expression did not change. It was because Rosalyn was smiling very brightly too.
“We are friends, Miss Rosalyn.”
Of course they were friends, given that their personalities matched each other very well.
“Yes, your highness. We are friends.”
Rosalyn nodded her head in agreement. It was nice sitting on this soft (whereas cookie-crumbs filled) couch and conversing like this with the crown prince despite the early hour. Since the two of them had finished discussing tomorrow’s business regarding the terror attack on the plaza a while ago, they could focus on catching up – as the two friends they naturally were. And there were plenty of things to discuss about their personal lives, after all.
The almost highest grade mage could see Alberu’s lips quirk up even more than before, showing not just amusement but also genuine happiness. Rosalyn didn’t need to hear it from the crown prince to know what was going on. One look at the messy bed was enough for her to tell – which didn’t mean that she didn’t want to hear things from Alberu.
“Your highness, don’t you have something to tell me?”
Rosalyn felt excited after seeing Alberu’s smile change into a boyish and mischievous grin. If it was like this…
“Miss Rosalyn, it seems that you are curious about my relationship with Cale.”
Rosalyn did not hide her curiosity as she nodded, still completely calm. It was because she knew that Alberu would tell her either way. It wasn’t like he and Cale hid it very well either way.
“Your highness, don’t you think I deserve to know, given that I’ve been cheering the two of you on?”
Ron’s brows twitched ever so slightly after hearing the foreign (former) crown princess’ remark, yet he managed to not let his true emotions show. He was holding himself back because of Cale’s words. He needed to treat Rosalyn with respect, given that she would help at the Plaza Terror Incident tomorrow – which was now certain after he listened to the crown prince’s chat with her.
“Miss Rosalyn has been cheering for us?”
Alberu put down his teacup with a relaxed expression replacing his youthful grin. He leaned back as he watched the beautiful woman sitting opposite from him nod her head. The two of them were very calm as they were comfortable with each other.
“Of course, after I met you on the evening of the banquet, I couldn’t help but notice the chemistry the two of you have, you also look very good, standing next to each other.”
Rosalyn recalled not just the memories of the banquet, but also the moment Alberu opened the doors with Cale first peaking up behind him, then stepping forward, standing tall next to him despite still being a head shorter. Their styles and faces matched each other very well, disregarding the compatible colors. Crimson and gold as well as reddish-brown and azure matched each other very well. But that wasn’t all, the two of them were familiar with each other and judging by their body language, they trusted each other with no bounds. If such people didn’t have a lover’s relationship, Rosalyn would definitely curse out the world.
“Is that the case? I will tell that to Cale.”
Rosalyn nodded her head, waiting for Alberu to continue, which the quarter dark elf soon did.
“Miss Rosalyn, as you are my friend, you certainly need to know that I am currently in a relationship with him, don’t you?”
Rosalyn was not surprised as she simply nodded, drinking the last bits of her tea. With a bright smile, she then looked up and locked eyes with Alberu.
“Congratulations, your highness, I am certain there will be many jealous people in the future.”
Alberu nodded his head as he thought about his boyfriend’s unique beauty. Indeed, there would be countless jealous assholes that would never ever deserve Cale. He would make sure that someone would take care of them.
“I believe that will happen too.”
Rosalyn couldn’t help but notice her friend’s twitching eyebrow as he thought about the annoying things he would need to take care of in the future, one way or another, which didn’t have anything to do with any kind of war.
“Anyways, your highness, it’s almost time for the sun to rise, so I guess I should-“
Rosalyn was unable to finish her sentence as the crown prince’s bedroom door was pushed open with so much force, it should have been ripped out of the hinges. Of course, Cale could have never been responsible for such a thing, yet he was the only one entering the bedroom chamber while grumbling about a few things. That is, before Eruhaben followed behind him with an equally grim expression.
Neither of the two noticed how Rosalyn was still sitting on the couch as one quickly went to bed, pulling the blanket above his head, while the other sat down on the armchair between Alberu and Rosalyn. Of course, the ancient dragon had noticed the talented mage quickly after he entered the room, though the same couldn’t be said for a certain redheaded man.
Rosalyn looked at Alberu, asking him what was happening and whether something like this was common – which it was, given by the calm gaze Alberu sent her way. It was then that Rosalyn remembered how they have woken Cale up in the middle of the night, forcing him to take care of their things for them after which he also had to converse with them and plan for the things that would take place as soon as the sun would rise, which was about an hour away.
Clearing her throat, Rosalyn decided that, since Alberu looked just like before, it would be best to ignore this. She repeated her sentence from before, this time, she finished it.
“Anyways, your highness, since it’s almost time for the sun to rise, I should leave you so you can get at least a bit of rest. I sincerely apologize for the late night visit; it is just that Choi Han had been so adamant to hurry back as quickly as possible, hahaha.”
Alberu, who did not want to understand the reason at all, gave Rosalyn his usual princy smile as he nodded, accepting her apology (more or less). He then got up at the same time as the talented mage did, leading her across the room to the door, watching her walk down the hallway before closing it.
Letting out a deep sigh, Alberu turned his attention to Eruhaben, who pointed at the bed with his chin. Of course, Cale was not asleep, not after he had practically stormed the room like that. And judging by the glare Eruhaben gave him, the ancient dragon wanted him to take care of it.
“Cale~”
The moment Alberu called out his boyfriend’s name, the young Raon revealed himself, huffing and puffing at the crown prince while glaring at him as if he had insulted the redhead. Raon had never, not even once, regarded Alberu with that kind of glare before, not ever. Confused, the quarter dark elf looked up and made eye contact with the unusually vicious looking ancient dragon that was, for a change, giving him a death glare as well.
Alberu’s eyes wandered from Eruhaben to Ron, who was frowning as he too did not know what was currently going on.
It was at that moment that Cale let out an annoyed groan, throwing the blanket back as he rolled around in bed uncomfortably, his discomfort and irritation growing with each passing second. His eyebrows twitched and his lips were pressed together – it was enough for Alberu to know that something different than Cale being simply annoyed was going on.
“Tsk, you punk.”
The ancient dragon was shaking his head at Alberu, another thing the crown prince did not manage to understand. What was currently going on, huh? And-
“Hyung, I’m quitting. I’m gonna buy some land in some foreign kingdom on the eastern continent. I don’t wanna break up, so we can keep in contact through video communication and you can use teleportation magic to visit me. Ah! Let’s fake my death too so that no one even thinks of the idea to come look for me in the future.”
Too shocked to say anything, Alberu turned his head to look at the ancient dragon, who was continuously shaking his head, mumbling something along the lines of ‘unlucky brat’. At the same time, Ron’s confused expression turned a bit brighter, almost as if he was happy – which he actually was.
Ron was a quick witted person who was always by Cale and Alberu’s sides. He was aware of the tension of the north, from the tension in the Whipper Kingdom and the strange things going on in the Mongoru Empire. Furthermore, he overheard the couple talk about the coming war not only once. While the old man would have been thrilled to get his old bones to participate, mostly because he was informed that the organization that had taken his wife from him was somehow involved with a couple of the conflicts, he preferred a peaceful plan like the one Cale just said.
Cale Henituse, that eighteen year old child that behaved like an adult but was more of a child than anyone (which all of Cale’s people knew), was always doing things on a large scale. And if there was indeed a war – Ron did not want for Cale to be involved in such a thing. (Very little did he know…)
So regarding the future, getting Cale to live in some faraway kingdom on the eastern continent sounded very promising.
Of course, Ron wasn’t the only one thinking that way as Eruhaben wouldn’t mind it either. In case that place proved too dangerous too, he could always take Cale to his lair. The only one who actually minded that course of action, very much so, (technically not the only one, since Raon wanted to stay here as well), couldn’t help but shake his head and scoff in disbelief.
He waved his hand for Ron and Eruhaben to exit, which both old men ignored while snorting. There was no way they were leaving right now.
Alberu noticed this as well and let out a disappointed sigh. He then looked up at Cale, who was looking at him with the same kind of annoyance he had ever since he entered their room.
“Cale, love, you can’t do that. Why would you say such things?”
Cale mumbled some things no one really understood. His boyfriend ignored it as he sat down on their now shared bed, pulling Cale closer to him. He didn’t need to use much of his strength, given that Cale was a lightweight that could even get blown away if the wind was a tad too strong (not literally), as he gently pressed Cale to lay down on his lap, which the redhead actually did without complaining even once.
The crown prince then drove his hands in gentle and loving movements through his boyfriend’s hair in an attempt to calm him down and to make him open up more, which Cale didn’t do.
The young Raon rolled up next to his human, a similar expression on his face. Alberu, realizing that it wouldn’t matter anyways, looked up at Eruhaben and Ron, who were both watching him. In the end, it was the ancient dragon that was the only person that could share what had happened and caused Cale to have such a low mood.
And as Eruhaben did, Alberu felt frustrated himself.
Ah, he understood it now why Cale said that the protagonist of the novel ‘The Birth of a Hero’ had to be avoided at all costs, persistent bastard goddammit.
~
A couple hours later, Alberu managed to get Cale to dress up despite his beloved boyfriend not wanting to. He was paler than usual, given that he had only managed to get about two hours of sleep, but else seemed very healthy. The crown prince knew that Cale was used to not sleeping much, it was something the redhead had told him once, but he still didn’t want Cale, who usually slept twelve hours on average, to sleep less than the healthy eight hours a day.
He cleared his throat as he watched the Eruhaben, who was disguised as Viscount Hanse, walk next to Cale. Even though he didn’t see it, he knew that the young Raon was probably sitting down on Cale’s shoulder right now, despite being a bit too big and heavy.
Letting out a deep sigh, Alberu looked at the three people (technically four) following behind his family members. It were their ‘guests’ from last night. Rosalyn was walking with her head high up, her red hair was dyed in a casual brown color, so were her eyes, and she was wearing plain traveler’s clothes. The wolf’s boy Lock, who was only thirteen years old, was walking next to her, carrying two kittens in his arms.
Alberu recalled Cale telling him his change of plans while they had been watching that very boy’s berserk transformation instead of sleeping.
‘Hyung, you said it’ll be difficult to catch Redika, no? With Choi Han being here, and me knowing the place he’ll teleport to, it should be fine, right? If Lock recovers, he can take On and Hong along so that Choi Han won’t lose his rationality.’
It was a plan Cale had come up with, meaning it was flawless – and since it didn’t involve the redhead in any way, it was definitely a plan he didn’t have to worry about.
Still, Alberu was feeling iffy about that swordsmaster. It wasn’t just because of his currently twisted personality and character, but because of a feeling of his.
‘That person means trouble.’
He could clearly feel it in his bones. It wasn’t the same kind of troubles as Cale, but something entirely different that Alberu couldn’t quite put his finger on. But the crown prince trusted his feelings. He did not like Choi Han, and in all honesty, he wasn’t all too sure about keeping him close either.
But oh well, he wouldn’t have a choice after this.
Letting out yet another sigh, Alberu turned around, meeting eyes with the benignly smiling old man who had warmed up to him a lot ever since he met Choi Han. Well, that is probably the only thing the swordsmaster was good for.
“Your highness, it will soon be time.”
Alberu casually nodded. He still was scared of Ron, but he also felt like he could rely on that old man and trust him with a lot of things. While their relationship had never been positive in the past, it wasn’t something terrible either (until Alberu and Cale became a couple). Now it was going uphill, a lot.
Ron sighed as he simply left the room, wearing the clothes of an official royal butler. His son Beacrox, who was waiting for him outside the door, wore the same outfit. Of course, despite Cale being with two dragons and Alberu staying close to him, the father-son duo could never be safe enough with Cale. Better safe than sorry, after all – especially with their troublemaker of a young master-nim.
Cale, who entered the plaza in that moment, got the chills all of a sudden.
‘There is no way something will go astray, is there?’
An odd sensation made its way to Cale’s stomach, yet he decided not to care.
‘I have two dragons with me.’
Two dragons indeed.
So why did he still end up coughing up blood, huh?!
Notes:
Hi~
It's (technically) the fiftieth chapter...whoa-
I'm incredibly taken aback that we already reached this far. Originally, excluding the special X-mas chapter, I planned on letting this fic have exactly 50 chapters, since I pretty much thought that this number would be alright. Now I'm doubting whether I'll manage to keep it under 100 chapters... (guess y'all will have more stuff to read, that is if you don't lose interest, haha!)
✿◠‿◠
Anyways, the audience of this fic is also much larger than I could have hoped for, man, I'm serious. Well, guess that's enough with the stupid sentimental crap, hehe.
Cale's journey where he's on his way way to distance himself from his "beloved" slacker life continues without him having a clue continues, I hope it was satisfactory!As I may have mentioned, school started on monday. It's thursday right now (with only tomorrow, friday, being left before it'll be weekend) and I'm already tired and exhausted as hell. I've completely forgotten how annoying some teachers and some classmates of mine are...I have absolutely no idea how I'm gonna survive until the next school break! Like, my english teacher, just yesterday, said something along the lines of someone being someone else's "muppet". The fucking term he was going for, which would fit the context way better, was PUPPET.
EXCUSE ME; BUT WITH HIS LEVEL OF STUPIDITY I CAN'T!!!!
And then, when he came to check on my writing, he criticised everything! To that, I don't care, tell me I'm wrong so that I can improve, I'd really appreciate it, since I always want to better myself - BUT ONLY DO IT WHEN I AM REALLY WRONG! Like, and this fucks me up even now, he didnt point out a single mistake I was supposed to have made. He kept the feedback he gave me neutral, as if it was a textbook answer and not personalized feedback.
I get that I'm not perfect, hell, I still cringe at some texts of mine, but PLEASE GIVE ME REAL FEEDBACK! I GET THAT HE DISLIKES ME (I HATE HIM TOO YK) BUT THAT'S NO REASON TO GIVE ME SOME BULLSHIT LIKE THAT!
( -_･) ︻デ═一 ▸
Anyways, ehem, sorry for the long rant about my E. teach.
It's just...sometimes I have to say it. He's alright, and I get that he's young (my class is his first class ever), so he naturally will make a bunch of mistakes, it's really fine. What is not alright, is his strange ways of teaching us and the way he literally shows who's his favorite in class.
Haaa, I guess it shouldn't matter.
Well, then, let's move on to something more positive.I'm thinking about changing my 'boring' chapter titles to something funny.
Should I do it or not? (I can't decide at all!
(ʃ_⌣̀ )/||
Well, I guess I'll keep on thinking about it. Just be warned.
If it'd ruin your reading experience though, please feel free to tell me, then I won't do it at all (THOUGH NOTHING'S CERTAIN AS OF NOW; IT'LL BE A HELL OF A WORK!!!!)Then, this is it from me!
I hope you liked this chapter!
Until next time~
✿乂◕‿◕乂
Chapter 51: 49. Troublemaker (4)
Notes:
Small trigger warning here: Mention of blood as well as a traumatic event (even if it's only indirectly mentioned :))
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Terror Plaza Incident.
In the novel ‘The Birth of a Hero’ it had been one of the events with the most civilian casualties. Despite it having that big of an impact on Huiss City and all of the Roan Kingdom, it was still celebrated as a happy event by the unknowing citizen who hadn’t been there. The hundreds of lost lives were ignored as a hero had stepped forward and rescued the survivors.
‘Hero.’
Heroes were existences that everyone wanted to see but no one really wanted to be. Sure, there were those crazy lunatics that wanted to be seen as heroes for fame, money or power, but they couldn’t be called true heroes. A hero was a person who selflessly steps forward to help the weak, always fighting for good against evil. It were mostly powerful or even overpowered existences with a tragic ass backstory who were also trouble-magnets.
Choi Han, the protagonist of the novel that was called ‘The Birth of a Hero’ was such a hero. And the Terror Plaza Incident was his birth hour. Through crown prince Alberu Crossman, who spread the rumors all across the kingdom, he gained fame and became someone whom the citizen looked up to and admired. That was the official start of ‘The Birth of a Hero’ after which Choi Han would head out on a couple missions, meeting powerhouses while helping them and lastly also befriending them for the future events of the novel.
After all, munchkin protagonists weren’t much without their munchkin subordinates and allies, no? Well, theoretically those existences would be called ‘friends and family’.
Cale frowned as he was thinking about the original story line of the novel he once read and now despised. He and Alberu had planned to let not a single person die – and Choi Han wouldn’t even get the chance to appear on scene, given that he was already waiting for Redika to make his appearance at the place Cale had told him to wait. Since Eruhaben, a great and mighty ancient dragon, and Raon, should be enough to take care of the bombs, it should be fine, especially since most of the bombs that had been implanted in the ground had already been taken care of.
So why was Cale feeling so uneasy?
He shook his head as chills appeared on his back. Just as he was about to turn around, Eruhaben’s firm yet gentle grip on his shoulder prevented him from doing so.
-Tsk, you brat, don’t turn around and get involved with these annoying humans.
Naturally, Eruhaben was talking about the nobles who were staring at Cale, either with curiosity or animosity, or both. Those were the very nobles; Ron had thoroughly described them; that had badmouthed Cale on the banquet a week ago. Naturally, Eruhaben did not want Cale to get involved with them, to which the redhead simply nodded.
He knew that the ancient dragon wouldn’t prevent him from turning around for no reason, and besides, it would be bothersome to converse with nobles, so it was actually much better if Eruhaben stared at any noble who even thought about approaching Cale with a death-glare, stopping them in their approach.
Well, most of them with the exception of four, which, annoyingly enough, all approached him at the same time.
“Young master Cale!”
While three of them, who were no other than Eric Wheelsman, Amiru Urbarr and Gilbert Chetter, stayed silent and only politely bowed down to him, as etiquette said, Taylor Stan, the successor of the Stan March, practically threw himself at Cale, attempting to hug him as if the two of them were old friends – something that was prevented, thanks to the frowning ancient dragon.
But the others had naturally no idea that the man who looked like Viscount Hanse was an almighty ancient dragon. Taylor Stan furrowed his brows as he glanced at the plain looking man with the normal dark hair and green eyes. He was neither handsome nor ugly and looked pretty average. His household was neither strong nor very weak and remained neutral for a change, given that besides the Henituse household, they were the only that was still remaining neutral.
And the lord of such a household dared to stop him, the future liege of the Stan March, from approaching his (one-sided) friend? Or were all of the people that spend time with Cale such crazy people that paid no mind to social hierarchy?
Taylor Stan shook his head and decided that it’d be best to ignore this matter for now. Viscount Hanse was behaving very odd compared to usual, so perhaps there was a reason he was like this. It was not his place to find out.
The twenty-seven year old man smiled brightly at Cale, who was frowning for a change, almost as if he was put in a situation he did not like. Despite noticing, Taylor decided to ignore it. Cale Henituse, he was the reason he met his best friend Cage.
Taylor still remembered the day that Cale had visited him three years ago clearly. He had warned him about his younger brother, Venion, and advised him to go visit the temple of death, or rather a certain crazy priestess that would love to listen to him. That crazy ass priestess was no other than Cage.
Usually, Taylor would have never gone to such a place with such a vicious temple name. But Cale telling him to go was enough to convince him to listen to the back then fifteen year old kid. He couldn’t exactly explain why, but there was something about the way Cale said it that left Taylor no room but to comply.
Well, in the end it had been a very good decision.
Taylor pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind, deciding that he shouldn’t bring Cage or anything regarding what Cale did for them up. Especially not after their conversation during the banquet a week ago, in which Cale had clearly stated that he did not wish to get involved with Taylor. Well, sadly, Taylor wanted to get involved with Cale…
“…Young master Taylor.”
Cale’s extremely reluctant answer made Taylor chuckle. He knew with certainty that Cale had a straight-forward personality, and while he had had a good poker face a couple years back, Taylor was certain that he could read the redhead’s annoyance from his eyes alone.
“I’m so very glad we meet like this again! I swear, I thought I’d have to send you an invitation so we can talk again! My best friend, Miss Cage, has been talking about you a lot, despite not knowing you at all, hahaha! You see, she’s a priestess of the church of the God of Death and sometimes hears him, and it seems he’s been talking about you quite a lot!”
Cale’s eyebrow twitched as he forced himself not to flinch or show any sort of emotion other than irritation. He found it very strange how such a timid person that Taylor Stan had been three years ago could have become so confrontational. There was nothing left of his shy personality and despite his intelligent eyes, he reminded Cale of a stupid pup following its master around while waggling its tail.
The redhead wasn’t the only one thinking of that comparison. Eruhaben, who had accompanied Cale on his visit to Taylor Stan all these years back, clearly remembered how the back then twenty-four year old had been anything other than frank and open. In moments like these, he really wanted the crown prince punk to be here, since he would usually take care of situations like these.
“Anyways, that’s just me rambling on about a couple things, hahaha! What I wanted to say is that we should, no; we definitely have to meet up again after this in private! While I know that you said you were busy, young master Cale, I still-“
Cale lifted his hand in order to stop Taylor from continuing his monologue. While the redhead had tried to get Taylor away through showing his annoyance, he realized that it was no longer an option, given that Taylor ignored it so frankly. It left Cale with not much of a choice, which was why he decided to keep on being honest.
“Young master Taylor, while I truly feel honored by your words; I fear that I don’t have any time in my busy schedule. You see, the Henituse Family is currently involved in a project and the Count sends me to oversee it as soon as the festivities are over.”
After hearing Cale’s explanation, Taylor was visibly down. Still, he nodded in understanding, then excused himself, leaving for his own table. Having one less troublesome person next to him, Cale looked up at the three other major northeastern nobles. All of them had grown up quite well, he noted.
Lady Amiru, despite her unusual hair color, was the epitome of beauty. With tanned skin that told the onlookers that she wasn’t a homebody, and beautiful, full lips, she attracted lots of attention. As she was already twenty, hence of marriageable age, it wasn’t rare for her family to receive marriage proposals. Truly, whoever managed to make her fall in love with him (or her) was lucky. She was of an average size for a woman, which was why she was about two inch smaller than Cale, something that put an ever so slight smile on the redhead’s lips.
Dark elves were unusually tall, which was why most of the servants were either of his height or taller, given that they were disguised dark elves. As a man, it annoyed him. Back when he had been Kim Rok Soo, he had been taller than your average guy and much more muscular…haaa, that was probably the only thing he missed about his past self. But he was too lazy to work out…
Pushing that thought away (as Cale would never exercise), his gaze wandered to Gilbert Chetter. Despite him having an average hair and eye color, which was brown, his sharp features were making him stand out amongst others. He was the tallest out of the northeastern nobles, almost rivaling Alberu in height. His body was muscular, yet in a good way – contrary to Eric who had a slim and lean built as he spent his days sitting in front of the desk while working on different documents. His golden glasses were complimenting his silver hair and light grey eyes.
As soon as Cale made eye contact with the inch taller man, a bright smile appeared on Eric’s lips as he grabbed Cale’s hands – a gesture Cale did not like, not at all.
“Young master Cale! It’s been such a long while since we’ve been together like this! How come I didn’t hear anything about you in all these years? The three of us always invited you to our festivities, yet you never came!”
Cale did not show his inner annoyance as he simply nodded. He did not want to get involved with these three nobles. It was nothing personal; he simply knew that if he was to get involved, trouble would definitely await him. Of course, those were the trouble that were connected to the future naval base, which the four northeastern nobles decided to build after having a conversation with Alberu.
“…I apologize, I’ve been very…busy.”
Yes indeed, Cale had been incredibly busy ever since getting out of the Henituse Estate, and even before. Now that he thought about it, it was very ridiculous just how busy he had been in comparison to the few (actually many) years of him slacking off. He had been to the Endable Kingdom, rescuing a stupid ass douchebag vampire’s ass, then creating havoc there. Now that he was thinking about that, he had met the White Star there too.
The White Star who-
Cale shook his head before his thoughts could trail off like this, especially in front of these three people. Eruhaben, who noticed that Cale was thinking about other things, cleared his throat. Putting his hand on Cale’s shoulder, she smiled softly at the three northeastern nobles.
“My, now I feel incredibly embarrassed to be the one to separate you again. But young master Cale promised to come sit with me during this celebration, I hope you understand.”
Eric was about to protest, given that he thought that Viscount Hanse was only doing this because he saw how close Cale was with the crown prince, yet Amiru intervened. She smiled gently as she nodded her head, letting the two nobles wander off.
Immediately, Eric turned to her, glaring at her. Yes, they and Cale weren't very close anymore, no, forget that, they weren’t close at all, but they still cared about the redhead! Shouldn’t they protect him from power-hungry nobles, huh?
“What was that? You lady Amiru, I-“
“Young master Eric, before you say anything, didn’t you notice how familiar young master Cale was with Viscount Hanse? It should be alright if the two of them headed off together, I sincerely believe that to be the case.”
Eric’s eyes widened. Of course he noticed how Cale seemed completely calm while talking with the Viscount standing so close behind him, but that didn’t have to mean anything, did it? Almost as if to prove him wrong, Gilbert chimed in as well.
“Young master Eric; I think it would be best if we let young master Cale handle himself. Did you already forget how he stays with his royal highness the crown prince, meaning that even if he isn’t the brightest candle in the bunch, he should be safe?”
The Count’s son clenched his fists as he looked after Cale and the Viscount. The redhead’s shoulder long hair was loosely tied up in a low ponytail and his dark and fancy clothes didn’t make him look like a simple noble, not at all. And while the aura around him was screaming that he was untouchable, his back seemed so small to Eric.
But he decided to listen to his two close friends.
It turned out, he shouldn’t have.
~
An hour after Cale and all of the other kingdom’s nobles arrived; the royal family’s carriage entered the plaza. Loud cheering could be heard from all over the place. The citizen that had arrived before even the nobles could, were going crazy for their reliable king and beloved noble family.
Eruhaben clicked his tongue as he was forced to listen to the king’s boring speech. Almost every minute, he looked up at the clock tower, that is, until it finally happened.
Muahahaha!
Loud and especially mad laughter was filling the plaza as individuals with black robes were appearing on the clock tower, looking down on the people celebrating their king’s fiftieth birthday. Zed Crossman immediately frowned. Currently, neither his left nor right hand were available, as he had given both of them their respective tasks. He looked around, then noticed the determined and partly confident look in Viscount Hanse’s eyes.
He recalled his left hand’s, Henry’s, words before he left earlier this morning.
‘You do not need to worry. I feel strong waves of mana surrounding this city. You had the feeling that something would happen, no? It won’t.’
What Henry had told him was that there was no need for Zed to worry. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and suppressing his desire to jump in front of his son to protect him at all costs, Zed decided to play the distressed king that was taken by absolute surprise. And what better emotion displayed such a thing, other than anger?
That was why Zed was now fully yelling at the terrorists.
Soon, magic bombs exploded all around the place, yet despite them exploding, not a single person was hurt. A mana disturbance tool prevented the leader of this terrorist’s attack, Redika, from using mana, yet such a simple tool made by mankind was inferior to an adult dragon that had gone through all three of his growth phases.
That was how Eruhaben, despite it being a bit difficult, managed to keep the bombs from exploding.
But that was about the limit of his abilities.
He wasn’t the only one who noticed the mistake their family had made as he looked up at the madly laughing Redika.
“Hahaha! So many beautiful colors of blood! I want them all!”
The royal family with the exception of Alberu had been evacuated and many nobles were approaching the gates in order to get out quickly. In the midst of it all, two royal servants were quickly approaching the in the middle standing nobles.
“Magic bombs! Those fuckers put magic bombs on themselves!”
The ancient dragon immediately noticed. There was no way he could cast a shield large enough to protect everyone. A magic disturbance tool, while it wasn’t great enough to prevent a dragon from using his magic, it limited their spells very much.
“Eruhaben-nim! We have to get out of here quickly!”
Ron had an urgent expression on his face and he and the ancient dragon nodded at each other. All of Cale’s family members were aware of the redhead’s trouble making and attracting nature. There was no way they would let him stay here.
It was at that moment.
Cale, who hadn’t paid attention to the three adults conversing about the best course of action and instead looked up at Redika, frowned. The terrorists to which the remaining magic bombs were attached to, they were jumping down.
‘Less than a second.’
Cale, no; Kim Rok Soo, knew he had less than a second to decide.
Currently, Ron, Beacrox and Eruhaben were standing in the middle of the plaza with Alberu running towards them. The invisible Raon was currently with Alberu, as Cale had ordered him to protect him in the worst case scenario. While the two dragons weren’t at their strongest right now, hell, they weren't able to use more than about two percent of their actual strength; they would be able to cast to shields to protect Cale and his family. They wouldn’t get a single scratch, that’s for sure.
‘But what about the others?’
“Waaaaaaaaaah! I don’t want to die!”
“Please god, oh god, no! Please!”
“My son! Son! Come here!”
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
What about the citizens of the Roan Kingdom that had come here before even the nobles could, so that they could save themselves the best of seats in order to get a good look at the king?
What about the young children that had been very excited for today’s festival? What about the parents that had allowed themselves to get dragged in here in the early morning hours before the sun had risen?
What about the old and poor people that had come here, expecting a joyful celebration? About the people that had traveled to Huiss City from all over the Roan Kingdom just to experience the king’s fiftieth birthday live?
Cale – no, it was Kim Rok Soo – did not want to sacrifice even a single soul if he could prevent it.
He still clearly remembered the list of names he had once come across when he was still a rookie, working under Lee Soo Hyuk.
It was a list of names he did not understand. On that list, there were a total of two-hundred-eleven names. About seventy percent had been male names, while thirty percent were women. Twenty percent of those names belonged to Kim Rok Soo’s co-workers. Hell, he hadn’t even met them once, but he still clearly remembered all of their names as he had recorded them once.
When he had turned to the team leader for an explanation, Lee Soo Hyuk had not answered. He simply shook his head, which was answer enough.
At a later time, shortly before their last mission together, Team Leader Lee (who had secretly arranged for Kim Rok Soo to become Team Leader if something went wrong) had told Kim Rok Soo something.
‘Living life is the best.’
It was the same he usually said to Kim Rok Soo, but this one time, he had added something.
‘And living life with a light heart is even better.’
Back then, Kim Rok Soo had made fun of Lee Soo Hyuk’s choice of words, after all, there wasn’t something better than the best. But even back then, he had realized the importance of those words.
‘I am trash, but I am not utter trash.’
That was what Cale Henituse, who had all of his memories of when he had been Kim Rok Soo, thought the very moment he stretched out both of his hands with a silver threat coming out of them, connecting him to the silver light that appeared above the plaza in that moment.
Neither Ron, Beacrox, Eruhaben nor the not so faraway Alberu and Raon could react in time. But all of them knew about Cale’s power.
The Indestructible Shield – that was what the ancient power Cale was currently using was called. It was the very first ancient power that Cale had gathered, even before the Vitality of the Heart. Cale had never had to use it, but he had clearly said that it was enough to defend him and his people in difficult situations. It was definitely not a strong power, was what the ancient dragon had said. In comparison to Cale’s weakest ancient power, which was the Dominating Water, it was okay at best.
That was why Cale’s people had mixed emotions about seeing this weak ancient power of their weak Cale above their heads. The people, nobles and civilians alike, did not have those kinds of negative emotions as they were feeling relief, glad to have managed to survive.
That was before and after they heard the terrorists land on the shield, blowing off thanks to the bombs attached to their bodies. And while most people who had just been running away stopped in their tracks, looking up at the silver shield that was surrounded by silver light and had two wings coming out of it, a person was running with all his might and speed he could muster up towards the source of that speed.
And he wasn’t the only one, as the invisible dragon next to him approached the weak and slowly but surely staggering human as well.
“Cale Henituse!”
“Cale!”
“You brat!”
The three adults that were the closest to the slowly but surely falling Cale immediately threw away all of their shock as hard realization and reality alike hit them like a truck. There was blood dripping down the corners of their precious child’s mouth. It was a dark red liquid that was almost black in color, but it was blood nonetheless.
Cale had always been pale, but with that dark red blood on his lips and chin and the cold sweat on his face he seemed almost as pale as a sheet. His small and staggering body was quickly caught by Beacrox’ fast reflexes as he held Cale tightly, while the redhead coughed up some more blood after yet another explosion was going off.
Ron felt his heart beat faster and faster. Ah, he knew that feeling, as he had experienced it once before, and once only. It was when Cale had returned from the Endable Kingdom, coughing up blood all over his and Alberu’s room. The old man who was, despite being the most skilled assassin all over the world, still an old man, felt his knees go weak as he too slumped over in shock. He never touched the ground, as Eruhaben caught him in time, frowning even more than before.
“Cale! Let go of that forsaken shield! Now!”
It was one of the few times in which Eruhaben didn’t call him brat, unlucky brat, unlucky bastard or anything funny, but by his name. Just by listening to the ancient dragon’s voice could Cale understand the seriousness of what he was saying, he really did.
But Cale didn’t immediately let go. He first glanced up, making sure that nothing else could have happened, before finally letting go – and coughing up one last time. The crimson blood stained Beacrox’ clothes. If there was one thing, one rule, mankind had to agree on, it was not to get Beacrox Molan dirty, under no circumstances.
Cale too felt sorry, yet seeing the concerned expression on Beacrox’ face, who flat out ignored his bloody clothes, made the redhead let out a relieved sigh.
It was at that moment.
“Ugh!”
Cale turned his head towards the old man who was clutching his heart while having his eyes shut. He was sweating so much, it couldn’t be good. No, it was worse than that. Cale could feel Beacrox’ body shaking as he too looked up, glancing at the Molan Patriarch.
Ron Molan.
He was, by no means, an ordinary old man. He was incredibly vicious and cold blooded; the most feared assassin back when he and his family were known by the world. He was known to have a rational mind and hence to always succeed on all missions. Despite being an old man now, his body was able to move as if he was still in his prime.
That was why seeing that old man crunch over like that felt so shocking to Cale.
No, not just to him.
“A priest! Get a priest here! Immediately!”
Alberu, who just arrived after his long sprint, couldn’t believe the situation at hand. He glanced at Cale, his heart beating fast, too fast, upon seeing all the blood on his boyfriend. But he could see Cale’s expression that was not pained, but shocked as he looked at Ron. That was why Alberu managed to quickly assess the situation as well, setting his priorities straight.
Still, despite his mind knowing who was the number one priority, he walked over to Cale, touching his face, his forehead, his cheek, raising his chin to make sure he was really okay. And he really was. With the Vitality of the Heart, he truly was alright. The only reason why he coughed up such a large amount of blood, was because his body was the weakest it ever was (up until now). In combination with such a large shield, it was natural for Cale to cough up so much blood.
Alberu knew that.
But despite knowing-
“I’m here! I’m here! Who-“
“Heal him! Heal this man!”
The priest frowned as he looked at the ancient dragon that was still disguised as Viscount Hanse. He then glances at the pale royal servant before his gaze wandered at the bloody noble who was with the crown prince. Cale Henituse, he was coughing up so much blood, didn’t he need the most healing right now?
The priest was unable to say anything after seeing Viscount Hanse’s glare and the crown prince’s urgent stare. It was telling him to do as the Viscount said. The priest knew better than to feel frustrated as he moved quickly, using his healing abilities on the old man who was incredibly pale and looking very sickly.
In the meantime, knowing that Ron was being taken care of, Alberu and Beacrox managed to put Cale on the ground safely. With one look the two of them exchanged, Beacrox left Cale in Alberu’s care, instead walking to his father. He too knew that Cale was probably fine (even if his heart didn’t want to admit it). That was why he decided to go to his father now, who needed him more.
Cale was with not only Alberu, after all.
-Human! B-Blood! T-There’s so much blood! Are you d-dying?! Human! You can’t die! If you die, I’ll go kill everyone in this world, burn it down and then kill myself too! Human!
Wiping the blood off of his mouth (which only made it worse, really, as he didn’t wipe anything but smeared the blood all over his lower face), Cale managed to secretly answer the young and vicious dragon who was currently sitting on his lap, crying.
“I’m okay, don’t worry.”
Alberu scoffed at that as he crouched down in front of Cale, ignoring the shocked gasps of the nobles.
A member of the royal family that was crouching down in front of a runaway Count’s son-! Something like that was unheard of and absolutely uncommon in noble society! And it was the Raon Kingdom’s crown prince no less! The very crown prince that is said to be an arrogant and incredibly cunning, self-loving prick that is only loved by the citizens who knew nothing about politics! Sure, Cale Henituse, the trashy Count’s son, had been with him at the banquet a week ago too, but was that enough to crouch down in front of him?!
The nobles who had absolutely no idea of anything certainly didn’t think so.
But that didn’t matter to Alberu as he gently cupped Cale’s face, making his beloved boyfriend look at him and him only.
The moment the two of them made eye contact, Cale could tell that he had done something wrong.
It didn’t matter to anyone that Redika, the crazy mage, was teleporting away right now, or that the royal mages were preparing to chase him with the royal guards attacking him. Most nobles didn’t pay attention to any of that either, as they watched a possible public scandal.
Ignored were the citizens’ happy and joyous yells of thankfulness for the “hero” of the plaza.
But the couple that was currently sitting in the middle of the plaza, that was making eye contact with each other, ignored all of their surroundings, including the sobbing dragon.
“…Are you hurt?”
There had been lots of times in which Alberu had sounded this serious, all of which had the same thing in common: Cale coughing up blood. Be it just a small amount or a massive pool of blood. The crown prince’s azure eyes turned a tad darker as he waited for Cale’s honest answer, which the redhead also delivered.
“Hyung, I’m really fine, I swear I’m not lying. I’m feeling a bit weak right now, but if you give me a couple minutes, it should get better.”
Alberu nodded as his eyes wandered to his boyfriend’s body. Cale’s black shirt was wet from blood, but it wasn’t completely drenched – which was a good thing, honestly. His arms were shaking a bit (since he had been holding them up and it was extremely tiring for Cale, who never exercised), but else Cale really seemed fine.
Alberu, who was still cupping his boyfriend’s face, finally let go, instead brushing his face.
“Stay here, and don’t move Cale. Alright, don’t move?”
Cale simply nodded. He could see Alberu’s worry and concern, as well as his helplessness reflecting in his eyes. He did not want to go against his boyfriend’s words, be it just this once. Nodding, which Alberu did more to reassure himself rather than his boyfriend, the crown prince got up from his crouching position. His heart was beating wild and his legs felt like jelly, but he didn’t fall over just yet.
With a few quick steps, he walked over to Eruhaben, who was standing a few feet away from Beacrox, Ron and the priest.
“…How’s Ron?”
The ancient dragon did not look at the young crown prince, instead simply shook his head. His eyes were still on the priest, watching his every move, just in case.
“…He’s in shock, but should be fine; at least the priest says so. He advises to let him rest for a few days after this.”
Alberu nodded his head in understanding. He could see the ancient dragon clench his fist in anger, as he finally managed to pull his eyes away from the priest’s trained hands. He finally looked into Alberu’s eyes, for which he didn’t have to either look down or up, as the two of them were of similar height.
“The brat spits blood as if it’s tasteless tea.”
It was a bad joke in a serious situation, which made Alberu chuckle, even if it was just a bit. He nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, but don’t worry, he said he’s fine. Feeling a bit weak, but fine.”
The ancient dragon nodded his head, then looked back at Ron.
“Tsk, some ancient dragon I am.”
His low mumbles were loud enough for Alberu to hear. The crown prince did not try to make eye contact as he let out a sigh and patted the ancient dragon. It was the first time.
“Don’t worry, Eruhaben-nim. Don’t you know that even the greatest of being are weak sometimes?”
Eruhaben couldn’t help but chuckle at the words of a boy that didn’t even life a tenth of his life. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he thought that he was getting way too old and hence way too soft, but it didn’t really matter anymore.
“Tsk, you punk, you’re getting way too comfortable with me.”
Alberu simply shrugged. Even if the ancient dragon didn’t agree with him being in a relationship with Cale (at least not fully, he could see Eruhaben wavering!), he was still someone who cared about him. That was why Alberu could be casual and comfortable with Eruhaben.
“Haaa, I guess that’s how family’s like. Anyways, you better take Cale home. Get him to at least clean up and rest, he looks terrible.”
Alberu nodded.
“Will do. And Eruhaben-nim,”
Eruhaben, who was about to walk over to Ron, Beacrox and the priest, stopped as he turned around to the gently smiling Alberu, who, for once, seemed reliable.
“Don’t blame yourself. You know Cale, he’s the worst when it comes to saving people and his own health.”
Eruhaben simply nodded as he walked forward. And while it seemed like the crown prince’s words were useless (since everyone knew about them), the ancient dragon felt still thankful and somewhat relieved.
Of course, the crown prince had no way of knowing as he let out a sigh and went back to crouch down in front of Cale. His boyfriend looked even worse in the open sun, now that he thought about it.
“You’re driving me nuts, I hope you know this.”
Cale did not reply as he raised his arms, knowing that Alberu was about to carry him, which his boyfriend was. There was no way someone as overprotective as Alberu would let him walk on his own after he said that he was feeling weakened – to which Cale had no complaints whatsoever. Alberu was a comfortable carrier and getting carried was better than having to drag your own feet to walk. Obviously, Alberu was the only person on this planet who understood his lazy boyfriend.
His heart calmed down a bit and his feet felt a lot sturdier as well, especially after his conversation with Eruhaben, who was still disguised as Viscount Hanse. For a moment, Alberu thought about the poor Viscount. Most probably, he would have to deal with a lot of accusations afterwards. But all that was unimportant for now. What really mattered was talking care of their injured and hurt family members.
Notes:
Hello~
Here I am again with yet another chapter! I hope the last one made you wait for this one excitedly, if that makes any sense haha.
I finally decided what to do with the titles! I'm going to change all of them to something fitting for the chapter. I think I'm doing that since it's fun for me, hehe :)Well, anyways, today is Monday. I don't know if it's normal, but I didn't want to do anything today. Everything was so annoying and the lessons were so boring! I was sleepy the entire day and after coming home, there wasn't even food T^T. (For the record, when it's morning, I never have any time to eat properly, so I usually skip breakfast and instead eat late lunch. Sometimes, I eat some fruit at school, so it's not that unhealthy, so me coming home and there not being any food was so frustrating!)
Ehem, well, then I had to wait for my parents to come home, and when they did, they didn't even buy the stuff I wanted them to buy! I had to eat vegetables for lunch! (well, there was also meat, but I hate this green stuff, no idea what it's called T^T!!!)
I feel like a kid...
Well, anyways, I think all of us have a vegetable we dislike with a passion.Well, I'm not looking forward to tomorrow or the days after that at all~
I wanna go hide in some corner. Tomorrow will be such a bothersome day, since we have NwT (the engineering class I mentioned at some point), math and also german T^T, not to forget sports...
Why does the week have to be so long, huh?
I wanna go lie down somewhere and not do anything!
I wouldn't mind living Cale's slacker life dream...Haaa, that's enough complaining on my part.
(Sorry, mondays are such bothersome days...)I hope you liked this chapter too, until next time then! <3
Chapter 52: 50. Why me? (1)
Summary:
Ron has suffered too much, let's give him some peace of mind
Notes:
Before reading: This chapter is sad (probably, at least to me), so read with care~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was a late summer evening. The wind was already cold and the birds in the sky were preparing to fly south for the colder season. Still, the chirping of some of them could still be heard all over the place which was void of any other sounds.
Well, not exactly that.
Deep inside the forest, two people were playing (more or less) tag with each other. Their steps were soundless, almost as if they weren’t human but ghosts. Each of their moves, as fluid and quick as they were, was overtoned by the rushing leaves of the trees.
The two people, a man and a woman in their early thirties and late twenties, were clothes in black leather uniforms as they were having fun with each other. Yet, all games had to come to an end at some point with a winner being decided, which was the man in his early thirties as he finally managed to touch the woman’s back.
With a swift movement of his hand, he managed to grab her waist, before her beautiful face could hit the ground – which would have happened as she was taken by surprise. Her long, light brown hair, which was more of a dark blonde color that still looked golden in the setting sun in combination with her warm, hazel eyes was all the man needed to see as a genuine smile appeared on his lips.
He did not lift the woman in his arms, instead deciding to remain in this kind of position for a while longer. The woman, fully knowing about the man’s intentions, let it be – just this once. She looked up to see his handsome face. His deep brown hair that was more like the color of the forest trees’ had a maroon touch to it in the sunlight. His dark brown eyes that were a couple shades darker than her own made the woman forget all of her surroundings as she locked eyes with the man.
For a few moments that felt both long and short at the same time, the two of them continued to look at each other, or rather into each other’s eyes, in which they lost themselves. Time seemed pointless and the world around them could wait. The only important thing was the other person, to both of them. It wouldn’t ever change – both of them knew.
Yet, their moment was disturbed by some unknowing soul that finally managed to catch up to the two of them. He was huffing and puffing, his loud and not stealthy footsteps alarming the man and woman, who were wife and husband, of this person’s arrival in advance. It was a young man, a couple years younger, who wore the same uniform as them. His blonde hair was shining brightly as his green eyes looked for the two people he was supposed to follow without falling behind – which he kinda did.
“Patriarch-nim, Matriarch-nim, my sincerest apologies- haaa, haaa, for failing your orders!”
The man, who was in his early twenties, bowed down in a ninety-degree bow, showing his deepest respect for the two people that were standing in front of him. While the man, the Patriarch, appeared cold and distant, obviously disdained about him failing to follow his orders properly, his wife had a less scary expression as she simply waved her hand, a small smile on her lips.
“It’s alright, Gerald, it was quite fun thanks to you falling behind.”
After speaking her mind, the Matriarch chuckled as if she had said something she shouldn’t have, getting a dumbfounded look from her husband in response, while Gerald seemed less disappointed in himself now. The blonde man nodded his head, his enthusiasm written all over his face.
“Yes, Matriarch-nim! I will train even harder now, so that I will be able to fulfill your orders correspondingly!”
Gerald looked at the Patriarch, who wasn’t smiling, instead having a stoic and expressionless face. And while all of his subjects knew of his cold side, they also knew that he was someone who wasn’t actually this cold. Still, it didn’t mean that Gerald could get off the hook so easily. He gulped down, his nervousness returning as he hadn’t managed to fulfill his Patriarch-nim’s orders properly.
Yet, Gerald was spared.
It was because the Matriarch put her arm around her husband’s waist, pulling him closer and making him appear less fearsome, especially since she was smiling even brighter now.
“Alright, do just that, and maybe you’ll be able to follow us for longer than five minutes next time, and stealthier too.”
Gerald nodded his head, making sure to take his Matriarch-nim’s words to heart. The Patriarch’s wife was nothing like him, as she appeared to be the total opposite of him. First of all, she was a very cheerful person who always wore a smile on her face. She treated all men equal and cared for them. She was a very bright light in a household that specialized in assassination.
When she first arrived, while no one minded her, people had been worried that such an innocent woman could get rotten while being with such a man as the Patriarch. And yet, her innocent appearance and personality didn’t correlate to her profession. She was the only other person on the Eastern Continent that managed to keep up with the Patriarch – both in assassination, stealth, and dagger-art techniques. No, in some fields, she even surpassed the cold and vicious man that was known as the best assassin on both the Eastern and Western Continents.
Watching the young man who was supposed to be one of the more promising cadets in their family, the Patriarch, Ron Molan, turned around to look down on his wife.
Esmeralda Molan, his wife, looked up at her husband at the same time. She chuckled upon seeing his dissatisfied gaze and let go of his waist, waving her hand as if to say to just let it go.
“You can’t be too strict with the new cadets Ron, you know? They’re just kids~”
Ron wanted to roll his eyes, yet knew better than to do so in front of his wife. He let out a deep sigh, shaking his head as he took a few steps forward, closing in on his wife again to put his arms around her body. With extremely gentle hands, careful not to hurt his love, he raised Esmeralda’s chin, locking their eyes again.
“They’re not kids if they killed someone.”
At that, Esmeralda puffed her cheeks, yet her smile won over. She chuckled a bit, cupping her husband’s face with her small hands. Feeling his wife’s touch, Ron closed his eyes. There were very few things he enjoyed in this cruel and troublesome world, but anything that was related to his wife was one of those things.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, then you’re gonna have to prevent our child from joining any kind of training until he’s twenty.”
And there was one more thing Ron Molan found joy in these days.
One of his hands wandered down to his wife’s stomach. While there was nothing there just yet, besides a very small bump, he knew that in a couple months, there would be someone waiting to come out – someone who would join his family and become a part of his universe, just like his wife had.
It was a very funny thought, now that he was thinking about it. Esmeralda, she had literally jumped into his life, almost immediately becoming the center of his attention – after about a month in which he tried to ignore her to the best of his abilities, mostly so she wouldn’t get involved with him under no circumstances. Well, it seemed that her stubbornness was greater than his – which was proven at all times.
Firmly nodding, Ron agreed with Esmeralda.
“I’ll – but that doesn’t mean I can’t teach him personally.”
The Matriarch couldn’t help but laugh at her husband’s words as she simply shook her head. Well, it was never good to leave the child of someone as powerful as the two of them without any sort of self-defense, even if he wouldn’t ever need such a thing with parents like Ron and Esmeralda.
Standing on her tip-toes, Esmeralda ruffled through Ron’s smooth hair, then pinched his cheek.
“You sly fox, I’ll make sure to beat you thoroughly tomorrow.”
Ron’s smile got a tad wider as he knew exactly what his wife meant with that. He simply nodded, letting go of his wife, though his arm was still around her shoulder as he pulled Esmeralda closer. Slowly, the two of them began to make their way out of the peaceful forest, this time not caring whether they stepped on a tree branch or not.
“Honey, how about the name Jaque is it’s a boy?”
Ron tried his best not to flinch upon listening to Esmeralda’s mention of baby names. She was merely in her second month, yet it seemed to be all she cared about these days. But that wasn’t the reason he flinched – which his wife naturally didn’t miss – as it was rather the unusual name.
“…You want to call him ‘Jaque’ Molan?”
Ron gave his best not to look disgusted, but his wife knew better. Letting out a sigh, she shook her head.
“Not at all, honey, now that you’re saying it like that, it sounds a lot worse than what I had in mind.”
Thankful that his wife did not want to call the child, if it turned out to be a boy, Jaque, made Ron feel relieved. He pulled his wife a tad closer as the two of them continued to walk peacefully. After a while though, Esmeralda’s face lit up once more, as another name went through her head.
“How about, if it’s a girl, we’ll call her Beatrix?!”
At that, Ron stopped as he actually contemplated it. Beatrix was a very nice and beautiful name; he liked it quite a bit. His small smile got a bit wider as he nodded his head in agreement.
“That sounds wonderful indeed, darling.”
Esmeralda smiled triumphantly, her smile getting wider as well.
“Veronica is also a very nice name! Oh! Or Rebecca! We can also call her Monica! Monica Molan, that sounds wonderful, no? And what about Christa? I have so many ideas! How could I ever chose a name?!”
Ron chuckled as he listened to his wife’s ramblings that happened every once in a while. Personally, none of the names she proposed beat the name ‘Beatrix’ for a girl, in his bumble opinion that is. But the two of them still had quite a lot of time until they needed to decide on something, no?
Esmeralda, sensing her husband’s somewhat satisfied and peaceful behavior, stopped rambling as well and the two of them continued to walk back to their estate calmly. Before exiting the forest though, she held her beloved husband back as she pressed him against one of the many trees in the forest, a mischievous grin on her lips.
“Honey-“
Before Esmeralda could do anything though, Ron leaned in, connecting their lips despite him being supposed to be the one who got pinned down. It made his lips’ edges quirk up, even though he was passionately kissing his wife. After a few seconds, he separated their lips again, as both of them needed to breathe.
Esmeralda glared at him, but her anger quickly disappeared as she simply sighed and stopped to pin down the cunning and sly Ron.
“I really hate you right now…”
Her mumbles were ignored as Ron put his arm around his wife’s waist, continuing on their way forward.
“I love you too, darling.”
‘More than you can ever hope to imagine.’
Ron Molan did not say the latter part.
~
“Cookie prince,”
Alberu looked up from his stack of paperwork. The young, six-year old dragon that was sitting on his desk was looking at him and observing his every action with his curious, yet also somewhat almighty seeming midnight blue eyes. The young Raon had grown quite a bit ever since he hatched from that egg almost seven years ago now.
While he still hadn’t reached his first growth phase, it was of the least bit of concern to him, probably because Cale told him that, since he was a great and mighty dragon, he didn’t need to hurry to grow up as he should enjoy being a child right now. His smart but weak human had also said that being an adult sucked – which Raon would naturally believe, since it was his wise human who said it.
“What is it, Raon?”
Raon glanced at the bed in the crown prince’s room which was empty for once. The weak human was not rolling around in bed; instead he was sitting on a chair in one of the other bedrooms which was Ron’s. He was with the two kittens, Eruhaben and Beacrox, so it should be fine to leave him alone and come to the crown prince, so that he wouldn’t be so lonely anymore.
After all, it’s been two days already, in which Cale refused to get out of his old butler’s room – which was the period through which Ron slept without opening his eyes even once.
Usually, Raon would not leave his weak human’s side, not under any circumstances, but his human wasn’t the only person the young dragon cherished. Cale was the person he spent the most time with, but Cale’s boyfriend, Alberu, was a person Raon spend the second most time with, which naturally meant that the bond he formed with the crown prince was very special as well.
“Cookie prince, are you alright? You don’t look good.”
Alberu couldn’t help but chuckle after hearing Raon’s words. He patted the young dragon’s head as he recalled everything that had happened in the last two days, ever since Ron had passed out after lying down in his bed the moment the priest stopped using his blessings on him.
First of all where all the things related to the Terror Plaza Incident – the administrative work and the rumors surrounding him and Cale as well as the building nickname “Young Master Silver Light” that the citizens had bestowed upon his beloved and slacker-life-dreaming boyfriend. Then there were the matter of Choi Han, Rosalyn and the wolf boy Lock. As he had discussed it with Cale in advance, he had taken Lock’s siblings in, then allowed Rosalyn to take her two (troublesome) friends with her on a secret mission which she didn’t need to disclose, as Cale had told him all about in advance. But the most important thing that he had to take care of in those last days was his boyfriend who refused to sleep. It had taken him quite a lot of time and energy to convince him to at least eat – given that Cale didn’t want to do that either.
In moments like these, Alberu couldn’t help but ask himself why Cale was behaving in such an irrational way. Usually, Cale would keep his calm – Alberu knew that with certainty, and yet, Cale didn’t. The crown prince knew better than anyone else that, after looking at the redhead’s almost white face, it had to be related to something from the redhead’s past, something Alberu promised himself not to push.
But it was precisely because of that that he felt so frustrated, helpless and annoyed. If he didn’t push, he knew that Cale wouldn’t tell him. And if Cale didn’t tell him, he wouldn’t be able to help at all!
Him being busy with paperwork was just an excuse, after all. An excuse to not be in the same room as his boyfriend who didn’t manage to control his slightly shaking hands and blank expression for once. Alberu knew, better than anyone else, that if he was to wait with Cale for Ron to wake up, he would just pull Cale away, throw him somewhere and press him for answers – answers he honestly needed to hear but couldn’t hear at the same time.
“Alberu?”
The quarter dark elf snapped out of his thoughts as he and the young Raon made eye contact. It had never happened before that the small dragon had called him by name, but Alberu decided to push that matter aside for now. He cleared his throat, recalling the question Raon had asked him which had led him to trail off like this.
“I am alright, Raon, don’t worry. I’m still prioritizing my body, don’t you know me?”
Raon furrowed his brows in suspicion, then shook his head as he pointed at Alberu’s face, or rather the dark circles under his eyes that told a completely different story.
“The more time you spend with the weak human, the more you become like him! Don’t lie to me! You didn’t sleep just like the human! You’re overworking yourself too! Do you want to get sick as well?! It would make the weak human worry even more!”
Brushing his face with both of his hands after hearing the young Raon’s accusations, a tired smile appeared on the crown prince’s face. He shook his head, leaning it on his hands.
“Raon, while I’m thankful for your concern, it’s alright. It’s just-“
Alberu could not tell the young dragon about his worries about Cale, knowing that it would worry the child too, just as much as it worried him. He was not stupid enough to share his burdens with a child as little as Raon. But he didn’t need to do so. The six-year old dragon, despite being still young and “inexperienced” in many fields, was quite sharp and incredibly intelligent – not to mention he had spent his entire life being next to the cunning Cale and the observant Ron while being taught by the powerful Eruhaben and eating the food of the strong Beacrox – all of which worried about Cale, knowing no bounds.
“…It’s because of human, is it not? You’re worried about him because he refuses to sleep and doesn’t eat much.”
Raon’s childish voice didn’t sound childish as he was saying what was weighing down on his mind as well. His voice was unusually low as he was sharing his honest thoughts. He too had noticed that his human was in an unusual state, even if he couldn’t explain what it was or how it happened.
Alberu sighed as he finally nodded his head. One of his hands supporting his chin wandered to Raon’s head to pat the young dragon like Cale would usually do.
“You’re too smart for your age, Raon.”
While the young dragon would have smiled upon receiving such a comment from the crown prince, he ignored it this time. He then rolled up on the crown prince’s desk, waiting until the twenty-three year old would go back to his work, which he soon did. A couple minutes passed, it quickly turned to an hour.
Raon, who was unable to sleep, opened his closed eyes, only to see Alberu work through his stack of royal documents, mostly to get his mind off of other things. Raon knew that this was the only reason for the crown prince to be here, especially since he could have let his aunt, the strong dark elf Tasha, handle things.
“Cookie prince,”
Alberu, who wasn’t surprised by Raon still being awake, simply hummed for the young dragon to continue, as he didn’t find it in him to look up from his paperwork again. Raon could tell that, and he wasn’t really angry with it. It was…alright. He, who always stayed loyal to Cale, decided to share something he had picked up from his weak human after spending every minute with him. His human’s boyfriend, Alberu, seemed like the only person he could share this with. In some ways, as he regarded Cale like a parent, Alberu should be partly his parent as well, no?
“The human has told me something.”
Alberu’s pen stopped from moving for a split second, yet his hand swiftly returned to move it, almost as if nothing had happened to begin with. Raon wasn’t bothered with it as he continued to share what was weighing down on his mind.
“The human knows that war is approaching.”
That information was nothing new as Cale had shared it with Alberu when Raon was in the room with them. But Alberu continued to listen to each of Raon’s words intently, as the young dragon was smarter than to simply state obvious things.
“The human also told me this.”
Raon recalled the evening on which Alberu was out late as he had a meeting. Eruhaben had gone to guard him, given that the king and queen would be there and everyone felt better if Alberu wouldn’t go alone. It was already late, enough for Ron to go to the kitchen and help Beacrox prepare dinner.
Back then, Raon had told his human that he was too weak to go into his first growth phase, him not being great and mighty and all sorts of other things. At that, Cale had not said much as he simply stated that it didn’t matter as they had a strong family. And if they were to ever get into a troublesome situation, they could always send the vampire douchebag (who still owed them a favor) or run away.
Perhaps it was because Cale was a bit tired, but as Raon had asked him about the future which he knew would be filled with a conflict, Cale had said this.
‘I don’t plan to let anyone from our family get hurt.’
Cale, in some ways, was a very persistent man – and someone who always kept his words. And after the Terror Plaza Incident two days ago, Raon recalled all of his human’s ancient powers that were by no means weak ancient powers. He recalled Eruhaben tell him in private that Cale was perhaps the strongest – even if he wouldn’t ever use those powers of his, as the ancient dragon would prevent that at all costs.
His weak human who was actually strong which would come at a heavy prince was not someone who would let his family get hurt. And with the war-
“’I don’t plan to let anyone from our family get hurt.’”
Raon shared his honest sentiment with the crown prince who had put down his pen and was closely listening to the young dragon.
“The human is very weak, but he can be strong too.”
For some reason, Alberu’s heart was beginning to beat faster. He knew the reason, he knew it too well. And while his body already knew what Raon was going to say before he was going to say it, his mind gave its best to block the thoughts from surfacing.
“Cookie prince, I think that the future will be very troublesome. I don’t know why, but I think that the human is very stupid sometimes. I don’t think he lied while he said that he won’t let anyone get hurt.”
Raon, who decided to reveal everything, took a deep breath before continuing. There were, after all, some information Cale didn’t share with anyone and Raon only found out through staying by his human’s side constantly.
“Cookie prince, do you remember that one letter from two years ago? The one the human didn’t let you read?”
The crown prince, while he didn’t immediately recall what the young dragon was talking about, suddenly widened his eyes in realization. He looked at Raon, for the young dragon to explain, which he did.
“I took it and gave it to gramps and goldie gramps! They said it was a half-demonic objet, and the human explained to them that it was sent from the person whom he got rid of when he went with the douchebag duke.”
Alberu’s eyes widened ever so slightly, yet he quickly understood why Raon was telling him all of this. He let out a loud sigh as he rubbed his temple. He then recalled what his beloved boyfriend had told him in private.
‘Hyung, I plan on doing a couple things this year besides fulfilling the deal with Count Henituse. For once, I need to put out a jungle fire – it will be beneficial to you as well, especially with the other thing I have in mind. You know the magic tower in the Whipper Kingdom, right? I will buy that tower too. You know what it means if I buy the tower, right? All the mages in the Whipper Kingdom will become wanted people – which would be a great opportunity to strengthen our kingdom. Eruhaben-nim asked me to accompany him somewhere too, so I’ll need to do that as well. And ah! I still need to blow something up – well, probably.’
He also recalled what Cale had said afterwards.
‘If I do all of this, we’ll be set to a perfect start for the war with all our preparations done! I’ll be able to slack off then~’
‘Slack off my ass.’
Alberu couldn’t help but think that way after he realized that Cale was probably intending to not slack off. Well, that wasn’t completely true. Alberu knew, better than anyone else even, that Cale’s biggest dream was to achieve his beloved slackerlife without attaining anything other than money. He was a very…peaceful person of some sorts.
But there was something Cale cherished more than himself and even his slackerlife (even if the redhead would never notice it). It was the wellbeing of his family. And if they went to war-
“Cookie prince, I don’t know, but I have the feeling that the weak human will do something very stupid soon.”
Alberu suppressed his thoughts once more after he came to a conclusion. He patted the young dragon’s head as he smiled a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry about Cale, Raon, and leave him to me.”
That’s right, if Alberu wasn’t able to stop him…
“While I know that he’ll be the safest with you, I’ll make sure to protect him as well.”
…he would give it his all to prevent Cale from putting himself into situations where he actually needed to use any of his powers.
Raon looked up at the reliable seeming crown prince, then gave a firm nod after seeing the determination and confidence in Alberu’s eyes.
“…Alright, I trust you, cookie prince.”
Alberu smiled at that.
A day later, he met up with Amiru, Gilbert and Eric to discuss the last steps of his plans of a naval base, which would be soon built. And two days after that, the ceremony where medals of honor were handed to especially brave individuals during the Terror Plaza Incident – not Cale Henituse of course. It was also the day Ron regained consciousness, living on as if nothing happened of course.
Naturally, he scolded Cale before – it was the very first time the old man sounded so angry that he scolded the young child, something Cale actually welcomed. It was also the day Cale departed, only talking the three children, Ron and Beacrox with him, leaving his boyfriend in the care of the ancient dragon.
Alberu knew, he simply knew, that something would go wrong. He sighed as he prayed that Cale wouldn’t get put in a situation where he was in actual danger.
Well, technically his prayers were also heard, more or less at least…
Notes:
Hello~
So far, this is one of my top three chapters, I really loved to write a bit about Ron's past and his wife, whom I decided to call Esmeralda (I was going for Esperanza, but I accidentally typed Esmeralda, so it's Esmeralda now). I also felt sad while writing it...TT
Granpa Ron has gone through so much, and now he's got Cale as his grandson...I pity him very much.Anyways, I'm currently writing this fic instead of studying for my ethics exam tomorrow. Well, technically I'm already done studying sicne I know the basics and memorized the topic he wanted us to know and oh well, it's not that difficult (WHICH IS WHY I'M CRYING ON THE INSIDE WHILE WAITING ANXIOUSLY SINCE I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S GOING TO BE EASY AT ALL!!!!!!)
Ehem, however, I do really hope that it's gonna be fine, guess I'll find out in the morning.Well, then, this is it for this time. Since I have to go back to studying (or repeat the things I know while telling them to my little brother), I kept this short. I hope all of you are doing well.
Then, I hope you liked this chapter!
Until next time!
<3<3<3<3<3
Chapter 53: 51. Why me? (2)
Summary:
Cale doing Cale things and well, Cale things never pass quietly...
Notes:
Before you read this chapter, I want to say something really quick. I know, I usually do this at the end of the chapter, but since today is really special, I want to do it in the beginning.
Today is the birthday of someone very dear to me. While she isn't my real sister, I regard her as such. She's one of the best people I have in my life right now, and without her constant support, and I'm being honest, I wouldn't be here right now.
I just wanted to share this with you guys, hehe <3
Ira, when you're seeing this, happy birthday from me, once again! May you have a delightful birthday and be happy until the rest of your days!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Fuck.”
Cale looked up at the man with a bright smirk plastered across his stupid looking face. It was a man who was eight feet tall and half as wide. Large muscles were visible through his drenched white shirt, making him look like a person who could slap an adult ogre across the room without much effort. With messy, brown hair that appeared like a lion’s mane and light brown eyes that had the same color as his tanned yet scar filled skin, he had a wild and dangerous appearance. It was more than enough for Beacrox to step closer to Cale as he glared at the man who introduced himself as ‘Bob’ just a moment ago.
“Hahaha! I smell a strong person! Are you strong?”
Beacrox’ displeased expression got a tad wider and the cook ended up straight out frowning. From the corner of his eye, he noticed his father having a similar expression on his face, yet he decided that it would be better for him to deal with the other guest of the Urbarr Viscountcy [despite a count’s domain being called county, it appears that (after asking google) that doesn’t apply to a viscount’s domain, as it’s been referred to as ‘viscountcy’].
Young lady Amiru had informed them about this very…special guest of hers, whom her people rescued from the wild Urbarr Whirlpools (which Cale managed to maintain over all these years). She said that he was a good man despite not having any knowledge regarding etiquette and manners. It was fine – at least as long as he wouldn’t meet Cale, which he, stupidly enough, did.
“What the hell?”
It was at that moment.
Beacrox, who got ready to step in front of Cale and get this ogre-like character away from the young noble, could see the redhead’s displeased expression. It was more than just Cale being discontent about the situation and looked almost as if-
No, Beacrox shook his head as he decided to take a step back and only get involved if this stupid person actually did something. He knew that he would be faster than anyone (besides very few individuals) so he trusted that he’s react in time.
“Muahahaha! I knew it! You smell like a strong person despite looking like some twerp!”
Cale’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly after getting insulted like that. Wouldn’t it be more than enough to call him a ‘weakling’ which he actually was?
-Human! That bastard looking punk insulted you! I’ll kill him!
Yet Cale’s thoughts quickly changed as he wondered who taught Raon to swear like that. He certainly picked up ‘punk’ from Eruhaben and Ron, as the two of them always called Alberu that, but who used the word ‘bastard’ with the young dragon around? Of course, Cale was oblivious to the fact that that person was actually him, and that ‘bastard’ wasn’t the only word the invisible Raon had picked up. The two kittens in his arms meowed as if on cue as they looked at the tall and intimidating man.
Ron and Beacrox too were very close to draw their weapons, yet didn’t do so after hearing their precious young master-nim sigh as if this situation was getting more annoying with each comment that wild boar did.
“I’m not strong, though?”
A plan formed in Cale’s mind as soon as he got the news of ‘Bob’s’ presence in the Urbarr Viscountcy. His plan was, naturally, to avoid trouble – to avoid this person – and quickly get this inspection and the investment meeting done, but since he couldn’t do that any longer, he simply had to adjust his plan now.
“Muahahaha, you’re not strong?! But you smell very strong!”
Bob leaned forward and sniffed in the air around Cale, which made the youth step back while his two family members stepped forward, glaring at ‘Bob’. The man couldn’t help but let out loud and heartfelt laughter at that.
“You two are pretty strong too! Muahahaha, lots of strong people means lots of strong people to battle! C’mon, fight me!”
-…Human, can I please kill this loudmouth? He’s spouting useless bullshit that not even the stupid Mercenaries King does.
Cale patted the invisible air next to him, quickly making out where Raon’s invisible head was located. Naturally, his action went unnoticed by said loudmouth who was still busy with glaring at Beacrox and Ron.
“It seems that this man truly possesses not a single manner whatsoever.”
“Mn, I hate those kinds of people the most.”
Ron and Beacrox exchanged their words while straight out ignoring ‘Bob’, who didn’t seem to mind it though. They looked at each other, then gave firm nods. They did not have any time for this, especially since Cale had to get to the Viscountess to discuss important information regarding the naval base. This bastard-like rat dared to delay them?
“Muahahaha, who needs manners when your fists suffice?”
Cale thought that ‘Bob’s’ words were truly befitting his personality. Despite many characters from ‘The Birth of a Hero’ being different in this world compared to their description, Toonka seemed to be the same. Perhaps it were only the characters that were closest to Cale…
Well, Cale could think about this later. He let out a deep sigh as the thought about the real identity of ‘Bob’. He was a Whipper Kingdom’s warrior whose ship had gotten lost – as well as him. He then ended up on the Urbarr’s territory coast and ever since, he was being taken care of by Amiru Urbarr. Naturally, the young lady did not know about the true identity of this guest of hers, instead she thought that it was a simple man who had gotten lost in the wide sea.
‘It’s not like she has much of a clue about his identity anyways.’
Indeed, ‘Bob’s’ body was probably the only trace of him not being normal. His tanned skin also signalized that he was someone who was from a region where the sun was a tad stronger than here. Well, he could also be a simple farmer’s son who worked in the fields often. The scars on his massive body could also be caused by his brutal farming technique, since his whole personality was somewhat animalistic.
Furthermore, there were absolutely no indications of ‘Bob’ not being from the Raon Kingdom. It wasn’t like the Roan Kingdom’s citizen knew how the Whipper Kingdom’s Commander, Toonka, looked like.
Toonka – that was the true identity of ‘Bob’.
‘Though ‘Bob’ is a name that fits the brainless Toonka much better.’
Cale smiled at his thought, but quickly suppressed it, deciding that he’d share it with Alberu later that evening, when his beloved boyfriend would finally give him a call.
“Father, please accompany the young master-nim. I’ll take care of this brute.”
-Human! You don’t need to worry about the good Beacrox! I’ll stay with him!
While Cale had been reluctant after hearing the head chef’s exclamation, he was calm now. If Raon stayed with Beacrox, nothing would happen. It wasn’t like he was worried for the cook, Beacrox was a very strong person who’d be able to hold his ground against even Toonka, but it wasn’t the same for the building. Cale was not here to create havoc. Furthermore, the person that would have to take care of his havoc was his beloved boyfriend who was already drowning in paperwork.
Since Cale planned to do a lot more in the future, he should leave the Urbarr villa alone.
“Alright, take care.”
Cale gave a short nod to Beacrox since he couldn’t wave his hands (as he was still carrying the two kittens), then simply walked past to the maniac-like ‘Bob’, who was still laughing. Ron quickly followed him, though he made sure to give his son a meaningful glare which was more than enough.
-Good Beacrox! I’m still here with you!
The edges of Beacrox’ lips quirked up ever so slightly. It wasn’t much, practically invisible to anyone other who didn’t know Beacrox, but Raon immediately noticed.
-Let’s make this stupid bastard-like punk pay for insulting our weak human!
Beacrox gave a short nod. Contrary to what Cale believed, Raon did not stay behind to protect the Urbarr’s villa’s walls.
~
“Mn.”
Cale couldn’t help but frown after receiving a patch of papers regarding the naval base from Viscountess Urbarr. The woman that didn’t resemble Amiru at all, yet still possessed all of her daughter’s traits, smiled gently as she observed the young noble in front of her. She remembered that just a while, all of noble’s society had regarded him as a ‘fallen’ noble and the trash of the Henituse County. Popelina Urbarr, the current head of the family, remembered her daughter playing with this stoic redhead in their earlier years.
He had been a bright and cheerful child, someone who always hid behind the late countess whenever he met someone new. She wondered how such a child had grown up to be someone like this person in front of her, yet quickly found her answer after thinking about all the rumors around him for the last years.
Cale didn’t know of any of the Viscountess’ thoughts as he quickly flapped through the many pages, using his ‘Record’ ability to memorize it all, before handing the stack to Ron, who was standing behind him with his usual benign smile on his lips. The old man’s smile twitched ever so slightly as he noticed Cale’s stoic and somewhat discontent expression.
While he thought it was because of something simple, like him not liking the Viscountess or him finding this situation to be a drag, it wasn’t like this at all.
“…Viscountess-nim.”
Cale using formal language with a noble that was technically lower than him in rank didn’t seem to be a big deal to Popelina as she smiled for the youth that was still a kid to continue.
“One of the sheets mentioned that the construction of the naval base will begin in late summer?”
While the Viscountess Urbarr wondered how Cale knew of such a thing, especially since it was only slightly mentioned in the documents she handed him, Popelina decided to answer nonetheless. It didn’t matter how Cale knew, what did was for her to treat him like she would any other representative of the Henituse County.
“Indeed, that’s the plan. Why are you asking, young master Cale?”
Cale’s frown deepened a bit as he contemplated whether it would be alright to tell Amiru’s mother, but since she was “his” business partner, he thought it would be necessary. He let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his armchair.
“…Viscountess-nim, what I’m about to tell you is top-secret information.”
Popelina stiffened up ever so slightly, yet quickly nodded her head for Cale to continue. Her daughter had informed her in advance that Cale was no normal person and indeed did live with crown prince Alberu Crossman – the how and why did not matter in situations like these. If Cale was about to share top-secret information, it was bound to be related to a future conflict.
Ron, who was already aware of the top-secret information Cale was about to share, did his best to not sigh as he listened to his precious, puppy-like grandson’s words.
“The north is being unruly.”
It was just one sentence.
But that one sentence was enough.
No, it was more than enough.
Popelina clenched her fists, her calm expression changed into an urgent one as she did her best to remain seated and not jump up. ‘The north is being unruly’ could be interpreted in many ways, but with the knowledge she had regarding the crown prince’s insistence about the construction of a naval base, she knew exactly what those simple seeming words meant.
Her sharp, amber eyes were glued to the calm noble who was still leaning back, almost as if his words were of no special meaning. He calmly picked up his tea cup and sipped on the hot tea, quickly putting it back down again. His reddish-brown eyes were neither shaking nor showing any kind of emotion at that. No matter how Popelina looked at it, this eighteen year old punk that was even younger than her inexperienced and childish daughter seemed trustworthy. No, it wasn’t just that he seemed trustworthy; he didn’t appear like the kid that he was at all. The calm and somewhat arrogant air surrounding him made him appear even scarier than any person the Viscountess had met before – including the current Emperor. And it wasn’t just that…
“…The north you say? Then his highness must plan to construct the naval base as quickly and quietly as possible.”
Cale’s frown quickly disappeared as a slight smile made its way to his cherry lips. Nobles were always people who looked through opportunities quickly, quicker than most actually. While many thought that nobles were just talk, powerful households with nothing but a title and perhaps a bit of money (and most certainly were these days), there were still households that truly deserved their noble title. It were individuals that thought quickly and managed to adapt to any kind of situation that was thrown at them.
“I see Viscountess-nim understands.”
Popelina got over her shock quickly as she took a deep breath to calm herself. Then, she too, began to smile. If it was like that-
“But unfortunately, while we can speed up the construction process through hiring more people, we won’t be able to start any sooner.”
At that, Cale’s smile quickly fell and he was back to his usual frowning expression, though he did not frown anymore. Popelina sighed and folded her hands together, ready to explain the situation to the redheaded youth.
“You see, young master Cale, the Urbarr territory’s coast line is a very dangerous area. It is because of the Whirlpools-“
Disregarding Popelina’s nobility title, Cale raised his hand for her to stop talking. While it would have been regarded as an incredibly shameless and disrespectful action, Popelina did not think that way. She could see Cale’s slightly annoyed look, which was why she decided to let the boy speak.
“…The delay of the construction is because of the Whirlpools?”
Popelina nodded at that. After seeing the boy’s confused expression, she let out a sigh and got ready to explain.
“Young master Cale, the Whirlpools are the strongest in spring and summer, which is what makes it impossible for the construction of the naval base to begin before that. Despite it being cold, the Whirlpools are the calmest in fall and winter.”
Cale let out a sigh as he exchanged a meaningful glance with Ron. The old butler was naturally aware of the reason for these Whirlpools, as well as why they were being maintained by his precious grandson despite him being able to dispose of them four years ago when they came here to obtain the wind-attribute ancient power.
Viscountess Urbarr did not understand the reason for these two people to exchange such meaningful glances, hence decided to just let it go.
“Viscountess, how quickly can you manage to get all the construction workers to get together to the Urbarr territory’s coast?”
Popelina was confused once again by the young kid’s question. She really wanted to answer him, yet couldn’t do so at the same time. Her humane feelings made it impossible for her to answer. Cale was still an eighteen year old kid, after all. The responsibilities that were put on his shoulders would make him arrogant, it was only natural. But as an experienced Viscountess she could not allow for innocent humans lives’ to be lost just because a kid wanted them to start construction works when the Whirlpools were the strongest.
“Young master Cale, it is not an option to start now. While I understand why-“
Once again, Cale raised his hand for the experienced woman in front of him to stop talking. He then let out a deep sigh, seeing the need for him to explain why he’d ask such a question. Having worked with all these strange people in the last ten years, Cale truly forgot how it was to converse with “normal” people who did not understand him nor knew of his extraordinary mind.
“The Whirlpools won’t be a problem, Viscountess-nim. So how quickly will those people manage to get here?”
Popelina did not understand this kid’s words, yet his confident and calm attitude made her calm down again. If he was so determined, perhaps he should simply see his failure for himself. As a mother, she thought that it would be alright to let this boy experience failure at least once – it would make him much less arrogant.
“For the fundamental workers to assemble, it’d take at least a full week.”
Cale nodded at that, picking up his cooling tea cup again. A small smile was on his lips as he shared his honest sentiments.
“Viscountess-nim, please send out the notices for the workers to come here, then. Until then, let’s continue with the inspection of the island for the naval-“
Kaboom!
Cale was unable to finish his sentence as there was a loud noise that sounded a lot like something getting destroyed. His cooler, yet still hot tea, immediately spilled over all his clothes, making him click his tongue in annoyance while Ron handed him a handkerchief so that he could dry his clothes, be it just a bit.
The Viscountess jumped up, looking around her office in plain shock. That noise, it was definitely not something that was caused by the strong Whirlpools. Furthermore, the noise sounded as if it came from her villa, not from the ocean!
“What was that?!”
Cale finally got up from his comfortable sitting position. There was an unexplainable expression on his face, one that was a mixture of annoyance, exhaustion and something Popelina couldn’t exactly pinpoint. Her eyes wandered to the old and benignly smiling butler who simply shook his head, almost as if hearing such a scary noise wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. He looked up and made eye-contact with the shaken Viscountess, at which he widened his benign smile ever so slightly.
“Viscountess-nim, please do not worry. The young master-nim and I will take care of this situation. As for the repair costs…”
Ron didn’t have to think for long as he finished his sentence as if it wasn’t something special.
“…please send them to his royal highness the crown prince.”
Cale seemed a bit less tense now that he heard Ron take care of the situation. The old man that was still the person he had spent the most time with in the last ten years was a very reliable person after all. Listening to Ron handle the situation so calmly, the redhead let out a deep sigh, turning around to face the shocked Viscountess. No, shocked was too weak of a word to describe it. Astonished was more like it. Indeed, Popelina was in disbelief after hearing the old butler casually add that the repair cost would be taken care of by the crown. No, that was only half the reason why she was so bewildered.
One would only need to take care of a repair if something broke. That noise from earlier…
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Viscountess Urbarr heard it loud and clear – those were the very noises a collapsing building would make. She looked outside her vast window, only to see two men standing in the middle of her inner courtyard. One of the two of them was someone she instantly recognized because of his massive physique and unusual appearance – it was the man her daughter rescued, Bob. The other man who was still tall and had a very good build was also someone she knew, it was the other servant that had accompanied young master Cale Henituse on his trip to her territory.
“Meow~”
“Meowww~”
Unable to understand or say anything, Popelina Urbarr looked down at her feet where two kittens, one silver, one red, were rubbing their heads against her legs. It were the two kittens who had accompanied young master Cale into her office.
And contrary to her, she could tell, those two kittens were just as calm as the two people who had just exited her office to take care of the situation outside.
But that wasn’t even the worst. Her gaze wandered up from the two people who were fighting each other, up to the third floor. There was a fat ass hole there. Popelina Urbarr felt like she would faint.
~
A few minutes prior.
After Cale and Ron left the hallway and entered the Viscountess’ office to discuss a few matters, ‘Bob’ pointed at Beacrox, a wide smirk spread across his ugly visage that revealed his sharp teeth.
“You’re very strong! Muahahaha, why are you with such a weak-looking wimp? Have you seen the way he ran away like a scaredy-cat?”
Beacrox’ eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as he had to listen to this brute insult his young master-nim that’s more like a younger sibling to him. He wasn’t the only one that was barely holding on to his rationality.
-That motherfucking bastard! How dare he insult the weak human like that! If he’d want to, the weak human could toast him in less than a minute – which he will never do because he is too good! Let me burn this loudmouth to a crisp instead!
Beacrox flat out ignored Raon’s insults – he knew better than to ask where the young dragon had picked up those harsh words (as he firmly believed that it was because of the vulgar crown prince). He then shook his head ever so slightly, enough for just Raon to notice and understand.
-…Alright, good Beacrox, then I’ll leave this bastard to you.
At that, a smile appeared on the usually deadpanning cook. It was a smile that wasn’t amused at all and only a very small smile, but it was enough to make a difference. Toonka noticed it too as he got into a fighting stance, ready to battle it out.
That was also when it began. While Beacrox didn’t have his great sword with him right now, his fists were more than enough to battle things out with such a brainless asshole who dared to insult his younger brother like that. Insulting the person that the torture expert cherished that much was never a good idea in the first place, it was the same as when someone would get dirt on him.
Beacrox was someone who was forced to flee from his home with both his father and mother when he was only ten years old. Being chased by some stupid ass punks that were from the very organization that had caused the Terror Plaza Incident and the organization that was involved with the human trafficking in the Gyerre territory, the back then ten year old child had picked up quite a lot of things, be it from watching the best of his father’s team members die or because of his will to survive. Perhaps it was even a mixture of both.
Seeing so many people, including his beloved and cherished mother die, getting stabbed with a knife, left its marks on Beacrox, even now, when almost twenty years have passed since that incident. Life as refuges was rough as well, and seeing his father strengthen himself, refrain himself from going back and revenge his beloved wife – Beacrox was not weak.
Sure, in comparison to the people surrounding Cale – the two dragons, the quarter dark elf crown prince, his father and even that stupid punk Choi Han – Beacrox was not very strong, but compared to this bastard in front of him, he sure as hell was not weak.
Beacrox’ instincts as the son of the best assassins that had ever existed in this world (yeah, plural hehe) were telling him that ‘Bob’ was strong, but they were also telling him that he was not strong enough to be considered too strong just yet. That was enough. ‘Bob’ was stronger than Beacrox.
But the difference in their level was not large enough just yet. Beacrox would be able to take him on by his own. And right now, he wasn’t alone.
-Strong Beacrox, I’ll protect you! You don’t need to worry since the human will be very sad if you get hurt! And I’ll be sad too!
Listening to the young dragon say that, Beacrox’ confidence was rising even more. He knew that he shouldn’t stir up trouble; after all, he was not Cale, but he could only tolerate that much. As if to irritate the talented cook slash torture expert even more, ‘Bob’s’ ugly smile got a tad wider as he continued to rub Beacrox the wrong way.
“What? Ya holding back for that weak-ass loser? What will he do, huh? Hurt you cuz you made him faint, muahahaha!”
That was when Beacrox threw his first punch – which ‘Bob’ took head on. He was pushed back by a couple feet, but his ugly grin got wider as he continued to laugh like a mad man. At the same time, an invisible barrier was cast around Beacrox’ body. It was different than a shield, as it was less than an inch away from his skin and actively surrounding his body, adjusting to his every move. The young Raon was incredibly talented in magic, after all.
‘Bob’ sprinted forward, and for a couple minutes, the two of them were fighting a fistfight with only ‘Bob’ getting pushed back. That was when the ogre-like man’s laughter got a lot madder and louder. The look in his eyes got a lot crazier as well as he rushed at Beacrox with all his might – this time he didn’t stop to attack him and seemed to be willing to run over him.
Beacrox dodged the running maniac last minute, watching ‘Bob’s’ eyes widen in shock ever so slightly as he crashed against the thick and sturdy walls. His small smile got a tad wider as he immediately used this chance. With all his might, he punched the madman in the back, and surprisingly enough, the cracked wall immediately broke, with the part in which ‘Bob’ was punched in falling out into the inner courtyard of the villa.
-Strong Beacrox! Don’t worry! I’ll say that it was my fault so that the human doesn’t get too mad!
Beacrox did not worry about anything as he jumped out of the third story, fully knowing that the young Raon got his back. And he was right, as flying magic was cast on him for the talented head chef to safely land next to the on the ground lying ‘Bob’. The fight was not over yet, as the warrior quickly got up, laughing like a mad dog, even after getting punched in the face so much.
‘Bob’ kicked a couple small boulders aside, ignoring the destruction their fight caused as he got ready to attack Beacrox again. With a bigger place to fight in, ‘Bob’ quickly managed to get the advantage in this fight. He rarely dodged, instead heading straight into the attack.
-…That bastard is very stupid.
Beacrox felt the young Raon’s words as he threw yet another punch at ‘Bob’s’ face, leaving a purple-reddish mark there. While Beacrox would have looked much worse than the somewhat beaten up ‘Bob’, he looked just like his usual, clean self, thanks to Raon’s efficient barrier that was a bit different compared to a shield.
‘Bob’ was about to punch back, yet had to other choice but to stop after seeing the way Beacrox quickly distanced himself from the brute – causing him to punch the air and lose his balance for a bit.
‘Bob’ looked around, only to notice two people he had seen shortly before he started fighting with Beacrox. It was the feeble looking “twerp” and the strong (as hell) smelling old man who was benignly smiling after assessing the scenery in front of him. His sharp and vicious eyes were the opposite of his gentle smile, and the way he stared at ‘Bob’ was giving even the strong warrior some sort of chill – which he quickly suppressed, like the big, stupid ape he actually was.
-Human! Don’t be too mad with the strong Beacrox! I helped him!
Cale was blankly staring at the situation in front of him; his eyes were slowly wandering up to the hole in the third story of the Urbarr villa. He felt a massive headache coming his way as he averted his gaze and looked back to the two formerly fighting people.
His disbelief was written all over his face as he simply failed to understand the necessity of the situation.
And Cale wasn’t the only one – for once.
Ron, who actually understood why his son would want to fight this wild loudmouth, did not understand why his son would need to make that big of a deal out of things and destroy the building in the process.
The ever so benignly smiling old man let out a tired sigh as he put his hand on the even more shaken redhead standing close to him. What was important right now was a different thing.
“Young master-nim, you spilled the hot tea over your clothes, let’s go change them before we take care of this situation.”
The old man did not pull his hand back as he left it on the tense shoulders of his precious grandson. Cale gave a stern nod, then turned on his heels and quickly headed back to his room. He needed to call Alberu, because there was no way in hell he’d take care of this mess alone.
Notes:
Hello~
I have to be quick today yet again, since I'll be very busy this week. Honestly, the only reason you get this chapter today, is because of my sis (shoutout to you, Ira <3), hehe.
This week, instead of going to school, I'm working like a real adult (I'm just fifteen, please spare me TT)
I'm so annoyed, it's a school thing in which we chose a job and look into it to decide whether it's really something for us. I'm working as an architect this week, and is it normal that I'm supposed to know the basics??? Cuz I went in today and they treated me like someone who already studied architecture for years if not decades. I was sooo confused, but thankfully everyone was being nice~
Anyways, more to that on another day. It's been a long day (8-hour shift, I'm done with this work, are they even allowed to keep me in that long???) and oh well, I just wanna go to bed (though I did go to bed incredibly late last night yet again so I'm not that innocent either, hehe)
I hope you liked today's chapter yet again (please don't expect another chapter that soon TT), and until next time!
<3<3<3
Chapter 54: 52. Why me? (3)
Summary:
Cale is a very pitiful soul indeed. Who's gonna tell him...?
Notes:
No trigger warning here once again, hehe, enjoy <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Haaa, why do I love you again?”
Tasha, that was standing close to her nephew, yet not close enough for Cale no notice her presence, flinched upon hearing her nephew’s harsh words. She naturally understood why Alberu was overwhelmed by the situation – and the price for the repairs – but was there really a need to say something so vicious?
Eruhaben, who was sitting on the armchair a couple feet away, simply clicked his tongue as this wasn’t the first time Alberu had said that, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. He actually understood the young prince, very well even. He too was more than shocked to listen to what happened over there at the Urbarr coast line, enough for him to contemplate whether it wouldn’t be better to go over as well – a thought he quickly disregarded, given that Alberu needed him too.
“No, it doesn’t matter, why do you look like that?”
Now that business was over, Alberu got ready to scold his dear boyfriend. His hair was a mess and his clothes looked like he had put on something, the first best thing that he managed to find. Of course, that was also the case.
As if insulted, Cale clicked his tongue and drove his hand through his shoulder long red hair.
-I had to quickly change clothes after meeting up with Viscountess Urbarr.
Alberu simply raised his brows, but seeing that Cale didn’t say anything else and the way Ron was standing calmly behind the redhead, it couldn’t be something too serious either way. The crown prince let out yet another deep sigh as he massaged his temples. His paperwork, in which he was drowning as is, just increased even more.
“I should have known better. I should have sent aunt Tasha with you or something, someone who isn’t such a troublesome person as you.”
Cale rolled his eyes at that comment, casually waving his hand as if to challenge his boyfriend into doing it, which made the latter sigh again – it felt like his hundredth time ever since he started this call with Cale.
He actually thought that his dear boyfriend called him to inform him about the naval base, then to talk about how much he missed and loved him – well, that wasn’t the case at all. With what he was met, was a very annoyed and somewhat exhausted looking Cale who told him that there would be a certain letter coming, a letter he didn’t want to get at all. And as if that hadn’t been enough, there had been a fight?!
Alberu had taken quite a while to calm down to the best of his abilities. In the end, he decided that the matter of Beacrox’ and ‘Bob’s’ aka Toonka’s fight was irrelevant, since it had already happened.
“Anyways, you said something regarding you getting rid of the Whirlpools?”
Cale nodded as he received a plate with steak from the reliable cook that didn’t have a single scratch on his body.
‘Scary people.’
Tasha couldn’t help but think that way, but she felt confused after seeing her nephew show no reaction whatsoever, almost as if he was used to this – which he truly was.
-Yeah, you remember the ancient power we got here? It’s the one responsible for these Whirlpools. I’ll get rid of enough to build the naval base for now. Since I don’t plan for anyone to notice, I’ll do it tomorrow night, since the Viscountess plans for us to visit Hais Island tomorrow, to scout out the location for the naval base.
Alberu nodded his head in understanding, then openly showed his discontent through a frown. He shook his head in disbelief, scoffed and leaned back – the usual ‘Alberu-is-not-happy’ thing to do.
“I’m against this.”
At that, Cale pouted instead of frowning, something he truly only did when he was talking to Alberu. Since the others were already used to it, it was once again only Tasha who was left in shock.
-But I don’t care about what you’re against and what not.
Alberu clenched his teeth, for a different reason than him being disrespected this openly. Since it was Cale, he was already used to this in the first place. No, he frowned because it was such a drag to talk Cale out of things once he’s decided on them!
“Can’t you do it during the day, huh? Why at night? What if something dangerous happens?”
That ‘something dangerous’ that Alberu was talking about was the current mermaid-whale-tribe situation Cale had informed him about. It was when the redhead had been tired and the very moment Alberu could ask whatever he wanted without his boyfriend having his guard up. Sure, there were certain things Cale didn’t tell him even then, but some ‘unimportant’ details regarding ‘The Brith of a Hero’ were quick to leave his mouth.
Cale, of course, immediately understood why Alberu was acting like this. He rolled his eyes, already regretting having told Alberu about all of these things. Letting out a deep sigh, he began to cut his steak and eat it. While doing so, he put some of the other steak on the three children’s tables, that were sitting quietly next to him, letting the couple talk.
-You can be so annoying at times, the future sun of our beloved Roan Kingdom your royal highness~
Alberu clicked his tongue upon hearing his boyfriend use his glib tongue on him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, aware that his boyfriend was too dense to care enough about his own health to even realize why Alberu was behaving this way.
“Then take at least Ron and Beacrox with you, and not just Raon.”
-Cookie prince! What are you saying! I’m more than enough to protect our weak human!
Alberu ignored the young dragon’s loud shouts, instead making eye contact with the old man standing behind Cale. Yet, to Alberu’s surprise, Ron didn’t seem to be willing to accompany Cale this time – something that made Alberu go crazy.
-Hyung, Raon is right. Why should I take more people with me if Raon and I suffice? Ron and Beacrox have another task, so don’t worry.
The ever so elegant and well-mannered crown prince rolled his eyes as he too leaned back in his seat.
“Yeah, with that stupid ass ‘keep an eye on that stupid brute mission’, huh?”
While the mockery in Alberu’s voice was unmissable, Cale flat out ignored it as he did with all bothersome things. He put a piece of steak in his mouth, then chewed it before answering his waiting boyfriend.
-Yes, they need to keep an eye on that person.
“So he can’t disturb you because he wants to…jump into a Whirlpool?”
Alberu’s disbelief was all over his face and words, at which Cale simply shrugged and nodded.
-Indeed, we can’t let him accidentally see me. If he thinks that I’m a strong person-
Cale stopped mid-sentence as he got the chills. He shook his head upon having such a scary thought. Ron and Beacrox who had gotten a good feeling of ‘Bob’s’ personality immediately understood why Cale was reacting that way. He was someone who loved to fight with strong people, and someone with a terrible and simple-minded personality at that.
It annoyed the father-son duo to the bone, actually.
“Tsk, wouldn’t Beacrox be enough to look after that bas- mn, brute?”
Cale furrowed his brows as if Alberu had just said the biggest nonsense of the century. Eruhaben too chuckled. While he understood where Alberu was coming from, he was also aware that Beacrox would most likely get involved in a fight with that man again. Alberu seemed to realize tha as well, as he rolled his eyes.
“Well, if not Beacrox, then leave Ron and take him.”
This made a lot more sense, yet it wasn’t something that was possible either.
-Alberu, did you sleep well? Wait, is Eruhaben-nim there? Let me talk with someone who can think straight, alright?
“You- haaa, no, you can only talk to me.”
Alberu rolled his eyes as Cale quickly explained why he needed to leave both Ron and Beacrox behind. While one would keep an eye on Toonka – which would be Ron, obviously – the other needed to stay in his room and act as if Cale was here all night, just in case. There was no need to gain any unwanted attention. Alberu quickly understood it too. Well actually, he had understood it before as well, he had just hoped that Cale would disregard that and test his luck.
“Fine, I get it, I get it.”
-Well, if you do, then don’t ask something so obvious next time.
Cale wiped the children’s mouths with a handkerchief before continuing to eat his own food.
-Anyways, now that that’s over with, I’ll contact you tomorrow before heading out, alright?
Alberu let out a deep sigh as he nodded his head.
“Yeah, and call me when you get back too. I want to see that you’re neither wounded, nor coughing up blood.”
While both Ron and Beacrox stiffened upon hearing Alberu’s harsh words and the two kittens were utterly confused with Raon showing no reaction, Cale simply shrugged.
-Hyung, you know that I can’t get hurt with my ancient power.
The crown prince rolled his eyes once more as he pointed at the old man standing behind Cale with a frown on his face.
“Tell that to someone who actually believes you. I know how your power works very well, so don’t cough blood or I’ll go there personally.”
Cale simply nodded his head. The Vitality of the Heart, while being the best ancient power he possessed, worked in a very odd way that caused people to misinterpret it a lot – not that Cale knew, which was why he didn’t correct his boyfriend’s words.
-Fine, I will. And you, go to sleep early today. You look terrible.
Cale had no problem with saying goodbye as he finally hung up the call. Alberu was left grinding his teeth in frustration before he decided to listen to his beloved boyfriend’s advice and finally go to sleep. It was beginning to get dark, after all.
~
“Good morning! My name is Steve, this is my boy Jeff, and I’ll be your navigator today!”
The man who was in his mid-fifties, just a bit younger than Ron, bowed down in a ninety-degree bow, his enthusiasm only reaching his son, who was bowing down next to him full of energy. No matter how Cale looked at it, this was his only chance to get to the different Hais Islands so that they could determine which of them would be the best base for the naval base, though Cale already knew which of the three possible ones it would end up being – given that it met the criteria of him and his beloved boyfriend perfectly.
Still, the redhead had to play along to some extent. He smiled gently at the old man, waving his hand as Ron helped him get on the boat. It was an extremely wobbly boat, though all boats were like this. Cale decided at that moment that he didn’t exactly like boats. Nevertheless, it wasn’t as bad as him having sea-sickness, which was a good thing.
Ron, who didn’t seem troubled to be on such a shaky boat, benignly smiled as he pointed to a place on which Cale would have to sit down, then sat down next to him. He locked eyes with his son, who was still standing on the dock with the two kittens in his hands that refused to get on the boat. He nodded ever so slightly as he glanced at young lady Amiru who got on the boat as well, with two of her guards accompanying her.
Steve and Jeff quickly started the boat, giving stern instruction to their passenger’s since they were very experienced sailors who had grown up with these Whirlpools by their side.
“Please don’t get up at all! Even if the ride will be shaky, hold on to the boat tightly and don’t let go! Once you fall into the water, you’ll be forever lost!”
Cale sighed as the boat ride begun to enter the more dangerous waters where two Whirlpools resided. The ride was quite nice, especially since Amiru didn’t have the chance to big him about all sorts of different things that were of interest to her. While Cale truly didn’t mind the young lady of the Urbarr Viscountcy, he couldn’t stand annoying people who didn’t manage to contain their curiosity either.
That was why it was for the best if he distanced himself from young lady Urbarr, who still believed that he was ‘a hero for still coming here despite still being in recovery’. Of course, all that recovery-stuff was bullshit and Cale was at the healthiest he ever was – as always – thanks to the Vitality of the Heart. But it was better if people believed that his ancient power which he had displayed at the Terror Plaza Incident was incredibly weak and took him more than just a lot to use. Especially with the approaching conflicts-
“Young master-nim, I have a very odd feeling, so it’d be best if you stay close to me today.”
Cale looked up to see the serious expression in Ron’s eyes, despite his benign smile. He knew better than to not listen to an experienced assassin’s instincts, hence simply nodded. The young Raon that was, as always, by his side in his invisible state, chimed in on the conversation that wasn’t a conversation as well.
-Human! No matter what, I’ll make sure to protect you! I’m the great and mighty Raon Miru!
Cale gave a half nod that could only be seen by the observant Ron as well as the invisible dragon. Ron seemed to be satisfied with it, as his serious look quickly became a bit less serious. Actually, Ron didn’t even know why he had such a bad feeling, it simply was that way, and he had learnt that he had to listen to even his feelings if it was something regarding this redheaded grandson of his.
The boat quickly arrived at one of the Hais Islands. There was a large forest and an almost white beach. The island wasn’t all too big, but it had a good size for a naval base.
“It’ll take about two hours to walk around the island, so it should be large enough for the naval base.”
Cale listened to Amiru’s words as he mindlessly nodded. This island – it was the wrong one for the naval base. For once, it was too close to the Urbarr territory, and while it was a good thing, no one could be safe enough during a war. What if the enemies suddenly found out (which they naturally wouldn’t)? It had to be farther away from the Urbarr coast line – that was something both Cale and Alberu agreed on.
“Hm, I’m not quite sure about this.”
Amiru, while she was confused, quickly decided that she had to convince Cale. Despite looking like a simple representative of the Henituse County to her mother, Amiru knew that Cale was more than that. While she didn’t exactly know what kind of relationship the redhead had with the crown prince, it seemed like he trusted Cale quite a lot. No, even more than that. He had told the three nobles in secret that Cale wouldn’t be the Henituse representative only, but also his – which meant that Cale had to agree on the island with her.
“If it’s because of the forest, it should be an advantage since the large trees can hide our future ships. Since it’s very vast, we could also use it as a resource because of the wood, so the forest shouldn’t be a problem. And about the white and soft sand, while it’s a bit difficult to move in, we can always harden it with magic, so I don’t see any flaws if we chose this island. It’s also the closest to our territory, which would give us full control over it as we can come here quicker than to the other islands.”
Cale simply listened to the nineteen year old’s words, then nodded his head with his usual, casual attitude he had also shown during the banquet.
“While I understand what you’re saying, young lady Amiru, do you really see it as an advantage that the island is close to the Urbarr coastline?”
The green-haired woman furrowed her brows as she nodded. Contrary to Cale and Alberu, she was an inexperienced girl that, despite noticing more things than a usual teenager would, didn’t fully grasp the dangers that came with the war. Cale sighed, thinking of a response that Amiru would understand.
“You lady Amiru, look at it that way, if the island is a bit farther away, it’ll be more difficult for others to notice that the construction of a naval base is happening there. Since this island is quite close to your territory, others could find out more easily.”
Amiru’s eyes widened in realization at the explanation Cale pulled out of god knows where. She then nodded, a determined look in her eyes as she quickly pointed back to the boat.
“Then let’s immediately head to the next island!”
Cale did his best to suppress yet another sigh as he shook his head, waving his hand as if to tell Amiru to wait. He then began to walk towards the forest, Ron following his every step with his usual benign smile on his lips.
“It’s a good idea, but let’s give the guards a rest.”
Amiru gasped in shock as she turned around to look at her two guardian knights that had accompanied her on this trip. One of the two of them was a newbie who, unfortunately, got sea-sick very easily, making him feel terrible and miserable at once as he was vomiting while Steve and Jeff did their best to make him feel better. The other senior guardian knight let out a breath he had been holding, thankful for Cale Henituse’s insightful words.
“…I see. How insensitive of me, then let us wait. But young master Cale, where are you headed to?”
Amiru turned away from the young newbie knight, instead looking at Cale who continued to approach the forest. The redhead turned around, making the heir of the Viscountcy realize that the man, despite being a few inches taller than her, was by far feebler and smaller. His shoulder long, crimson hair was bound together in a loose ponytail and his stoic expression made him appear like some experienced former soldier who had seen the horrors of the world.
Yet she quickly abandoned those thoughts. Since Cale was a year younger than her, there was no way that he knew more than her.
“I’m just curious since this is my first visit to an island. I’m simply going to look around for a while then we can continue on.”
Amiru simply nodded, then returned with fast steps to the boat. Since Cale had that butler of his, she was certain that he wouldn’t need her guardian knight. Furthermore, this island’s forest was very safe.
Cale, who, for once, truly simply walked around because of his curiosity, advanced into the forest with Ron and the young Raon, who turned off his invisibility since it were just the three of them.
“Human! This forest looks so normal, like a forest!”
The redhead looked up at the large but normal looking trees, then simply shrugged.
“I guess it’s supposed to look like a forest since it is a forest.”
The young Raon nodded his head, almost as if Cale had said something that was incredibly wise – which it naturally wasn’t, given that it was common knowledge. Ron smiled ever so slightly as he watched the young dragon fly a few feet in front of them, before returning to Cale, tell him about what he had seen, then fly away once more. It was a cute thing to watch, in all honesty.
“Human! I can see the end of the forest! Come here, the sand is even whiter than before!”
Cale calmly walked through the forest with Ron following close behind him. Soon, the two humans and one baby dragon reached the coast, aka the other end of the island. Looking around, Cale was able to see the vast, turquoise ocean that got darker the farther away he looked. He could see Raon flowing down to touch the surface of the calm sea with little waves on it.
“Human! Human! Look! There’s a boulder there!”
Raon stopped playing around in the water as he quickly dried his paws so that he could hang on to his weak human’s shoulder, as he usually did. Cale casually ignored the heavy black dragon as he walked towards the large boulder. It was at that moment. Ron’s feeling made itself known and the old man couldn’t help but frown as he quickly followed behind his precious grandson and the young dragon (that was technically his grand-grandchild).
But it was too late.
Cale, who managed to pique at what was hidden behind the boulder before Ron could reach him or prevent him from doing so, quickly turned around, walking back to the reliable Ron. There was a shocked and disgusted expression on the youth’s face, and after Ron took a look for himself, he quickly understood why.
“Mn.”
Mermaid corpses.
Despite this being the first time Ron saw a mermaid – or mermaid corpse technically – the old man could immediately tell, simply by judging how dried up the skin and everything was. He turned around to see his precious grandson frowning almost as if he had found something troublesome again. Well, given that it was only a corpse of a mermaid, and one that seemed to be rather old at that, it shouldn’t be a problem.
But still, Ron decided that it’d be best for Cale’s nerves and health (given that he was certain that Cale had never, not even once, seen a real corpse fully displayed like that, and certainly not something that looked so inhumane and disgusting) if they stopped today’s excursion and continued their fake-island-scouting tomorrow.
“Young master-nim, let us head back for today. My old bones feel exhausted all of a sudden.”
Naturally, Ron was lying – all three individuals present knew. But it was a good excuse. Cale let out a deep sigh as he nodded his head, giving Ron a small yet quirky smile.
“Already?”
Ron simply shrugged, playing along with the redhead.
“You see, young master-nim, I’m still in recovery as well.”
The old man and his (self-proclaimed) grandson exchanged a knowing gaze as they quickly headed back, explaining their situation to the understanding knights and the extremely sorry young lady.
Naturally, neither was Ron tired, nor did they actually need to head back, but since the night would be quite eventful, it was a good decision.
~
The few hours until night arrived were quick to pass by and as soon as most of the people in the Urbarr Villa went to sleep, two individuals left Cale’s room, one through the door like a normal person, one through the window with the help of a certain young dragon’s flight magic – leaving one experienced man who was also a good babysitter, behind [omg, omg, omg, I completely forgot Lock’s siblings! E-hem, let’s just imagine that they’re in the capital with Alberu and Eruhaben taking care of them, okay? Yes, that should be good, right? And Cale didn’t take anything in exchanged, simply told Lock to return because of his siblings as they were all still children, alright? Thank you for understanding!].
The person that left through the door quickly and especially stealthily moved over to a certain man’s chamber to surveil him and to prevent him from going out, at least this evening.
“Human, will you destroy all of the Whirlpools?”
Cale shook his head as Raon let him down on the island they would visit tomorrow – the one that would turn into the naval base. A small smirk appeared on his lips as he pointed at the few Whirlpools that were surrounding the island, making it the worst possibility which Amiru would never consider to build the naval base on. Yet, without the Whirlpools around it, it would become the best one – only partly because it was the farthest away from the Urbarr coastline. It was a bit larger than today’s island, yet the forest was smaller. The sand wasn’t sand but rocks and it was perfect for people to be and partly live here.
“We’ll take care of these Whirlpools for now, and a couple other strong ones so that we don’t have to take care of this in the future.”
Raon nodded his head, excited about what his human was about to do. The redhead in the black clothes raised his hand, then looked at Raon who had pulled out an item from his spatial dimension.
“Weak human, I’m ready!”
Cale nodded, then raised his hand before summoning the Sound of the Wind. He was in immediate control of the Whirlpool he wanted to destroy. The moment the Whirlpool ceased to exist, Raon threw one of his self-made magic bombs in it – which immediately blew off, causing a massive sound.
Cale and the young dragon exchanged a glance before repeating the same thing while making a couple other Whirlpools disappear as well. It was when the two of them headed to a cave underneath the island to destroy the last Whirlpool (since firstly, it was a more comfortable position and secondly, in case someone had good eyes, they wouldn’t be able to see them) when Raon stopped Cale from doing as he wanted to.
“Human! I hear something from the cave! It sounds like breathing!”
Cale’s eyes widened in disbelief as he felt another troublesome thing come his way. He looked at Raon’s curious expression, then simply shook his head.
‘No way I’m gonna get involved with another troublesome thing, nu-uh.’
But fate was a bitch and loved to prove Cale wrong as he headed inside the cave with a certain young dragon’s insistence. And who was Cale to say no to the young child that always traveled with him and did as he was told without any complaints?
“Fine, but we’re just gonna look, alright? We’re not getting involved in this.”
Raon nodded, excited that his human was coming with him to look for the source of the unusual sound.
“We still need to destroy the last Whirlpool, so let’s get this over with quickly. And remember not to touch anything, Raon, alright?”
Once again, the young dragon nodded, flying forward while casting a fire spell to lit up the cave ever so slightly.
‘Yes, let’s take a quick look like whatever this is and get out of here to finish destroying the Whirlpools. I still need to call Alberu afterwards, else he’ll uselessly worry.’
Cale nodded to himself and his “perfect” plan as he continued to walk forward.
‘Absolutely nothing can go wrong.’
Notes:
Hi~~~~~~~~
Long time no see, I guess~
First of all, sorry I missed the usual 'update time', [>U<]. I've made you wait for this chapter quite long, hehe. Don't blame it on me though, I was quite busy with work (my 'Praktikum') and this week's been quite annoying already, even if it just started.First of all, we have a French exam on thursday so yeah...it's self-explanatory. You know how French is my weak spot, urgh. I already don't want to go to school that day. Worst of it all is that I only realized it today...I didn't even start studying! I'm such a hopeless baggage in French class, argh!
Secondly, my English teach came with his stupid ass surprise once again and ruined my mood. I know I can be a bit harsh about things, but oh god, I can't stand him, his punchable face and the shit he pulls!
He printed an A4 papersheet with A5 format...little bitch.
AND while it wouldn't matter usually, HE SAID IT WOULD BE FUCKING GRADED.
Like wtf do you want me to do?
Just print it in A6, or even better, A7 format if A5 is still too big for you, huh?
What's his freaking problem?!Sorry, I just get really annoyed when thinking about him and the shit he pulls. Urgh, now I'm thinking about that crap again.....it's frustrating.
Well, anyways, let's not dwell on it for too long.
The good thing is that I'm finally done with my 'Praktikum's' work.(I had to work for a very long time on monday (9am to 5pm with no lunch break), but the days after were pretty chill, so it ended up being more fun than expected. Work as an architect is quite enjoyable if you like working with your hands (building models) or drawing things and are good at art. It's something I wouldn't mind doing for a week, but as a job for the future...well, it wasn't exactly MY thing. The people there were incredibly friendly and it was definitely worth the time it took. I was a bit overworked because of the unusual things I did there, but it was easy to adapt and I think it was quite similar to art lessons at school.)
Well, with this, let's round things up for today.
I hope you liked today's chapter. I'm so glad you guys aren't losing interest in this fic yet, because at times when I start doubting myself, it's so motivating to read your supporting and cheering comments <3
If you're wondering why things keep 'getting dragged out' right now, it's just me preparing for the big plot, hihi ;)
Hope you can get through this, I promise I'll make it worth it in the end!Then, until next time!
<3
Chapter 55: 53. Why me? (4)
Summary:
Cale being unlucky as always, enjoy~
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Of course, things never progressed the way Cale wanted them to. The redhead blankly stared at the bloodied man that was lying in front of him, the legs on his leg had turned black and despite still being conscious, his eyes were shut while he kept drawing heavy breaths. He would certainly die in two to three hours, if worst came to worst even earlier than that.
‘But it’s none of my business.’
Cale had that thought. He was not some volunteer that took in every person he came across from. It would be too bothersome that way. While it was cruel, Cale did not have the time to get involved with this person. He did not know who he was, and while he had a rough idea because of his looks, it was none of his concern. The people in the Urbarr territory had probably heard the explosions a few minutes ago, and Cale should finish what he had started before they could send people out to check on everything.
It was at the moment Cale decided to leave with the young Raon silently observing him, when the on the floor lying person grabbed his ankle with his shaking hand. Despite him being in such a state, unable to keep his eyes open for a long amount of time, his grip felt quite strong (of course Cale didn’t think that it was because he was so weak that the grip of the man felt so strong).
“S-save…m-me…”
“Mn.”
The man’s grip lost all of its strength as his arm fell down like some toy. His breaths were even shallower than before, making Cale’s frown deepen. Cale was trash, but he was not such trash to ignore a person who had asked him to save him. It would be a completely different deal if this man hadn’t told him, but he did.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Cale crouched down next to the person who he had as good as no information on. Honestly, he wasn’t even interested in him. His unworldly beauty and iconic blue hair gave his identity away anyways, at least partly. And the fact that he was poisoned by mermaid poison, Cale could tell, was all Cale needed to confirm his suspicions.
“Human! Can we save this person? He is very weak right now!”
Getting up while attempting to pick the man up, Cale was met with an unmoving body and a slightly snickering Raon, after which he let go of this man’s arm and waved at Raon to transport him with flight magic.
“It’s not like I can ignore him after he asked me to save him.”
Cale was currently starting to walk out of the cave to finish his business before taking care of the man, which was why he was not able to see Raon’s proud and somewhat unsurprised expression. The young dragon turned both himself and the man floating next to him invisible before following his guardian.
“You’re right, good human! You’re a very good person!”
Cale simply brushed Raon’s words aside, getting ready to destroy the two remaining Whirlpools. Raon pulled out the remaining two magic bombs, throwing them inside the vanishing Whirlpools. With this, their business was done and they could finally return to their room.
~
“…young master-nim.”
Beacrox looked at the redheaded youth that was standing in front of him with a somewhat annoyed and dissatisfied expression, then at the blue haired man that he had brought along and that was now lying on the floor. He was indescribably beautiful, incomparable to a normal human being. His long, blue hair seemed to have a shine of its own, regardless his current state, and his sharp facial features gave him a handsome look. Well, he’d have looked better if he hadn’t been that ghostly pale because of the pains of the poison…
“What is this?!”
The usually always calm and collected cook, for the first time in years, felt as if he’d been overrun by a truck. Not even a few days back, when the Terror Plaza Incident occurred, did he feel this way! He looked down at the unconscious man, then at Cale and the thing in his hand. He did not know nor recognize what that thing was, but from the looks of it, it resembled a scrunched up human arm, but it was too blue for that to be true.
Clearing his throat, Cale avoided Beacrox’ eyes, instead pointed for Raon to put the still levitating man down on the floor.
“It’s, uh, not what it looks like.”
Cale had never felt this uncertain when he was with Beacrox. While Ron and Alberu (if one didn’t count Raon) were the people who understood Cale the best, this cook was someone who always showed a solemn reaction, no matter what Cale decided to do or not to do. He had always the same deadpan expression that rarely, from time to time, got a bit gentler (of course there were lots of times this happened and Cale simply didn’t see). Nevertheless, Beacrox had never showed a reaction like this. It made Cale feel incredibly worried.
The greatsword wielder’s expression did not change and he simply walked up to Cale, or rather the unknown man, then began to pick him in the arm. Cale’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing Beacrox behave as if the poisoned man was some sort of dead soon-to-be food. It was the most shocking thing he’d seen in a while, actually, and Cale had seen lots of absurd things.
“Young master-nim, this man is not dead yet, if you killed him, you should have thrown him in the sea or something!”
Cale’s shocked expression turned confused, then astonished once more. This time, he did not manage to hide his feelings as he openly stared at the talented chef who looked ready to head out again to dispose of this “corpse”.
“…This-“
“Good Beacrox! The human didn’t kill anyone! We found this person in a cave and he asked the human to save him!”
Beacrox wary and somewhat worried expression immediately ceased to exist, almost as if it hadn’t been there to begin with. He let out a small sigh of relief as he returned to his usual deadpan expression and gave a simple, firm nod.
“…That’d make much more sense, Raon-nim. My apologies for-“
Cale raised his hand to tell Beacrox to stop. He decided not to think about the head chef’s reaction and the way he wanted to dispose of the possible corpse for his young master-nim. The redhead decided to also ignore Beacrox’ behavior altogether, too tired to think about such a thing any longer. He could tell Alberu, just to keep him on his tiptoes.
“It’s alright, don’t worry Beacrox. Could you bring me a bowl of water?”
Beacrox nodded, then glanced at the poisoned man who seemed to experience excessive pain. But no matter how pitiful this blue-haired individual may have appeared, the head chef did not think he was in a position to accept such pity.
“…I’ll be right back, young master-nim. Should I also tell father?”
Cale gave a small nod as he watched Beacrox exit the door. He looked up at his bed, where the two kittens pretended to be asleep yet weren't – Raon had told him. He sighed as he spotted Hong’s, the younger of the two of them, eyelids flutter open for a split second before he closed them again.
“Come here, you two. If the sight is too much, you can go to the bathroom or something.”
The moment Cale had said these words, On and Hong stopped their act and sat up, staring at him with their mysterious, amber-golden eyes. Their eye color resembled the one of the ancient dragon, though it did look a bit less pure – given that one was an ancient dragon, an almighty being that stood just a level under the gods themselves.
The two kittens quickly got on their feet, yet, instead of walking over to the bathroom, they approached Cale and the now visible Raon who stuck to him like glue. Cale ignored it, as it was one of Raon’s habits to stick to him.
“Cale nya, who is that?”
“Noona, he smells fishy!”
Cale frowned upon hearing Hong’s words and glanced at the unconscious person he decided to save simply because he was asked to do this. If he smelled fishy, had blue hair, was poisoned by mermaid’s poison and looked otherworldly-beautiful, could he be a Whale Tribe person…?
No, such bad luck wasn’t something even Cale could have, right? There was no way this person belonged to the strong Whale Tribe that was currently in a war against the mermaids, right? No way, ha, ha, absolutely impossible.
And even if it turned out to be the truth, what did it actually matter? This person, he had asked Cale to save him, meaning that there was no reason to get to know anything about him after he got a bit better. Nodding at his firm resolve, a new plan formed in Cale’s head as he watched the two kittens look at the fishy smelling person while the young dragon continued to stick to him.
Soon enough, Beacrox returned with Ron and a bowl of water. The first reaction that came from Ron was his usual benign smile, paired with a somewhat disgusted expression that Cale ignored. It seemed like his son had informed him on the way here.
Cale quickly did what he had to do, and both Ron and Beacrox behaved as if Cale knowing an antidote for the deadly mermaid’s poison was the norm. Neither did they question the child they somewhat raised, nor did they worry all too much about the redhead at all.
After this was done and the man passed out once more, naturally he swallowed the mermaid’s arm’s blood first; Cale let out a loud sigh and let himself fall on the couch while the two kittens occupied the bed once more while Raon sat down next to him.
“Young master-nim, shall I inform his highness of the situation?”
Before Cale could reply, Beacrox gave a remark of his own as well.
“Indeed, young master-nim, I think you should leave it to my father this once. You look tired and sleep is very important.”
As if Beacrox saying that wasn’t enough, Raon looked up at him with his big, round eyes, with a somewhat begging look.
“Human, can you go to sleep with me?”
Brushing his face, Cale decided that in the end, it didn’t matter who informed Alberu in the first place. He had already called before he headed out to destroy the Whirlpools, and he was tired and sleepy anyways. His boyfriend would surely understand, no?
And understand Alberu indeed did, in his own, strange way of scolding Cale and yelling at him and his incorrigible behavior – something Cale had learnt to brush by naturally, over all these years he’d spent by Alberu’s side, it was the least he could do, after all.
Before the redhead knew it, he was once again standing on the deck, in front of the same ship that had taken the team for the island-expedition and him to yesterday’s island before. There were a few differences, though. For one, he was being accompanied by both Ron and Beacrox today, mainly because of a certain individual that wanted to tag along – no other than the as ‘Bob’ disguised Toonka. Cale couldn’t help the frown on his face as he brushed back his shoulder long hair with the thoughts of cutting it – something he would never actually do, given his lazy attitude.
-Tsk, stop frowning so much, or you’ll get wrinkles.
Cale bluntly ignored a certain person’s voice. That’s right, Toonka wasn’t the only difference compared to the day before, another major difference was the per video communication device connected Alberu Crossman, crown prince of the Roan Kingdom and the ancient dragon standing behind him, watching the frowning redhead curiously.
Amiru, who knew that the two of them were close, but not to this extent, held back her surprise to the best of her abilities, yet a gasp still escaped her mouth. She wasn’t the only one in such a state, as the others looked at the stoic-faces redhead in shock. While the crown prince’s words sure didn’t fit the well-behaved image of him, as a crown prince, it should be okay. What wasn’t usually okay was Cale’s blunt response to a royal family member’s words. Not even close friends, confidants and whatnot could be so blunt with someone of Alberu Crossman’s status. And yet, there he stood the same as usual, ignoring the crown prince as if he hadn’t been talking to him in first place.
Was such a thing even possible?
No, it wasn’t. The guards, who were deeply loyal to their liege, Viscountess Urbarr, turned their heads away from Cale Henituse and did their best to control their astonished expressions. They recalled the old woman’s words clearly.
‘Act respectful. Cale Henituse, that youngster, he may not look like it, but he’d be a great asset for our future, so treat him correspondingly.’
It was unusual for the usually laid back Viscountess to get involved like this. No, not just involved, it was unusual for her to make contact with anyone and order her knights to treat him respectfully.
The knights, that have somewhat calmed down, then heard something that caused them to gasp in surprise once more.
-…Haben-nim, I think we should head over there, since my dear dongsaeng keeps on ignoring me.
-Indeed, I think so too.
Amiru, taken off guard, couldn’t help but openly stare at Cale, who shrugged. Then, something that was so off-character for him that it even scared the noble, happened: A strange smile appeared on Cale’s lips. It was completely different from the smile he had on his lips whenever he was talking to her or the others, be it yesterday or the days before that. It was a gentle smile, but something other, more meaningful, was behind it. She had never seen Cale have such a smile before.
“Your highness, if I’m not mistaken, don’t you have still paperwork to take care of?”
The redhead’s smile turned a tad wider and became more teasing, almost causing the people who didn’t know what was going on between the crown prince and Cale to faint, or have a heart attack.
“And besides, I strongly believe that Haben-nim wanted to research something else regarding his highness. There’s no need to head over, since this is something I can take care of by myself. How could someone of your highness’ status come over here and help this lowly citizen by his trivial job when his highness is so busy? How could this lowly noble dare disturb the Roan Kingdom’s rising star, the wonderful and ever so brightly shining crown prince, your royal highness?”
Since the two of them were currently in public, there was a certain boundary to how casual the two of them could talk with each other – at least Cale had explained that to Alberu. It wasn’t like the quarter dark elf didn’t know his boyfriend’s motive behind it (as always, it was obvious with Cale), it didn’t mean that he was supposed to listen to his boyfriend’s silver tongue.
-Yes, indeed. How dare you disturb me during my work, making me worry like this?
While Alberu Crossman’s words were unexpected, the old butler’s benign smile became a bit more genuine while Beacrox, who was holding the communication device, nodded in slight agreement, recalling how the blue haired man from yesterday evening had tried to introduce himself to Cale to get involved with him – something that made him throw him out as quickly as possible.
How come that troublesome child always attracted the worst kinds of people? Someone as suspicious as this so called ‘Paseton’ didn’t need to get involved with Cale, under no circumstances that is.
“Your highness is free to hang up anytime.”
Cale stopped smiling and turned around again, his annoyance evident in his every so single movement. It was something only the people close to him noticed, as the others only saw his usual stoic and frowning face. Alberu let out a long and deep sigh. He was one of the few people that understood Cale’s annoyance which was caused by a certain over seven feet tall ‘Bob’ aka Toonka. That brute was such an idiot-!
Even though it was Alberu’s “first” (unreal) time meeting him, he had gotten a good idea about the simplicity behind that bastard’s personality. The man, who only seemed to have fighting on his mind and possessed just one brain cell, was extremely tiring to have around. And someone like that was supposed to accompany Cale on this trip, argh, how annoying indeed!
Steve and his son Jeff, the two fishermen from the day before, bowed down after seeing Cale get on the boat. The sixteen year old Jeff with the casual dirty blonde hair and amber eyes smiled at the noble who was two years older, yet an inch smaller than he was (not because Cale was small, but rather because Jeff was that tall), then reached out his hand to help him on the boat. While the teen had been incredibly anxious yesterday, he felt calm around Cale today – even though the redhead was accompanied by two of his servants with one of them carrying the communication device that was connected to the future king of their kingdom in their hand today. Something about Cale Henituse had made him feel calm, perhaps it was his incredibly strange and casual way of speaking, perhaps something entirely else, Jeff did not know, but it was a good feeling.
Cale glanced at the strangely glowing Jeff, the very boy who had been shaking yesterday while being introduced by his father, then brushed it off since Jeff’s confidence was a good thing.
After sitting down on one of the seats on the boat, Amiru Urbarr got on as well, followed by all the other servants with Toonka getting on at the very end. Today’s boat was considerably bigger than yesterday’s, perhaps because it was handed over by the Territory Lord as there were more people than the day before. Well, and because a small boat was not necessary, at least not anymore.
The green-haired beauty sat down opposite from Cale, pretending not to notice the strange glare she received from the crown prince who mumbled something inaudible. Naturally, it was only inaudible to her.
-Human! The cookie prince said that greeny lady is annoying! She does talk quite a lot! Human, should I throw her overboard?
Cale, irritated by both his boyfriend’s and thus the young dragon’s behavior, turned around to face the communication device that was still being held in Beacrox’ hands. The head chef raised his brow, as if to ask whether he had to disconnect it, at which Cale simply shook his head. He knew that Alberu immediately understood what he meant, as the crown prince kept silent after that, at least for the remaining boat trip.
Turning around with a sigh, Cale was faced with yet another troublesome thing. It seemed that anywhere he went; he was faced with some bullshit trials and annoying people. Did the gods turn against him or something? Cale was certain that while he had done a bunch of wrong and questionable stuff, it wouldn’t have been enough for gods turn against him – that is if gods even existed. No, if gods indeed did exist, he didn’t care if they were responsible; he’d simply cuss them all out to his heart’s content. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to cuss just because he hadn’t done so in a while.
“Young master Cale, each time I see you, you amaze me more than before.”
Uncertain what her words meant, Cale simply shrugged it off, waving his hand in dismissal as he looked out at the calm sea. Since he and Raon had taken care of most dangerous Whirlpools on their way to the island which would become the base to the future naval base, the water was calm and only little waves shook the boat. The water was also clear and looked somewhat magical.
Before Cale could be reminded of his childhood, where he had seen similar water, he shook his head ever so lightly, putting on a smile while looking at the future heir of the Urbarr Viscountcy. Seeing as she was opening her mouth as if to say something, he put a small smile on his lips, mostly to encourage the nineteen year old lady. She was still young, after all. When Cale had been nineteen, it was the year the monster apocalypse stroke, well, he’d rather not think about his life that was filled with almost dying, starving, running and being in pain or sick.
Either way, nineteen was quite a young age.
“…Say, young master Cale, will you really be only staying until the contract workers arrive?”
Picking up Amiru’s words even from that big of a distance away (the mana-filled communication device sure was amazing), Alberu looked up at Ron, asking him a silent question. Eruhaben had already left the room, seeing that nothing was happening as of now.
Ron gave a small nod, only visible to Alberu, to confirm what Amiru said – and something Cale left out when he shared his plans regarding his future actions in the early morning. It nagged on the crown prince, but only for a bit. He quickly recalled how tired Cale had seemed, despite having slept for a long time. Perhaps it was because of that Paseton bastard that had bugged him so much.
“Yes, I plan on quickly explaining the changes, since Viscountess-nim asked me to.”
Amiru nodded her head, a fond smile on her lips – something, Cale did not understand. The redhead frowned, but chose to not pay too much mind to it, since he wouldn’t get involved with Amiru in the future either way. He needed her for the naval base though. Given her reliable and quick on the uptake-like personality, she would certainly manage if the Viscountess handed it over to her. Cale had no doubt on his mind.
“That’d be very convenient, young master Cale.”
Indeed, especially given his new title as ‘Young Master Silver Light’. Amiru did not elaborate any further, and as dense and clueless as Cale was, he didn’t immediately understand what the young woman meant either way. He gave a small noise of approval, then looked out at the vast, blue sky again.
There was not a single dark cloud there, announcing a stormy night. Since the Urbarr territory coastline’s weather was pretty much unpredictable, Cale’s guess could also be wrong, but he doubted it.
“Young master Cale, if it wouldn’t be rude to ask, may I ask about your relationship with his highness?”
Suddenly, Cale was broken out of his casual thoughts, something he naturally didn’t show. The redhead frowned a bit, then relaxed again and simply shrugged. He didn’t really care whether anyone found out about his relationship with Alberu, really. It didn’t matter to him to the extent that he failed to notice how everyone on the ship had suddenly become much quieter. It was, naturally, to listen to Cale’s reply. Even Alberu decided that it’d be best to let Cale speak for himself.
Of course, Alberu knew of Cale’s opinion on this, given that he really didn’t care about what others thought about him. But still, since no one but Alberu’s and Cale’s people (and Rosalyn) knew about the two of them being together, and none of them ever issued some official statement, the crown prince was anxious to hear his boyfriend’s reply.
Thoughts like ‘what if he hides it’ and ‘what if he doesn’t want anyone to find out’ were on his mind, yet they quickly came to a halt. Cale loved him, and in all honesty, that was more than enough for Alberu.
“What would you like to know, lady Amiru?”
The young lady smiled ever so slightly. There it was again, that soft smile on Cale’s lips which he probably didn’t even notice himself. Raon landed on his human’s shoulder, keeping quiet as he let the adults talk and instead looked at the vast sea.
“Well, there’s been rumors going around that the two of you were in a special kind of relationship exceeding friendship.”
Indeed, Alberu Crossman being in a relationship with the fallen noble Cale Henituse, who was now one of Roan’s heroes and Young Master Silver Light, the savior of the Plaza Terror Incident, had quickly spread after everyone saw the all so high and mighty crown prince crouch down in front of someone beneath his status and level. Furthermore, he had also carried the redhead! If it wasn’t love, what else?
Not to forget, Cale Henituse had entered alongside Alberu Crossman on the day of the banquet that was planned by the crown prince. If it wasn’t a statement to show off his status, what other reason it such a bold move possibly have?
Of course, if Cale Henituse was in a relationship with Alberu Crossman, it was a bit different, but Amiru did not think that the two of them were in a relationship. They appeared more like two best friends that knew each other for a very long while. That thought managed to make the nineteen year old jealous. She, as well as Gilbert and Eric, had known Cale for longer than the crown prince, and yet, after his mother’s funeral, the redhead somehow broke off contact and instead stayed close to some stranger. Now the two of them were extremely close.
“Well, young master Cale, I actually just wanted to ask about a rumor going around.”
Cale raised his eyebrow, a sign for Amiru to continue. The future Viscountess chuckled at that. For some reason, she felt a bit more confident, despite the three chilling gazes that were on her. Yet, before she could specify what she had heard, an individual interfered.
“What are you talking about, huh?! Muahahaha, who’d want to be together with such a weakling, whose only strength is having strong people surround him?! Muahahaha, you wimp are in a relationship?”
Alberu would not lie, in that very moment, seeing the as ‘Bob’ disguised Toonka make fun of his beloved boyfriend, he wanted to teleport onto the boat and beat that bastard to a pulp. He knew that, despite him having the image of an average strong crown prince (something he wanted to keep up until the final day he wouldn’t be able to), if he had been there, he’d beat Toonka to a pulp. He didn’t even have to transform to his quarter-dark-elf form, his strength alone was more than enough.
And, naturally, he wasn’t the only one who was thinking along those lines. Passing the video communication device (the one Alberu handed Cale on his ninth birthday) over to his father, Beacrox rolled up the sleeves of his white, spotless shirt. His deadpanning expression, that usually didn’t display an ounce of any kind of emotion, was showing anger and fury.
The boat was big and had a storage room – which had been where Toonka had been ordered to stay up until now. It’s been Amiru’s condition for him to tag along, seeing that he and Cale’s close servants had had a conflict not many days ago. Seeing Toonka up here meant that he didn’t do as he was told, despite promising. Technically, it was a breach of the contract, but seeing that they were closer to the island than the mainland, they wouldn’t be able to turn back.
Ron, already aware of his son’s thoughts, ignored everyone and walked closer to Cale. Raon, who had been sitting on his shoulder, did the opposite and instead flew closer to Beacrox. Just like before, if indeed a fight broke lose; he’d support his favorite chef who was also a member of his family.
-Strong Beacrox, I’ll make sure the boat doesn’t sink, so don’t worry about that.
The edges of the greatsword wielder’s lips went up ever so slightly before he forced them down again. The six year old Raon sure was one of the most reliable members of their family. In the meantime, Cale was handed the video communication device. He and his beloved boyfriend made eye contact and Alberu simply let out a deep sigh.
Truly, he did pity Cale who always got caught up in such ridiculous situations.
-I think I really should have teleported over there.
For the first time, Cale agreed. He nodded, giving a small hum. If Alberu had been here, there would have been a lot of uses for him. For one, he could pose as Cale’s meat shield, as usual. He was great to hide behind since he was taller and wider than Cale (his legs were at fault). Then again, he could also display a bit of his authority as the crown prince and make ‘Bob’ calm down, forcibly if necessary. ‘Bob’ wouldn’t be able to resist the Raon Kingdom’s crown prince’s words, especially since he was no other than ‘Bob’ and not Toonka right now.
“…You know what, I wanna go back home.”
Ron and Amiru, who were the closest to Cale (including Alberu), were the only ones who heard the redhead’s words. And while Ron understood them very well, the young lady Urbarr did not. And then,
Kshhhhhhhh.
Beacrox and the as ‘Bob’ disguised Toonka started running at each other once more. Despite having fought once already – with a high amount of damages – it didn’t appear like any of the two of them intended on stopping anytime soon. Well, then again…this was just Cale’s luck.
Notes:
Hi~~~
Lately, I've been overworked with school work! Today, we wrote our last german exam for the year (FINALLY!!!) and tomorrow will be the last MUSIC exam. Not to forget the French class text from last thursday which still annoys me since I'm convinced that I failed it.
Well, it is what it is I suppose.
Next week, we'll write physics exam and after, I'm finally free for another two weeks. I guess this is the life of a student - not that I asked to be a student though. It's almost as if there's someone standing in front of me, offering me his hand to stand up, and after I took it, he's pulling it away, making me fall to the ground. That pretty much describes my school life, at least.
Well, life hits hard sometimes, even harder than a bitch.
I just wanted to post this chapter today, since I don't know whether I'll manage to do it on the other days this week. I'm planning on painting my walls another color, I've been wanting to since over a year already.
Currently, they're a light blue color, which annoys me to no end. I don't think it's an ugly color, don't get me wrong, it's just, it doesn't fit in my room and doesn't really...well, go with me. So I wanted to change my walls to something darker (I love English Red, like this copper like wall color, please, it's perfect), even though my room in itself is already pretty dark. Well, I have enough artificial light in here. And since I don't have to go to school on thursday and friday, it's the perfect time to do it!
=)
Then, I hope you liked this chapter and didn't have to wait for it for too long~
Until next time, then~
<3<3<3
Chapter 56: 54. Why me? (5)
Summary:
Cale attracting trouble as always
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Splash, splash, splaaaaaaaaash!
Cough, cough-!
-Human! Where are you?!
“Young master Cale!”
“Young Master Silver Light!”
After hearing the last call, Cale actually really wanted to drown in the vast sea, to never be seen ever again and live in some underground sea cave where no soul would ever be able to find him. He ignored the suddenly large waves that surrounded him and stopped struggling against the water that was pulling him down for a split second.
It was getting darker and darker, the deeper he sank.
In such an environment, where he, momentarily, wasn’t getting enough air in his lungs because of the water surrounding his every side, not even the Vitality of the Heart was of much use. While the regeneration ancient power sure was invincible against both sicknesses, physical pains as well as all kind of other body-related issues, it was not some diver’s equipment.
Slowly but surely, Cale realized that too. He widened his eyes in shock and finally began moving his arms – a failure through and through.
‘Huh?!’
Despite moving his arms and legs in an attempt to swim underwater, Cale’s body wasn’t moving at all. Well, technically it was moving, yet in the wrong direction. The situation of the currently drowning redhead got worse as he noticed a strange shadow appearing above him – and a strange, black object closing in on his right that was even bigger than the ship he’d been on.
No matter how cool-headed he was, Cale’s eyes widened in pure terror. It wasn’t like Cale, even back as Kim Rok Soo, had never been in a situation where he needed to swim. Actually, shortly after Lee Soo Hyuk’s and Choi Jung Soo’s deaths, and after Kim Rok Soo had been appointed as the new team leader of team one, he got a bunch of new rookies and had to take them out on a field mission to take down the Eight-Leg-Shark-Head-Octopus. And to do that, he needed to dive as well.
The Han River [a river that flows through Seoul] was where the Grade 2 monster resided. While it wasn’t too difficult to deal with and was on the weaker end of Grade 2 monsters, it was annoying to deal with as it was underwater. And while Kim Rok Soo, and thus Cale, wasn’t the best of swimmers or divers, he’d managed.
Wasn’t there some scientific report saying people couldn’t forget how to swim – once learned, forever learned or something like that? Argh, it was so annoying to think about it such an urgent situation where he wasn’t getting any air and was as good as all out of air right now!
But then again, why did Beacrox and that fucking douchebag bastard have to go at each other’s throats like that, and on a ship at sea nonetheless?! Cale had honestly expected more from Beacrox – a whole lot more. It was beneath the talented head chef to fight with someone like Toonka, so why did he do it?
‘It doesn’t matter now anyways, I just hope Alberu will take care of Raon, he’s too young to be left alone.’
Cale’s expression turned to a sour one as he thought about all of his stupidly useless ancient powers, at least in a situation such as this. Theoretically, he could use the Sound of Wind – something Cale did not think about because of the lack of air right now, though the loud and especially mixed voices in his head weren’t all that innocent either.
‘Shit, I wanted to go farm in some quiet place with the children after taking care of this shitty war.’
The eighteen year old youth couldn’t help but feel like crying despite being in such an odd situation. Forgotten were the two shadows he’d noticed before as his vision got blurry and his gaze headed downward, to the black-seeming bottom of the ocean.
‘I should have brought my scuba diver suit like when I obtained the Sound of the Wind, tsk.’
The moment Cale lost consciousness, two hands grabbed him at once.
~
A few minutes earlier, Cale had no clue whatsoever that he’d be in any kind of danger on the boat. With cold eyes, he stared at the as ‘Bob’ disguised commander of the Whipper Kingdom, who was also the leader of the revolution against the mages, Toonka. The brute was having a smugly satisfied grin on his ugly face. The grin, Cale was certain, was by far too wide for anyone to be able to repeat such an ugly motion with his lips.
Beacrox, who was facing his precious younger brother with his back, had, for a change, a grin on his lips too. It wasn’t a happy grin or anything, no, actually, it couldn’t even be called a grin. Despite the edges of his lips being slightly curled upward, nothing else was expressing any emotion at all – at least not to stranger’s eyes. There was a fire deep inside the head chef’s brown eyes that matched his hair color. It was his anger that he kept on suppressing whenever he crossed paths with this bastard.
The head chef clenched his fists, ready to hit the oversized bastard that dared to insult his younger brother once again, even after getting beaten to a pulp in their previous fight, yet stopped after someone, or rather his own father, stepped between the two of them. There was his ever so benign smile on his lips, yet his eyes were colder than usual. He locked eyes with his son, signalizing him to behave properly, then turned his head to face the large wall of a man. Ron was the same height as Alberu, and thus by no means small. Hell, he was by far above average, and yet, he seemed small in comparison to the overgrown idiot with nothing but muscles and brute strength going for him.
“Let’s not fight on the open sea where the consequences will be fatal for everyone.”
When Ron’s words left the old man’s mouth, Beacrox stiffened and quickly glanced at Cale. The redhead looked the same as usual, though his frown seemed to be deeper than usual and he seemed a lot more tired.
‘Ah,’
Even if Raon said he’d protect Cale by all means, being so close to strong people who were about to fight was never a good thing, especially not for someone of Cale’s level! The head chef felt stupid for once, and it was not because of the crown prince’s judging glare at him (which was pretty much of no significance whatsoever).
Yet, the other party, Toonka, didn’t seem to care all too much about the boat’s passenger’s situation. He followed Beacrox’ eyes, then snorted, a mocking expression in his eyes.
“Muahahaha, a great warrior ignores the weak! What’s someone like you doing protecting a weak wimp like that, huh?”
Hearing ‘Bob’s’ derogatory words, the tense Amiru, who had kept silent until now because of Cale’s request, got up from her seat, approaching ‘Bob’ and Ron.
“Bob, how come you’re talking in such a manner?! Did you forget our agreement on taking you along on this excursion? You promised not to get in a fight and to respect and protect the people here! I have absolutely no problem on going back to get you off the boat and then to kick you out of the territory!”
Surprisingly enough, the as ‘Bob’ disguised Toonka actually took a step back and nodded his head, his amused and mocking grin gone. That idiot, while he wasn’t bowing his head, seemed to have understood the significance of Amiru’s words.
Letting out a loud breath, the future viscountess was about to return to her seat next to Cale, when she heard ‘Bob’ say something strange. She did not understand what he had said despite being so close, yet someone else had clearly heard.
-Strong Beacrox, let’s hit him just once to make him know his place! I’ll protect the ship and human, so don’t worry about anything!
Beacrox, who sidestepped his shocked father before he could even react, as he too had the reflexes of a talented assassin, turned his body to get the best possible momentum for his hit while approaching the overgrown idiot bastard, then pushed his fist forward against the overly arrogant man. It was too fast for anyone but Ron and Raon to see, including Toonka, though it was more because he had turned Beacrox his back and didn’t notice anything amiss until it was too late.
When he turned his face with the ugly ass smile on it, it was by far too late and his face simply became the target for Beacrox’ hit. Trusting Raon to take care of the aftermath, Beacrox gave it his very all.
Thump.
And Beacrox’ all, well, it was more than just an average hit. While the torture expert was still weaker than Toonka, he was strong enough to hit the Whipper Kingdom’s citizen strong enough for the giant to pass out for good. And pass out Toonka did, after he stumbled in the wrong direction and pushing someone over board.
It was, surprisingly enough, not Cale, yet the fisherman’s son Jeff. The young boy, in his shock, grabbed the closest person to him, who was Cale, then tried not to fall over – in which Jeff succeeded; at the cost of pushing Cale overboard though…
Cale, who was even more surprised than anyone else, was deep in the water before he knew it – with his precious mana-filled communication device in his hands. Of course, he could’ve let go of the precious and costly device, given that Alberu could buy hundreds of those (and he himself even more), yet the redhead did not want to lose such a precious item if he could avoid it, thus went after it.
And before he knew it, he landed in the situation he was in shortly before he passed out – unable to orient underwater and thus drowning.
“Young Master Cale Henituse!”
“Young Master Silver Light!”
“Quick! Quick! Go after him!”
“But I never learnt how to swim or dive!”
At the same time, the people on board panicked. Technically, both the crown prince (connected via magic communication device) and young master Cale had gotten thrown overboard just now! Of course, if Cale hadn’t been the lightweight he was, such a thing wouldn’t have happened, yet things had already happened and thus couldn’t be changed.
And while Amiru and her respectable guards were getting anxious, Ron and Beacrox reacted quickly.
“Go after him.”
Ron seemed as calm and as collected as always, almost as if his precious grandson hadn’t just fallen overboard. Naturally, it only looked like that on the outside. To those who didn’t know Ron, he looked the same as usual, and yet, after glancing at his father, Beacrox got the chills and couldn’t waste another second by standing around.
Taking off his shirt, he jumped into the water to follow after Cale. He couldn’t waste another second.
Steve, the fisherman, managed to stop the boat soon after, only a few feet away from the place Cale had been pushed overboard at. His heart was beating way too fast and he felt incredibly suffocated. He couldn’t take his eyes off his son, yet he couldn’t exactly walk to him and do what he wanted to do the most.
The Urbarr knights had already surrounded him, either yelling at him or saying other useless bullshit.
‘But it’s not Jeff’s fault. Anyone, be it the best swimmer in the world or some dunce, would have grabbed on to something to not fall over.’
Perhaps it was because of that, but Steve finally managed to break out of his frozen state. With robotic and stiff steps, he approached his son, finally able to hear what the knights were going on about.
“Young Master Silver Light is the hero of our kingdom! How dare someone like you push him into water?”
“Young Master Silver Light is the weakest! After rescuing so many citizens at the Plaza, he’s now in recovery! He sacrificed his body to save our kingdom’s citizen!”
“As a fisherman’s son, wouldn’t you know how to swim?”
“Boy, did you see our Young Master Silver Light? He’s so small and precious, how could you just push someone like that overboard?”
Steve stopped in his steps for and instant. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had heard right and whether the guards were truly scolding his son because he pushed Cale Henituse rather than the crown prince (even if not literally) in the water. But indeed, the knights were going on and on about how weak Cale Henituse was and how such a hero should be protected instead of pushed into some water by a fisherman’s son.
Well, it wasn’t untrue though. It’d have been much better if Jeff had fallen in the water, given that the teen could move inside the water like a fish without being in danger of drowning, unlike someone as weak as Cale who had never visited the sea before this.
Taking a deep breath after realizing that things weren't as bad as Steve had anticipated, the fisherman quickly approached his son, pushing his way through the scoffing and huffing knights.
“Gentlemen, let’s not be like this, please! I know my son did wrong, but he’s just sixteen and doesn’t know better!”
The tallest of the knights, a rather handsome young man in his early twenties, just a few years older than Cale, yet much sturdier and stronger, scoffed as he shook his head.
“While that may be true, it doesn’t make the situation any better. Young Master Sil- Young master Cale is not only our kingdom’s hero, but also the son of Count Henituse and someone his Royal Highness the crown prince, Alberu Crossman, sincerely cherishes. And even if he weren’t all that…”
The knight took a break in which he looked past Steve, instead locking eyes with the young teen, whose consciousness was already bad enough as it was.
“…someone of young master Cale’s weak composition should not be pushed into the water, even if it’s an unconscious reaction. It is of utter-“
The knight was unable to finish what he was saying, as someone put a gentle hand on his shoulder. It was soft, yet firm at the same time. The knight immediately turned around, now facing his young lady, Amiru Urbarr.
The future Viscountess smiled, yet her eyes were sharp and cold. She was unable to hide the worry in her hazel eyes. Clearing her throat, Amiru gestured for the knights to knock it off as she shooed them away, giving both Jeff and his father some place to breathe.
“Thank you very much, my lady! How-“
Once again, Amiru raised her hand for Steve, who was bowing down in front of her, to stop. Her smile was gone and her eyes were colder than before. Despite her stepping in, she didn’t do it for the fisherman’s or his son’s sake.
“Don’t thank me. It’s not good for the people to be too chaotic on the boat when young master Cale still hasn’t been rescued. You will face the consequences when we return to our territory, both you and your son. Pushing off nobility, and the crown prince’s proxy at that, be it by accident or not, could count as treason. If you’re unlucky, it even will.”
With those words, Amiru turned around, leaving Steve and Jeff by themselves. Amiru Urbarr, despite being someone kind and gentle, was still nobility, who could be strict and even cruel sometimes, if needed. And right now, despite knowing that it was nothing but an accident, the young lady couldn’t help but act the way she did.
She returned to her bewildered and shocked knights, beginning to calm them down, mostly to calm herself as well.
While the situation turned slightly less chaotic, at least for the people of the Urbarr territory, the waves in the ocean kept getting bigger and bigger, all because of the young dragon that was in utter despair. Raon did not know how to swim or dive, and he also couldn’t see his human at the moment! The six year old child felt utter despair overcome him as he thought about the possibility of his human drowning. He recalled how Ron had told him about how dangerous the sea actually was and how he should stay away from the water, just in case.
The young dragon’s eyes shook, yet he had no other choice than to calm down after feeling an old hand patting the air close to him. Of course, it was Ron’s attempt to pat the young child’s head, but it was quite difficult to pinpoint an invisible being’s position in the air at that. Raon quickly flew closer and sat down on Ron’s shoulder, his paws were still shaking in suppressed fear and anger.
“There’s no need to be worried. My son is a good swimmer.”
Despite Ron’s “comforting” words, Amiru, her guards and the fisherman and his son felt their necks run cold. The old butler’s expression certainly did not match his words as he looked like he was getting ready to get rid of each of them at once – and the former assassin’s gaze wasn’t even pointed at them! Ron was calmly glancing at the water, yet he only appeared to be calm on the outside. His eyes shook ever so slightly and he clenched his fists.
Naturally, he trusted in his son’s ability to get back Cale, there was absolutely no doubt on his mind that his precious grandson would be safe, but that still didn’t change the fact that his puppy-like grandson had to experience almost-drowning like this! It was all because of that overgrown ape, who didn’t know when the glass was overflowing.
There were air bubbles coming up and the sea, that had turned a bit calmer, soon was disturbed once again, this time it was because two people broke through its surface with another person in their hands. Usually, Ron would first observe the third person, and unknown woman with strange but beautiful and almost magical blue hair, yet he had absolutely no time for that.
-Human! Human! Gramps, the human doesn’t reply! His eyes are closed! Gramps!
Crouching down at the edge of the boat while absolutely ignoring the passed out hooligan, Ron stretched out his hands in order to receive Cale from his son. Beacrox, with the help of the unknown woman, quickly lifted Cale and handed him over to his father, then got on the boat as well, with the woman following him.
“Young master Cale!”
Amiru, after seeing the passed out noble, quickly hurried to the old butler, yet had no other choice than to stop. It was because she couldn’t approach any closer. This time, it wasn’t because anyone was glaring at her, no, not at all. A strange feeling overcame her as she observed the crouching old man and his son in his tries to check on Cale, giving the young noble first aid. Their movements were quick and there was not an ounce of hesitation in either of their actions. A confident air was surrounding the two servants, which made it hard for anyone, not just Amiru, to approach.
Perhaps that was why her gaze headed to the third person who was somewhat awkwardly standing a few steps next to the two servants and passed out noble. It was a woman so beautiful; Amiru had never seen someone like that before. In terms of beauty, she could even be compared to Alberu Crossman and Cale Henituse – two otherworldly beauties. Her wavy, marine blue hair matched her piercing eyes, which had the color of the vast sea. Long lashes framed her curious eyes, they were thick and something any woman wanted to have. Her pale skin was shimmering ever so slightly because of the water and her clothes were drained. For a moment, Amiru wondered about where this woman came from, yet couldn’t continue to do so after making eye contact with her.
The unknown woman who popped up out of nowhere, saving Cale, smiled at Amiru’s curious eyes.
“Hello.”
A casual greeting left her full lips as she pulled out the milky orb from god knows where. It was Cale’s mana-filled communication device.
“I think the mister lost this.”
Handing the video communication orb to Amiru, who couldn’t help but receive it, the woman smiled as she observed the party. All of a sudden, her eyes widened as if she had realized something, then she turned her head back to look at the still unconscious redhead.
‘Noona, the mister who saved me is extremely pretty. He’s an effeminate man, so you’ll definitely recognize him as soon as you see him. You mustn’t put him in danger, since it’s thanks to him that I’m still alive!’
“…Excuse me, is this person-“
“Noona!”
Before the woman, who was the sister of the handsome man Cale had rescued the day prior, could ask whether Cale was ‘the savior-nim’, she was disturbed by a loud yell coming from right in front of the boat. There, as if he hadn’t just appeared out of nowhere, a young man that resembled the woman like no other, climbed on top of the boat as well.
By now, the guards looked out for another boat, since there was no way that two people just appeared in here out of nowhere, yet they didn’t find any. The young man, ignoring the guards and anyone else, glanced at his sister, before he noticed his passed out savior. His eyes widened in shock as he turned around and walked straight to the redhead.
No need to say that the ship became more than just quite chaotic for the following minutes. While the guards couldn’t help but feel thankful to the woman whom the young man had called ‘noona’ just now, it was their task to protect their liege and their liege’s affiliates. Stepping in front of the young man and hence preventing him from approaching Cale Henituse any further,
The young man snorted in discontent and attempted to move past the guards, yet such a thing was not possible – and it wasn’t because he was too weak to do that.
“Paseton, let’s give him some space, the poor savior-nim almost drowned, after all.”
The man’s, Paseton’s, eyes widened in disbelief as he turned around to look at his sister’s face, almost as if to make sure he didn’t mishear. His sister’s expression didn’t change at all and she was still smiling ever so gently, almost as if nothing had happened. And yet, the gaze in her eyes was cold and calculative. It was because she still hadn’t forgotten what the person she had just partly rescued from drowning had done for her, well, her younger brother Paseton.
“…You’re right, noonim.”
Taking a few steps back, the young man had his head hung low, looking at his feet only. It was because he didn’t even notice that someone might have drowned, let alone his savior. It was quite ironical too, how it was his dear noona rescuing his savior.
“Savior-nim?”
“As expected of Young Master Silver Light, he’s going around saving people! That must be the reason why his highness cherishes him so much!”
“Hey, haven’t you heard that it’s because of something else?”
“Yeah, apparently the two of them have been friends ever since both of them were kids…”
The gorgeous woman, comparable to Rosalyn in terms of beauty even, had a slight smile on her lips and a gentler expression in her eyes after listening to the knights’ gossip. She felt like the savior of her little brother was much more special than she had anticipated. Well, to be quite honest, she hadn’t expected all too much to begin with.
“Paseton, so this is savior-nim.”
Paseton, looking up from his feet, nodded sternly at his older sister’s casual statement. There was a very firm and determined look in his eyes as he recalled everything that had happened yesterday evening. He had been certain he’d be a goner. No, he hadn’t just been certain, he’d been so frustrated that he’d been a goner that he cussed out the gods and the entire world – and then had been met with a handsome youth he, at first, mistook for a frail woman before realizing it had been a pretty man. The pretty being, whoever it was, had looked like an angel to the dying Paseton, which was why he had begged for him to be saved – not that he expected much, honestly. Most probably, at least he thought that way; this angelic being had come to take him to the afterlife.
Perhaps it’s not entirely true – the angel part of his thought process. While he hadn’t been taken in the afterlife, he had been gifted with a ‘second’ life. Theoretically, it was not a second life, but it sure felt like it. Mermaid poison was known to be lethal, and yet, here he stood, kicking and running.
“…noonim, we have to thank him proper-“
The gorgeous woman raised her hand as if to say ‘say no more, I’ve got it’. Her amiable smile made the knights feel warm, while Amiru grew more suspicious. It was odd that two people had appeared out of nowhere, calling Cale Henituse ‘savior-nim’. Of course, given Cale’s odd personality, Amiru didn’t think that these people lied when calling him their ‘savior-nim’, but it was still suspicious.
But she was the only one thinking that way.
“Thank you for your help.”
Beacrox Molan, someone who never spoke even a word of thanks to someone unrelated to his family (and Alberu), bowed down respectfully in front of the gorgeous woman. He had put his shirt back on, but his wet hair and pants still told the tale of him taking a dip into the water. While bowing in his respectful ninety-degree bow, the talented head chef did not dare to lift his head. It wasn’t because he was afraid or anything, actually, he felt rather annoyed after seeing the person Cale had rescued again, but since this woman who was most likely his sister did help him save Cale, he needed to do at least this much.
“Thank you very much for saving the young master-nim.”
The woman, taken a bit aback, raised her hands defensively as she shook her head, a bewildered smile gracing her lips.
“Um, it’s alright. That was the least I could do, and it’s not like I knew who I was saving, hahaha.”
Beacrox did not raise his head, even after hearing the woman’s surprised words. He remained in his bowing position, that is until he felt a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he could see his father.
Seeing his father here…
Turning his head back, Beacrox was able to see that Cale was still unconscious, but he was not dead as his chest was rising and falling in regular breaths. Now that Beacrox looked back at his father’s side profile, he noticed how the old man was clenching his teeth in both anxiousness and something akin to anger. But Ron did not look too worried anymore.
“…Fa-“
Before Beacrox could ask for the details though, Ron smiled his usual benign smile. Despite the talented assassin not looking at his son, the message was clear to Beacrox, who quickly closed his mouth as if he didn’t intend to say anything to begin with.
“Miss, I am infinitely grateful for your selfless act of savior. The royal family, no, his highness the crown prince will not forget this.”
Witira’s smile got a bit wider, a bit gentler, as she nodded her head as if to dismiss whatever Ron was saying. Yet contrary to her calm reaction – caused by her ignorance of the matters of the Roan Kingdom – the knights as well as their young liege were all shaken to their cores. Did they hear right just now?
‘…the royal family, no, his highness the crown prince will not forget this.’
No, Cale Henituse’s butler definitely said ‘royal family’ and ‘crown prince’ instead of ‘Henituse Family’ or ‘Henituse County’. While it may sound like nothing, it was everything. In the world of nobility and royalty the backing was everything. Usually, young nobles like Cale Henituse were backed by their own family, unless, unless…
“…Did his highness and Young Master Silver Light have that kind of relationship?”
It was something the young Jeff blurted out since he was still inexperienced and nothing but a child. His father, Steve, quickly put his hand on his son’s mouth, smiling apologetic at the confused knights and young lady Amiru Urbarr. But the future viscountess knew that there was something to the young fisherman’s son’s words. Judging by the way those two talked with each other, by how familiar they were with each other, by how the two of them behaved at each other’s presence…
It sounded more than just plausible to Amiru’s ears, now that she thought about it.
“Hahaha, there’s no need to remember something so small. That man would have rescued the savior-nim either way, even without my help.”
Staying friendly and humble, the woman with the X-shaped scar on her back waved her hand in dismissal, glancing at the man she was talking about. Beacrox stiffened up ever so slightly, remembering the very moment both his and the woman’s hand touched the sinking Cale at the same time. The two of them had exchanged a quick glance after which she had helped him in the rescue. But it wasn’t like he couldn’t have done it by himself.
“Hm, savior-nim?”
Ron, who was fully aware of who the man by this woman’s side was, pretended to not know anything as he tilted his head ever so slightly. The woman nodded her head as she pointed at her younger brother, Paseton. Her expression became much gentler too, when talking about him.
“Yes, the savior-nim, I mean young master Cale, saved my younger brother, Paseton. That’s actually why we came here today, to show him our gratitude.”
The woman smiled gently as she stepped over the passed out giant to get closer to the old man and his son. Paseton followed her without giving it much thought, stepping on the man’s rock-like leg while clicking his tongue in disdain. How could someone like that pass out in the middle of the boat, preventing the crew and people to move freely? This man was such a stupid idiot like giant (and Paseton thought that way even before meeting Toonka when he was awake).
Ron, who did not move despite the siblings closing in on him, smiled his usual benign smile as he shook his head ever so slightly. His eyes were cold.
“There’s no need to do that, miss. You’ve saved our precious young master-nim’s life, in fact; it is us and his highness who should be thanking you.”
Ron consciously used Alberu’s name while talking. It was for two reasons, both of which were major. After seeing the way ‘Bob’ acted around Cale, the old man needed the rumors to spread wide and far, so that not even a stupid bug would dare to approach Cale, let alone bite him. And if the people around him weren't enough, then invisible rumors should fulfill the job.
As for the second reason…
Ron smiled ever so slightly.
…the young crown prince had suffered for long enough already.
The woman, Witira the future Whale Queen or the Whale Beast People Tribe, shook her head, having no idea of any of the things Ron was talking about. The only thing she knew was that Cale Henituse, no matter which position he was in or which relations he had to other people, had saved her younger brother Paseton whom she had looked for so long already. So even if he was someone who had it all, she needed to thank him in person.
Well, that and she needed to talk to him about something personally.
‘He is Cale Henituse after all, of the Henituse County which would be closest to the Forest of Darkness.’
Witira did not show her objective, at least not until her conversation with a certain redhead.
For now…
“Young lady Amiru, please excuse this old man’s rudeness, but will we be heading back or-“
Amiru, finally able to take her eyes off Ron and Witira, as well as Beacrox and Paseton, turned her head to Steve. The fisherman swallowed hard after being faced with her cold eyes, yet managed to hide that.
“…Mister Steve, I believe that if young master Cale is unconscious, it will be pointless to inspect some island.”
She did not say anything else as she turned the fisherman her back and walked over to Cale Henituse. Now that Ron and Beacrox were busy dealing with these two newcomers, she could get a look at Cale’s pale face and his wet body and clothes. Now that those lose clothes were soaked and glued on his body, she could see his weak and thin frame.
“Young master Cale, you’re always going around saving people, it seems. So how can someone as weak as you who is cherished by his highness and is supposed to be the best protected person in our kingdom end up being the most hurt?”
If Amiru had known about the future, she wouldn’t have said any of those words.
Cale, even though unconscious, felt his neck run cold for some reason.
Notes:
Enjoy!
Chapter 57: 55. You coming? (1)
Summary:
A small flashback for y'all
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Team Leader Kim.”
All of a sudden, Kim Rok Soo felt his neck run cold. Chills appeared all over his body as he slowly looked up from his pale fingers to his superior, looking at the old man with his usual, stoic gaze. Cha Hee Young, a man whose personality didn’t match his name at all, could not look the emotionless youngster, who’d been appointed as the next team leader after Lee Soo Hyuk, in the eyes.
He still remembered the events from yesterday vividly.
‘Kim Rok Soo is more than just an emotionless and shameless punk, that bastard doesn’t even have an ounce of humanity in him. How could Mr. Lee appoint someone like that as the next team leader, huh?’
Cha Hee Young did not let his thoughts show and instead, he did his best to keep things professional. Out of all the old men that had attained high positions in the company because of past connections, he was one of the few who respected Lee Soo Hyuk. Perhaps it was because of that that he hated the thought of this youngster, barely an adult, taking on Lee Soo Hyuk’s position. And disregarding his age…
‘This bastard hasn’t shed a single tear yesterday!’
…Cha Hee Young did not want Kim Rok Soo to attain any kind of good position. To the old man, this barely twenty-three year old punk [I have no idea what age Kim Rok Soo was when he lost LSH and CJS, so please just roll with it, thanks in advance] had absolutely no right to get anything. While Kim Rok Soo was, no doubt there, a great asset to the company with his (freshly) to Grade 1 promoted ‘Record’ ability, his personality did not go well with that of a team leader. He was cold, showed no emotions whatsoever, and people always complained about him being too violent, often getting in fights with Choi Jung Soo. He was no social butterfly, no; he wasn’t even social, only showing up at events when he was being forced to by his former team members and he could not take care of other people well.
His face always looked the same and no one had ever seen him smile. The man, that stupid punk, was someone Cha Hee Young wanted to get rid of after reading his thorough and emotion-devoid report after the Unranked Monster incident which caused Lee Soo Hyuk’s and Choi Jung Soo’s deaths.
But that wasn’t the only reason manager Cha Hee Young felt like getting rid of Kim Rok Soo. That young punk, how often had he been disrespected by him?! The only reason why Hee Young let it go, was because of Lee Soo Hyuk coming and apologizing in Kim Rok Soo’s stead. But none of that mattered any longer.
Lee Soo Hyuk wasn’t there anymore, meaning there was no one forcing Kim Rok Soo to go to social events.
Choi Jung Soo, the only person Kim Rok Soo ever got into fights with, wasn’t there anymore either, meaning there was no reason Kim Rok Soo would get violent or into fights now, since Choi Jung Soo was the only person to ever fight with Kim Rok Soo.
And if none of that happened, there would be no need for Kim Rok Soo and Cha Hee Young to meet after this. Not just Cha Hee Young, none of the higher ups would need to meet Team Leader Kim Rok Soo anymore. It was because the position of Team Leader was that high up the ranks.
Still not daring to meet those chilling, reddish-brown eyes, Cha Hee Young took out a stack of stapled papers, all of which were part of Kim Rok Soo’s promotion related contract mixed with former Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk’s specific instruction of whom would become the next Team 1 Team Leader.
‘Team 1’s member, Kim Rok Soo, shall become the next Team 1 Team Leader in case I won’t be able to fulfill that condition for whatever reason.’
It wasn’t much that was printed down on the blank paper with the deceased team leader’s signature on it, typical of Lee Soo Hyuk, who always complained about doing paperwork when one should be out on the field instead. The two lines were small and Kim Rok Soo immediately recorded them, yet he still couldn’t take his eyes off the paper yet.
That is until Cha Hee Young covered the text with his hand while continuing to hold the stack of papers out to Kim Rok Soo. Slowly, the twenty-three year old man also received them with both of his hands. While it would have been natural to bow at least slightly, Kim Rok Soo did none of that. What was mistaken as disinterest and ignorance as well as self-confidence, was simply Kim Rok Soo not thinking straight.
Of course, Cha Hee Young knew nothing about that and mistook Kim Rok Soo’s actions to be overly smug, almost as if he had no problem whatsoever with his former team members dying. It made the old manager furious, yet he held it in. This was, after all, Lee Soo Hyuk’s last request of him.
“…These papers are but a formality. I’m handing them out to Team Leader Kim at former Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk’s request.”
Kim Rok Soo did not reply.
Not a single word had left his mouth ever since he entered Cha Hee Young’s office ten minutes ago. Cha Hee Young actually preferred it this way. This made it easier to imagine Kim Rok Soo as some sort of inhumane monster-like creature rather than the twenty-three year old punk that he actually was. It also made it easier to blame him for Lee Soo Hyuk’s death.
The youngster did not look up at him until the very end, staring at the line he had recorded already with a blank mind. Cha Hee Young kept on observing him. Perhaps it was because of Kim Rok Soo’s stoic expression, but the old manager could not tell what that young punk was thinking about. It was to the extent that Cha Hee Young found it disturbing even. Perhaps Kim Rok Soo being this way, this emotionless, was what made Lee Soo Hyuk appoint him as the next Team Leader. Even though Lee Soo Hyuk wasn’t that kind of person, he did want to best for humanity and even though Cha Hee Young didn’t want to say it out loud, yet alone think it, someone void of any emotion who could think rationally in all sorts of situations, someone like Kim Rok Soo in other words, was guaranteed to get the job done perfectly, just like he had done in the past.
‘But that still doesn’t have to mean that I approve of this.’
Cha Hee Young let out a shaky breath as he played with his fingers. All of a sudden, the air had turned a couple degrees colder, making the old manager feel uncomfortable and even scared. Ah, so Kim Rok Soo ended up looking straight at him. Cha Hee Young, whose name meant to have a joyful life filled with prosperity, felt like his life had just been shortened by ten years, after barely avoiding Kim Rok Soo’s gaze. He swallowed hard and looked up at the clock hanging above the door frame behind Kim Rok Soo.
“Ah, look at the time; it’s gotten so late already!”
‘It had been barely fifteen minutes.’
“Team Leader Kim, it’s been a pleasure to be the one to tell you the news of your promotion, even if the circumstances aren’t the best. If you have any questions, you can always ask the other team leaders, since they’ll know more about the work you’ll be doing.”
Cha Hee Young smiled until the very end, yet his shaking eyes and cold sweat were telling Kim Rok Soo everything the young adult needed to know. He got up from his seat without even as much as a noise of goodbye, then exited Manager Cha’s office.
‘It’s been a pleasure my ass.’
Kim Rok Soo’s steps quickened and the people he passed all quickly avoided him. If he hadn’t been Kim Rok Soo, they would have stopped to yell at him and scold him, yet rumors of his monstrous and inhumane, incredibly cold behavior had already made their way to even the simplest of his co-workers.
But that was the least of his problems, if it could be described as a problem in the first place. In all honesty, Kim Rok Soo preferred for people to keep their distance from him. It made it easier for him, too. If Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo would have done the same and if they wouldn’t have gotten so close to him…
Kim Rok Soo stopped in the middle of the staircase, not a single person was in sight. In his blank mind a single thought had formed, and following it, a bunch of similar thoughts appeared to support that single thought, all of which were additions to Kim Rok Soo’s what-ifs, born from his doubts and fears.
The young man who was barely an adult, yet never got to experience a proper childhood, did not know what he was supposed to do now. He had always been the kind of person that pulled through somehow, that managed, no matter what life threw at him. And yet, for the first time in his entire life, Kim Rok Soo did not know anything.
It wasn’t like he ever knew something, but he was aware of the people that were close to him that wanted him to be by their side until the end. Yet the end came pretty quickly for those people, too quickly.
‘It’s not like I’ve ever had anyone to care for me before them though…’
Unbeknownst to the young man, his hands began to shake as he clenched to the documents with all his might, almost as if they were his lifeline. Kim Rok Soo, he felt truly helpless for the first time in his life. He did not remember when he had ever felt like useless shit before. Not when he was faced with his abusive uncle, not when he ran away, not when he got bullied in Middle School, not when the monster apocalypse started and not he when was about to starve to death, and not even when he was faced with various life or death situations. At some point of Kim Rok Soo’s life, the young man had been certain that something was wrong with him, for him being unable to form connections to the people around him or even feel sympathy for them. But now that he thought about it, it had been for the better. If he truly didn’t feel anything…
Kim Rok Soo’s hand, which was clenching the documents handed to him by Cha Hee Young, stopped shaking and his grip loosened just enough for the documents not to fall to the ground. He then took a calm step forward, unlike his steps before. He was breathing in and out like a calm person usually would.
…because if he didn’t feel anything, he wouldn’t have to deal with anything pesky like emotions.
So why bother?
The people who made him open up were gone anyways, so why should he follow the wishes of a dead person, huh?
His heart, it beat normally again. The frog in his throat was also gone now too.
Who knew that it was that simple, just letting go, huh?
Glancing at the note with his former Team Leader’s message, Kim Rok Soo felt nothing but the cold temperature in the stair case. It truly was the beginning of winter, alright?
Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk became just names after that.
Kim Rok Soo’s ‘Record’ ability was quite useful in times like these, especially since it could be used in another way than to just record something, like sorting something from his brain and seal it away somewhere he wouldn’t be able to remember.
The rumors of the emotionless and dangerous Kim Rok Soo only became worse, going as far as no one wanting to become a rookie in his team. Not that Kim Rok Soo minded, since there being another person on his team would mean another person he had to protect besides himself.
Everything was easier if it was done by him, by him alone.
‘Rok Soo, when all of this is gonna be over, I’m gonna go farm with Team Leader Lee, hehe. Of course, we’re taking you along with us. There’s no way someone like you is gonna be a slacker, and even if, the least you can do is help us grow tomatoes and fruits.’
‘Tomato is a fruit, dumbass.’
‘Yeah, yeah, if it were, why is Ketchup called Ketchup and not tomato smoothie, ah?’
‘…’
‘See?! Now you’re speechless since what I’ve said makes so much sense, hehe!’
‘…No, it’s just, what you’re saying makes no sense, idiot, you-‘
‘Tsk, I’m not done yet! Listen! Team Leader Lee always nags at you for insisting to do things alone, so he told me that we’re gonna stick close to you until you get sick of us!’
‘I’m already sick of you, idiot, get out of here and stop wasting my time, Jung Soo.’
‘Aww, how could you say this to me? I’m gonna tell on you!’
‘You two are always so loud, tsk, tsk, tsk, stop arguing with each other as you are comrades. And don’t fight.’
‘This dumb-‘
‘Ah! Ah! Ah! Rok Soo-yah, Team Leader said that you should love and respect me~’
‘When did he-‘
‘You punk, stop fighting I said!’
…yes, everything was easier if he was alone and if his work wasn’t disturbed. At some point in time, Kim Rok Soo even managed to forget, or push back, most of his cherished memories with the only two people he could have considered family. Perhaps it would have been easier if he had thrown those things away, sealing them somewhere safe, when he still had the chance, instead of keeping them in the back of his mind where they could torment him forever.
But then again, due to ‘Record’, forgetting was impossible, even if storing away, suppressing them, was an option.
Kim Rok Soo had never led an easy life. He was a kid who had lost his parents at such a young age; he couldn’t even remember their faces, let alone the feeling of someone who cared being around him. Due to him moving in with his uncle soon after, living life on egg shells became second nature to him. It was to the extent he didn’t know something else. Perhaps that was why it was so difficult for him to open up to others.
Trauma was different for all people. Some don’t know about its effects while others get reminded of post traumatic events in their lives pretty much everywhere anytime.
Kim Rok Soo was somewhere in between. Even though he was never aware of it, he naturally kept a distance from most people, unable to form close relationships with anyone. Getting beaten up as a kid left its scars, even on emotional absent people – though perhaps the beatings were what made Kim Rok Soo like that in the first place.
Would life have been easier for him if he had grown up with his parents, getting loved and praised? If he didn’t have to experience inhumane things such as beatings and humiliating insults that were still engraved in the depths of his mind? Would he have been the same person he had become?
It was quite difficult to say.
Perhaps he wouldn’t have been so stupid in regards to himself.
Perhaps he wouldn’t have been so reckless about his own body and health.
Perhaps he would have taken better care of himself and realized that people worried about him.
But none of that mattered.
Things couldn’t be changed, things were like this.
~
Alberu had a constant scowl on his face as he stood at the dock with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The cool late spring air coming from the calm waves of the ocean hit his face, disheveling both his hair and fancy clothes. The ever so bright sun was slowly setting and the sky that had been a bright blue when Alberu first arrived turned into a peaceful, orange-pink color.
While the sight in front of the ever so powerful crown prince would look peaceful to many, especially with the calm ocean which had been freed of the wild Whirlpools, to Alberu, it looked like the sky was burning while the sea was making fun of him. Its calmness unnerved him because it reminded him so much of the very person he was currently waiting for. Had he been too lax?
Ever since becoming the crown prince with eighteen years, the time Alberu spent with Cale gradually decreased, though it once again increased ever since the redhead moved in with him. But because he was still the crown prince, and getting older and thus more responsible, it was only natural for Alberu’s workload to increase and for him to spend less time with Cale. The two of them sleeping in one bed didn’t change anything.
Was it perhaps because of Cale’s reckless nature that Alberu had come to somewhat tolerate? No, tolerate was too big of a word since Alberu disliked that side of Cale the most. Anything that could bring his boyfriend harm, even if it was one of his personality traits, was not something good.
In the end, was it his fault?
Yes, it was.
He shouldn’t have let Cale go by himself, should have constantly accompanied him. With the approaching civil war in the Whipper Kingdom and the Northern Alliance of the three northern kingdoms, as well as the unruly things going on in the Mongoru Empire and its intern conflict and this unknown organization which Choi Han faced in ‘The Birth of a Hero’ Cale told him about, and Cale, who knew about it all standing in the middle of this…
Yes, Alberu had been too lax.
He knew his boyfriend for well over ten years now, two of which he spend in a lover’s relationship with him, so how could Alberu not know Cale Henituse who had once been Kim Rok Soo? While the quarter dark elf may not know all about his boyfriend’s past, he did know that it was not something normal. Cale’s former life in South Korea as Kim Rok Soo…it too had left its marks on him, even if he didn’t show it directly.
Now that Alberu thought about it, his stupid boyfriend whom he still loved more than anything else, had always been like this.
“…stupid fool.”
Subconsciously, those words slipped out of Alberu’s mouth. The person standing close behind him frowned ever so slightly, yet didn’t say anything after seeing the twenty-three year old’s tense shoulders. But it was also because the person, a handsome young-seeming man with long, golden hair and even more beautiful golden eyes, secretly agreed with them. He did not have to think twice to know who was meant with them.
Only the third and last person that was standing on the dock with these two powerful people felt a bit suffocated despite the fresh breeze of air that was actually quite gentle for the wild Urbarr Territory’s coastline’s standards. Popelina Urbarr, the current Viscountess of the Urbarr Territory, had a complicated expression on her face.
Despite being well over the age of forty, she still looked quite young. She had the same green hair as her daughter and the same light amber eyes, and yet she still looked like a completely different person. On her round face was an unusual frown and her thin brows were furrowed together in both thought and worry.
She recalled the crown prince’s sudden arrival in her front yard almost five hours ago now. Back then, it was still midday with her daughter and the inspection team having departed just an hour ago. The confusion she felt back then only slightly disappeared after having conversed with the powerful young man.
The expression the gentle crown prince had had on his face etched itself in Popelina’s memory and she was unable to see the praised princy prince Alberu Crossman was rumored to be. What she saw was a wild beast willing to behead her and her people at any moment, only being held back by a chilly, just as dangerous appearing man.
At that moment, despite these two men’s otherworldly beauty, Popelina understood something. The rumors that had surrounded Cale Henituse, they were not the truth. Such a well-protected person- She was glad that her daughter hadn’t broken off the contact to Cale Henituse.
It was different than the Viscountess had imagined, and while she still didn’t fully understand what kind of relationship someone like the crown prince and a simple but rich count’s son could have, she could do nothing but wait to find out.
She shivered a bit after another cool breeze swept past her. Brushing back her strands of hair that had escaped her lose ponytail, she looked up at the sea once more, only to be met with a different sight than the past hours. There, not so far away from the shore and hence dock, was the silhouette of a midsized sailor’s ship. It was quite big compared to usual, mostly because it was a special ship – one that belonged to the Viscountess.
Popelina immediately recognized the ship she had lent to the fisherman Steve and his son. Just as she was about to share her observation, she realized that she was the last who had noticed it. The beautiful man, who had been introduced as Cale Henituse’s guardian knight, inched closer to the crown prince. He was about an inch taller – nothing of significance – and leaned down ever so slightly to whisper something directly in Alberu’s ear.
While this particular guardian knight could have done the same without whispering or inching closer to Alberu, as he was an ancient dragon who could use magic for anything, he still chose to do this. Mostly because he felt the need to put his hand on the young prince’s shoulder to restrain him if needed. Who knew what Alberu would do to the one responsible for this situation, after all?
The ship sailed closer and as it finally arrived at the dock, neither Alberu nor Eruhaben lost another second standing around doing nothing. With quick and few steps because of their long legs, they arrived in front of the ship just as the experienced fisherman’s son Jeff moved the gangplank so that the passengers could finally get off this cursed ship.
The first thing Alberu noticed was the eye-catching crimson hair he was all too familiar with, next were the two strange people close to him. While they were exceptional beauties as well, Alberu’s eyes didn’t even sway once from the familiar yet strangely pale face. He furrowed his brows even more, subconsciously biting his lower lip.
“Young master Cale! Please don’t overdo it!”
The moment Cale stepped on the steep gangplank, a young woman’s voice followed behind him. The young lady Amiru Urbarr held her hands outstretched, as if she would catch Cale in case he fell over – something that was, looking at the people walking in front of him and next to him as well as the invisible being sticking to his shoulder, absolutely unnecessary. Alberu knew that too, and yet, his legs still moved.
The two people in front of Cale, Ron and Beacrox, wordlessly stepped aside to let Alberu through. While the two of them loved to make fun of the crown prince and also pretended that his feelings towards Cale weren't something important, both of them knew that it wasn’t the truth. Alberu, he really did love Cale – after all.
Amiru, who finally noticed Alberu and the beautiful, no, gorgeous, man still standing on the dock a few feet away from her mother, gulped and patted her untidy dress. She suddenly felt pressured, perhaps it was because of Alberu Crossman’s unusually serious expression.
While on the ship, Amiru had gotten a rough idea about the actual relationship between her old childhood friend and the future king of the Roan Kingdom. And seeing the interaction of those two – she was certain, even without seeing Alberu patting Cale’s clothes and gently moving checking for any kinds of sustained injuries.
“Ehem.”
It was only after he was done with checking the unusually quiet Cale that Alberu turned around to his right and Cale’s left and made eye contact with an otherworldly beautiful woman. Her magical blue hair that shone despite the sun setting and sky becoming darker was smooth and resembled the calm sea more than the sea itself even. She was well built and just as tall as Cale, thus especially tall for a woman. Having a well-built body and an x-shaped scar on her back, Alberu could tell that she was a strong warrior.
He knitted his brows, still not smiling as he waited for the other party to state what was on her mind.
Silence overcame everyone and no one dared to move or speak while Alberu Crossman and the woman who appeared out of nowhere and saved Cale made eye contact. Well, no one but a certain redhead.
“Mn.”
Groaning, Cale rolled his eyes while brushing his face with both of his hands. He could feel that with Alberu being here, something bad was coming his way – especially since he had explicitly told him that he was very busy this time around.
Immediately, his boyfriend and rescuer turned their heads to look his way. While the woman, Witira, smiled a friendly smile (which alerted Cale very much), Alberu had an unusual expressionless face. It was almost as if the crown prince was warning his boyfriend about something.
“…”
Cale could feel it deep inside his bones. He swallowed his words ‘What are you doing here? Didn’t you have to work?’ and instead cleared his throat. Sensing that Alberu would most likely drag him back to his castle if he said something like that, the redhead chose his words wisely.
“…It’s good to see you here, your-“
“Stop. I don’t want to hear it. Is this the person Ron was talking about?”
While Alberu’s words were spoken in an indifferent voice, the look in his eyes when he looked at the person standing to his left and Cale’s right, Paseton, was more than clear, making his words sound like ‘is this the bastard who bothered you?’. And honestly, it was pretty much like this. Cale sighed. It was unusual for Alberu to lash out like this on strangers he didn’t know, but after taking a single glance at his boyfriend’s tense shoulders, Cale let him be.
“…Yes, it is. Uh, before you say anything…”
Cale had a troubled expression on his face and exchanged a troubled look with his old butler who was more like a grandfather to him. Ron sighed too, ready to jump in and take the burden of saying ‘it’ off of Cale’s shoulders, when Witira’s smile got a bit wider.
“You must be his highness the crown prince of the Roan Kingdom, your highness Alberu Crossman, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’ve heard quite a lot about you.”
Witira did not mention that the stories she did hear about Alberu involved him ejecting her and Paseton from ever entering the Roan Kingdom ever again. She held out her hand, mostly to seem friendlier, yet Alberu simply glanced at it and only reluctantly took it after getting nudged by Cale.
Witira’s and his handshake was similar to two young siblings being forced by their parents to make up. While one party was more open and did her best to be friendly, the other, usually gentle and kind party did not try to hide his disdain.
In the end, with so many open questions left open between them, with so many unsaid things and the situation being unclear, one couldn’t expect anything else of the overprotective Alberu and the proud Witira who hid her true identity.
Cale, who was somehow caught up in the middle of the handshake and this oppressive atmosphere, shook his head. He could feel a headache coming his way once again. And to make matters worse…
“Achoo!”
…the ever so healthy noble sneezed after feeling cold. While his clothes weren’t wet anymore, it was still cold standing there on the shoreline.
Of course, his little sneeze caused, once again, many misunderstandings – despite his people knowing of his regeneration ancient power.
Haaa, how did he end up attracting so many powerful people like this?
Well, it was still better to get escorted back to the villa rather than Alberu meeting the tied up Toonka who would get off the ship last.
At least that’s what Cale thought.
Notes:
Hello!
I really hope you've enjoyed this chapter(s), mostly since it'll be the last for a while.
Life's been quite rough and my private life's been quite chaotic lately. I've thought about it for a bit, and with the encouragement of my sis, I've decided to take a longer break this time around. I can't exacly tell you how long it'll be, since I don't know myself. I hope that you can wait for the update, wait for me, if this is still of interest to you, naturally.
I thank you for all of your support and the encouraging comments up until now - I really, really appreciate it, a lot.
I feel very saddened that I need to take a break, especially since I had so many ideas for this fic and it seemed like all of you were excited for it as well.
Stay safe and healthy until next time, alright?
<3
Chapter 58: 56. You coming? (2)
Summary:
:)
Chapter Text
Cale regretted his way of thinking two days after.
Groaning, he gave his best to ignore his building headache, which was caused by his paperwork rather than his ever so loved boyfriend, who’d been sticking to him like some sort of gum ever since his falling-into-the-water incident while going through a new set of documents handed to him by Viscountess Urbarr.
Of course, Alberu refusing to leave his side wasn’t that bad of a thing, not at all. Cale missed him, even more than he’d ever care to admit. Being close to the crown prince, it was more than enough for Cale to feel like home. It was quite ironical, for some reason, for Cale to feel like home in the presence of another person. Perhaps though that was what true love was like.
The quarter dark elf, having noticed the pair of eyes on him, stopped looking over his own paperwork, looking up and locking eyes with his boyfriend instead. His ever so icy azure eyes softened the moment he locked eyes with Cale, a small smile tugging on the edges of his lips. Unmistakably, he too preferred to be in his boyfriend’s presence.
“What is it? You want to take a break?”
Cale simply shook his head at that, leaning forward ever so slightly, yet enough to close the small distance between his boyfriend and himself and place a quick kiss on the older’s lips.
“Nothing, just wondering when you’re gonna head back.”
The genuine small smile on Alberu’s lips turned a bit wider, turning into a teasing grin. Putting down his documents, his hands wandered to his boyfriend’s slim waist and pretty face, pulling him much closer while raising his chin to keep their eyes interlocked. In moments like these, the couple’s height difference really seemed to come in handy – at least to the older.
“Why, you don’t want me here?”
Alberu’s teasingly low mumbles against Cale’s ear were met with a cute pout. He shifted the position of his head ever so slightly, so that he could fully look at the redhead he managed to get to be his boyfriend two years ago now. The cherry lips, which Cale subconsciously bit whenever Alberu was teasing him like this, his pale, porcelain skin, which was paler than anyone’s and yet still so beautiful, his sharp jawline and those pretty, gorgeous reddish-brown eyes framed by long, black lashes. Alberu absorbed every so small detail of his boyfriend’s face, staring so intently at him that the redhead couldn’t help but blush slightly, trying to turn his head away without succeeding to do so though.
The crown prince’s grip on his chin, while extremely gentle, was firm. He wouldn’t allow Cale to look away, not when he still hadn’t finished looking at him. Alberu never understood how there could be people who enjoyed looking at pieces of art. His aunt had a fetish of choosing expensive paintings for his palace, then staring at them for minutes. They were nothing but paintings, after all, so how could anyone stare at them for so long if they could stare at the real thing? But seeing Cale in front of him like this, if there was an artist great enough to capture his every detail like this, perhaps Alberu should ask him to paint Cale for him.
It was pretty unfair, after all, no? That Cale got his ‘Record’ ability which allowed him to remember every detail, while Alberu was stuck with just his memory – which wasn’t bad at all, but that wasn’t what was important.
Cale’s cheeks became even redder after Alberu continued to simply look at him. For some reason, that felt even stranger than when the two of them kissed. Maybe that was because of Alberu’s intensive stare, his focused eyes looking at Cale as if he was the only important thing in this world.
There was no looking away now-
“Tsk, you two are aware that you’re not alone in this room, right?”
As soon as Eruhaben’s calm voice sounded through the suddenly silent room, Cale quickly turned his head away from Alberu, the latter allowing it this time. It was just too amusing, the way Cale’s ears turned pink while his entire face became even redder out of embarrassment, almost as if the two of them hadn’t just stared at each other and instead…done something.
The ancient dragon, not looking at the lovely-dovely couple out of various different reasons (he couldn’t bear to see his child behaving all grown up, being in a relationship like that, like please give him back his cute brat who’d always annoy everyone!), cleared his throat as he flipped to the next page of his book. Next to him, the two whale siblings were doing their best not to stare at the couple too openly.
“Yeah, if we were, I’d do something entirely else.”
Hearing Alberu’s bold words, Cale couldn’t help but bury his face in his hands while even Witira felt too embarrassed to continue to look at the two young men. Eruhaben, on the other hand, slowly stopped reading and looked up, locking eyes with Alberu. Contrary to what he’d expected, the crown prince seemed a bit annoyed – he only that to give some sort of snarly response.
“Tsk, you arrogant bastard- haaa, I’m too old to deal with this.”
At Eruhaben’s words, both Witira and Paseton looked up from the floor and glanced at the ancient dragon, who, at least to them, appeared like a talented magician in his mid to late twenties with a special relationship to the crown prince and Cale Henituse. How was being in his mid to late twenties old? What would that make Witira, huh?
“Is it really alright to call the crown prince an arrogant bastard?”
Alberu’s calm voice filled the room once again, a small amused grin gracing his lips. For the first time, Cale wasn’t the (only) reason for it.
“You- haaa, as long as I’m the one saying it, you punk.”
Eruhaben managed to remain calm, letting out a loud sigh. He shook his head ever so slightly, giving all of his attention to the book he was currently reading. It was, by no means, an interesting book, rather, it was something so boring, it would be hard to sit silently and read it for most people, yet that book was a great means to escape this ‘argument’, if you will.
It seems that Alberu understood the ancient dragon’s intentions, as he didn’t continue to press on any further. Instead, he turned his attention back to his royal paperwork which was sent to him by his aunt (who had had enough of working on it for her dear nephew). It was the same paperwork he’d do back at the palace, so nothing he wasn’t used to.
With this, the room got quiet once again, only the sounds of people’s breaths audible. Cale too managed to calm down again, getting back to the document he was working on. It was quiet and peaceful with the three children staying with Ron and Beacrox, giving the adults a bit room to work and discuss things accordingly – something that hadn’t yet happened, well, not fully.
Naturally, Alberu and Cale already discussed their future plans and what they were going to do on the very evening of Cale’s little incident, having filled in their group – which didn’t include the Whale siblings.
Perhaps that was why the two of them were so nervous for once. They were aware that they’d tag alongside Cale to the Henituse territory’s Forest of Darkness, the question was simply when. They didn’t have much time, not at all, yet they couldn’t just press Cale to hurry up and head back, not when he still had unfinished business in here. And with all these people surrounding him, especially the crown prince who could possibly ban their entry in the Roan Kingdom, they couldn’t take any risks of being presumed rude.
“Um, young master Cale-nim?”
Witira’s gaze swept to her left side, where her younger brother Paseton sat. There he was, nervously fidgeting with his fingers, searching for the redhead’s eyes. He was met with a simple hum for him to continue, which Paseton then did, even more nervous after noticing that none of these three people looked up from their paperwork.
“I was just wondering, when do you plan on heading out? We have an, um, urgent matter to attend, as you already know.”
‘Yeah, and Cale isn’t the only one who knows, you prick.’
Alberu couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly at that thought. For some reason, Paseton’s unique nervous behavior around Cale and Cale only annoyed him. He knew that his boyfriend was otherworldly pretty, straight out gorgeous as if he stepped out of some fairy tale, alright? But he was already taken, so hands off.
Cale, surprisingly enough, put down his documents and finally looked up, locking eyes with Paseton with his usual, stoic and emotion-void expression. It was quite amusing to see how Paseton tried his best not to look uncomfortable under Cale’s calculative eyes.
“Yes, I am well aware.”
He didn’t say anything else after, simply focused on the documents he was going through again. While the Whale siblings may think of him as coming off arrogant or perhaps even a bit too lax, Alberu was well aware of why his boyfriend simply couldn’t speed up the process of going to the Henituse territory. And while he could, of course, make it so that Amiru Urbarr would instruct the construction workers for the naval base who’d be arriving tomorrow, Cale’s actual objective was striking a deal with a certain still unconscious somebody.
Beacrox had hit him quite good, and more than once after they returned to the shore, not that Alberu complained. He’d have loved to punch that ‘Bob’ himself a couple times, honestly, but he’d had his hands full…
Maybe, after Cale got the deal done, he could-
“Don’t even think about it.”
Looking down at his beloved boyfriend whose eyes didn’t leave the paper sheet in his hands, the quarter dark elf frowned.
“Think about what?”
Cale sighed, shaking his head ever so slightly.
“You know what, so stop it.”
Yeah, perhaps Alberu underestimated his beloved boyfriend’s ability to read him. And while he indeed knew what Cale was talking about, the others inside the room, including the now frowning ancient dragon, did not. But that didn’t matter, did it? Not when Alberu felt so smug thanks to Cale knowing him so well.
Time passed by quietly, and soon enough, the two Whale siblings, noticing that there was no way they’d get any kind of information out of the people present, excused themselves and went to their own guest room. And with them gone…
“You punk, what do you think you were doing?”
Eruhaben snorted as he put down the boring book in his hand, closing it without any intention of ever reading it again. Alberu looked up innocently, yet the mischievous grin on his lips betrayed his intended image of himself.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about Eruhaben-nim~”
There was no questioning it, Alberu was in a very good mood. The ancient dragon let out deep breath and shook his head, crossing his arms in front of his chest. It was difficult, seeing children grow up and become adults. Even more so if they behaved like grown-ups from the beginning but became entangled in real…grown-ups activities.
“Haaa, I’m too old for this.”
Alberu’s victorious smile was annoying, yet the ancient dragon couldn’t say anything against it, nor against the twenty three year old putting his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder. Tsk, he shouldn’t have teleported the two of them here – or at least come alone.
Well, that’s something he could always do in the future, no? (Oh, how little did Eruhaben know…)
“What are you doing now, dear?”
Cale furrowed his brows and looked up at his victorious boyfriend. Alberu sure felt like a soldier returning from a vicious battle. He felt a bit confused at that sudden title, not understanding where the nickname came from.
Alberu raised one of his brows, silently asking Cale why he wasn’t replying.
“…I’m going through the construction project’s planned stages.”
Alberu gave a slight nod, showing that he both understood and wanted Cale to elaborate further. Still a bit taken aback, Cale did as he was asked to.
“The third stage would be impossible to achieve, that is if we want to prioritize the construction worker’s safety over the building of the naval base. I’m just thinking of how to shift the tasks and how to make it that we won’t lose too much time.”
“Third stage you say? Let me see…”
Cale rolled his eyes, yet handed his boyfriend the papers nonetheless. Both were aware that Cale already knew the solution; else he’d have said something earlier. He was much more experienced with paperwork, after all, even if it was something Alberu did almost every single day. Cale felt almost as if Alberu was making fun of him, and yet, instead of looking at the document, the crown prince put it down on the desk in front of them, a strangely satisfied smirk on his lips.
“Oh my, it looks like there’s no helping it, the shifting of the tasks will have to wait til tomorrow~”
The couple interlocked their eyes; there was no need for words. In the background, Eruhaben clicked his tongue and decided to exit the room in the end. There was no way he could separate these two, not if one was flirting like crazy and sticking so close to his child. The only way to somewhat separate the two of them was to find and bring the children. He wondered how Raon agreed to leave Cale in the first place, yet chose not to think about any of that too deeply.
He doubted any of the two noticed his exit, as enchanted as they were while looking into each other’s soul. Wasn’t there a human saying that the eyes were a window to one’s soul? He wondered whether that was really true if one looked deep enough. Well, not that it really mattered anyways.
Back inside the room, Cale finally managed to look away, making Alberu chuckle.
“Are you happy now? Because of you, Eruhaben-nim’s gonna call Ron.”
Alberu gave a simple shrug and used the very moment Cale looked away from him to pull him closer, quickly pinning him down on the couch they were sitting on. The teasing smile on his lips was enough indication and warning at the same time.
Gently biting on Cale’s lower lip, enough for Cale to blush once again, Alberu’s smirk grew wider. After a while of either biting Cale’s lip or pulling his boyfriend into a deep kiss, Alberu inched away just a little bit, listening to Cale’s breathless pants and observing his flushing complexion. The pink color on his cheeks suited him; it suited him very well even, much better than his whitish porcelain skin.
“Of course, how couldn’t I~?”
Alberu leaned in closer once again, his lips less than half an inch away from Cale’s lips. Feeling the sensation of Alberu’s breath behind his ear, Cale gave his best not to blush even more. One might think that he’d get used to getting teased like this by Alberu, given that none of this was a rarity, but nope, not at all.
“Y-you’re incorrigible-“
Not letting Cale complete his sentence, Alberu gently bit his boyfriend’s earlobe, enjoying the surprised sound that came out of the redhead’s mouth.
“Goddamn, I’m gonna make you pay for this-!”
Alberu finally decided to stop, seeing how his boyfriend’s face got enough color again. Pulling away and helping Cale up in a sitting position, the victorious smile on his lips never vanished, having something incredibly smug in it.
“Sure thing, I’m looking forward to it, dear~”
Cale was about to retort something, but decided that it wasn’t worth it in the end. Taking his eyes off Alberu, he picked up the documents regarding the construction of the naval base again while his boyfriend sat beside him, keeping still and quiet this time around for once.
Time passed rather quietly and peacefully, even as the door opened up again and Raon flew in in his invisible state, only turning visible once he had ensured that the door was closed again. Ron, who had accompanied him, glanced at the couple that was peacefully sitting on the couch, seemingly doing nothing. But he noticed Cale’s slightly pink cheeks – how could he not when his grandson slash puppy like young master-nim was so pale usually?
~
Taking care of business with the person that’s the reason you almost drowned sounded like a fun thing to do in one’s free time, right?
Well, for one, Cale wasn’t free at all today, making taking care of the business with Toonka a much more difficult ordeal than anticipated. He would have loved to simply send Alberu, yet that (in this case) useless boyfriend of his refused to leave his side. Furthermore, even if he didn’t, if Alberu met Toonka, he’d no doubt start fighting him, and in the worst case scenario, influence the course of the timeline in the Birth of a Hero. The Whipper Kingdom was destined for doom anyways, but if they were to fall already, it would make things difficult for the Roan Kingdom and thus Cale.
Taking a bite of the food served while passing a steak to Raon under the table, out of anyone’s sight, Cale recalled everything he had to do today before they would depart in the late afternoon at worst. The construction workers arrived last evening, at least most of them. Viscountess Urbarr had made quite haste when telling them to come early – most likely she doubled the salary or something like that. Cale’d have to meet each team’s leader and explain the new plan regarding the construction in detail, given that Viscountess Urbarr as well as that handsome man sitting beside him, putting food on his plate while he hadn’t even finished his own, had given him all authority over it.
That brute Toonka, well he was still known as ‘Bob’ by others, also woke up in the morning. Beacrox was making sure he’d stay here for now, whatever he meant by that. But that would give Cale time, meaning he didn’t have to worry about visiting Toonka and striking a deal. With all the resources he had, he could easily manage to make that barbaric, brainless idiot who had muscles for brains agree to his conditions.
Perhaps that was why he wasn’t in the worst of moods despite having to return to the Henituse territory.
“Young master Cale-nim, may Paseton and I accompany you on your, mn, chores?”
Cale looked up from his plate, brows furrowed in confusion.
‘Why would you want to accompany me while I do something so boring?’
Naturally, the redhead didn’t speak his mind, instead simply nodded.
“Do as you wish, Miss Witira.”
The woman with the now brown dyed hair (courtesy of Eruhaben) and her younger brother with the same hair exchanged pleased nods, after which they continued to eat silently. Cale furrowed his brows, getting a strange feeling. Well, if he couldn’t tell what it was, it’d be best to ignore it, no?
“Thank you very much, young master Cale-nim.”
Cale frowned even more after hearing how the future Whale tribe queen addressed him so formally. He kicked against his boyfriend’s feet underneath the table, which the latter blatantly pretended not to have noticed.
-Human! Don’t you want them to come with you? I understand, I understand, but we can’t be unfriendly to your saviors!
Cale felt like crying after hearing the young dragon’s voice in his head. He recalled the way Raon had cried after he fell into the sea and passed out after he’d been rescued. Honestly, he felt really sorry to make a child so young experience things like these, yet it wasn’t his fault that he fell into the water (this one time, for a change).
The redhead gave a small nod, only noticed by his boyfriend and the young dragon underneath the table. Breakfast continued rather harmonious after that, with young lady Amiru Urbarr nervously looking either at the crown prince or the ancient dragon who’d accompanied him here. Either the others didn’t notice, or chose to ignore it for once.
It took quite some time, but after breakfast finished and another short carriage ride followed, Cale, his boyfriend, the invisible Raon, the two kittens in his boyfriend’s arms, the two Whale tribe siblings as well as Ron arrived at the shoreline in front of four large boats, worlds apart from a small sailor boat. Each could fit a hundred people, but given that the entire first stage crew consisted of just a hundred fifty construction workers, the space would be filled with the materials that would be needed to build the naval base, as well as tents for the construction workers to stay on the island if necessary.
Next to the boats were the actual workers, all of whom were split up into five groups consisting of thirty workers. Most of them were still wearing casual clothes, given that there was no way they’d head out today – or so they thought. Cale glanced at the five men who did wear their work suits; those were the five team leaders he’d talk to today.
Getting ready to walk over, the redhead was surprise to be held back by a familiar touch. He turned around and looked at his boyfriend. As Alberu “had already gone back to the capital after checking on Cale Henituse”, the man holding him back, ‘Steven’, had black hair and green eyes. Despite the hair style, body and features altogether being still the same as ever, Cale felt a bit strange seeing his handsome boyfriend with a different hair and eye color other than his human and dark elf appearance. The only thing that made it familiar again was the way ‘Steven’, aka Alberu, looked at him.
“Should I accompany you, young master-nim~?”
Cale almost cringed after hearing Alberu refer to him with his usual title – naturally his face remained stoic and the same as usual. But the observant Alberu noticed the bewilderment in his boyfriend’s eyes, as well as the small instant he showed displeasure about him saying his formal title. Leaning closer, ‘Steve’ whispered in a volume only audible to Cale and the invisible Raon.
“Or should I rather say dear~?”
Chuckling to himself after seeing Cale’s somewhat shocked expression, Alberu straightened up again, completely ignoring Ron’s vicious eyes paired with his even scarier benign smile. After all, currently, besides Cale’s group including the Whale siblings this time, no one knew about ‘Steve’s’ true identity as Crown Prince Alberu Crossman right now. Seeing how confused Amiru Urbarr was this morning, his disguise is a good one, which means even more that he shouldn’t tease Cale like he usually would.
“Pardon this lowly citizen’s rudeness, the fresh air of the sea might be a bit too much.”
In the end, Cale simply rolled his eyes.
“This matter that I will be discussing with the construction team leaders is a very sensitive and top secret one, so I fear that a normal citizen won’t be able to accompany me. Please stay here. Ron.”
Ah, Alberu had completely forgotten how Cale was anything but a shy person that let him have his way with him. Perhaps he had let him the last two days because he felt sorry? Argh, why did it feel so frustrating when Cale even went along with him?!
‘It’s because of the old man’s proud smile, damn it. Argh, is this his revenge for yesterday?’
Alberu was left behind with two of Cale’s (and now also his) children and the two Whale siblings who were looking at him with curiosity in their eyes. At least one of them was, while the other seemed to be avoiding his eyes altogether. Annoying.
At the same time, Ron followed his beloved grandson with a more than just pleased and proud smile tugging on his lips, making his usual benign smile smaller as his true feelings sept in. It was the smile a proud grandfather had when his grandchild managed to accomplish something unbelievable like getting into some prestigious university.
With that kind of expression, the old butler followed behind Cale while the redhead himself listened to the young Raon who followed his every step.
-Human! Human! The cookie prince looked very surprised! Does that mean you like me better than him because you always let me come with you?
Cale ignored the young dragon’s nonsense as he stepped closer in front of the five construction team leaders. All of them were large men with muscular builds. While two of them looked somewhat passive and neutral and two others appeared to be looking forward to this construction work (given the salary, Cale would most likely be too), one had a grumpy expression on his face, looking as displeased as an old man who did nothing but complain all the time.
Young people would often get intimidated by now, especially if one of the construction workers looked like that. As Cale was a noble, someone whose life is supposed to have been smooth until now, wouldn’t he cower down in fear now?
Unfortunately for the curiosity of the five construction workers, Cale had dealt with lots of people like them, who had all sorts of prejudices in his life back as Kim Rok Soo. He had even dealt with people that attempted to kill him before, or people who simply didn’t want to do anything and kept on being as passive as one could possibly be in an apocalypse.
Without a shred of hesitation, he handed five identical plans to the five construction team leaders, then gave them their unique plans he’d been working on.
“The goal of this project is to construct Roan Kingdom’s naval base quickly but especially stealthily. As said in your contracts, you are not allowed to leave the Urbarr territory until the naval base is finished with the exception of emergencies, nor share any information regarding this project. You have today to read through the details that I’ve handed you and discuss the steps you will take with your teams. If anything comes up, you will immediately report to young lady Amiru Urbarr, who will be overseeing this construction in the future. Any questions?”
Even under Ron’s threatening glare, the grumpy construction team leader daringly stepped forward.
“Ye, just one.”
Cale raised his brow for the man to continue, ignoring the way he didn’t use formal speech.
“Why are we building it now, eh? Wasn’t it planned to be constructed at a later point?”
Cale would have loved to roll his eyes, yet remained professional. His stoic expression made the grumpy man feel uncomfortable and as if he’d asked something extremely stupid, but he couldn’t back down either. Not when he was worried about the whirlpools and the way the pay had been doubled. If the pay was high, the risks couldn’t be few.
“The whirlpools cleared up, meaning they won’t obstruct an earlier construction anymore. Any other questions?”
This time, another construction team leader stepped forward, bowing down respectfully unlike the grumpy one. He was one of the two who had the most neutral attitude out of everyone.
“Yes sir, about the plans we were given in advance and the altered one you’ve just given us, can we adjust if necessary?”
Cale gave a simple nod, knowing that it wouldn’t be the case. He had planned out every detail, calculated every single possibility – the same he always did. He knew how this project would go. He knew when it’d be done and he knew that if complications arose, they would be quickly resolved as he’d informed Viscountess Urbarr in advance.
“Yes. Anything else?”
This time, the five team leader kept silent for a while, until the grumpy one stepped forward again.
“This job, how dangerous is it?”
For once, Cale couldn’t help but raise his brows as he glanced at the man. Even Raon clicked his tongue at grumpy’s stupidity.
-Human, does he even know what he will be building? Doesn’t he know that building something isn’t that dangerous as long as you wear a helmet? Tsk, human; let’s get away from him quickly.
“The only danger you may encounter will be getting hit on the head with a brick if you don’t wear a helmet.”
Cale chose to repeat Raon’s words, at which the young dragon cheered. Even Ron had a slightly amused smile on his lips as he nodded. The grumpy man, on the other hand, seemed both flustered and embarrassed at the same time.
“N-not that. I meant t-the sea!”
The young noble furrowed his brows, clearly not understanding where the man in front of him was coming from. Seeing Cale’s neutral expression turn into a full out frown, grumpy swallowed hard, yet didn’t back down either. After all, in his eyes, Cale was nothing but a stuck up noble with too much money and time on his hands.
“The sea? What is there to fear?”
The grumpy man growled, yet wasn’t able to reply as his four colleagues nodded in agreement, bowing down in different angles, some lower some not so low, to show their respect.
“Yes sir, leave it to us!”
“Yes, I will.”
Cale, still a bit confused about grumpy’s odd questions, nodded at the engagement the construction team leaders were showing. With a bit luck, hopefully things would turn out the most smooth. With a small glance at Ron and a comment from the invisible Raon, the redhead returned to his boyfriend and the others.
Only one thing was left to do in the Urbarr territory, after he could finally go visit the Henituse County for the final time and get the thirty billion gallons he’d been promised in return for participating in the banquet of the King’s 50th birthday (he still regretted it a tiny bit) and for coming here and finishing the business regarding the naval base.
Well, then again thirty billion gallons sounded like an adequate amount of money for compensation though.
Notes:
HeLlO gUyS (omg this looks so stupid argh, anyways)
It's great to finally be back after such a long time! I hope that u are happy with this update. Anyways, before I tell you about my stupid life, I want to do some SeRiOuS tAlK fIrSt, soooo...
I'm just gonna be frank now. I started this fic, as you know, out of fun and some midnight motivation one night. It gained popularity and I still had lots of fun, like legit, I loved it. Writing IS fun to me, even if there are some times when it's less fun. Anyways, it's usually always fun to me. But recently, rather before my break, I noticed that it wasnt as much fun anymore. Like...I began to lose motivation. I used to look at my outline and timeplan, thinking about what to do and how to best connect everything.
And honestly, I didnt know.
I ran into a wall of sorts.
So you can imagine how bored and annoyed I felt then, at least I hope.
Well, then I took this break to figure things out my way. Like I didnt want to abandon this fic, not when it brought so much joy to so many people, who were supporting me like crazy. Honestly, you guys are probably the reason I even tried to figure out a way to save this fic, so it's partly because of you too, so thank you very much!Anyways, on to the solution.
After much thinking, and trying to somehow to fulfill you guy's requests, I decided to do things MY way from now on, which means I will skip the canon events I won't change.
Under these events are most of the things Cale did when he was 18/19.
In other words, I will soon skip to him being 20 years old.
I know I already metioned it before in some chapter, but like legit, I will skip (almost) everything.
I hope you're fine with it, because it you aren't...too bad, I guess.Anyways, I can guarantee two things:
1.) It's gonna be real badass very soon if you decide to stay.
2.) You'll be shocked, because, in case you forgot, I still have my own plot, somewhere buried in this mess of words. HahaWell, with this, I think I've set the stage for me not losing interest again.
Now, the iMpOrTaNt TaLk is over, and we can more on to something more fun.
For example, what I did in my break~ heheAnd all I did was...
...
...Genshin Impact.
Yeah, I'm kinda ashamed to be honest. Like I legit didnt think of me as a gamer girl, but oh well, it's fun and I managed to level up like crazy in what I believe to be a short amount of time.
Anyways, ofc it isnt the only thing I did, but like, the MAIN thing.Since I've got school break, I got to spend lots of time on the game, which made me really happy. I guess it also somewhat helped fix this issue. My good friend, by the way, did help a lot too. Thanks out to her (you can all give her ur special thanks, since she's partly responsible for the big arc that's about to come, :) )
Anyways, this shall be it from me~
As always, I hope you liked this chapter. Don't be too scared of the notes tho, haha. I'm writing this while being totally drained from writing a graded report for school (which will be like 50% of my grade) and finishing this chapter under the influence of coffee, so yeah~~~~AHHHHHH BEFORE I FORGET: The update shedule will be pretty much like before. I'll give my best to update once a week for the next seven weeks (since I have school then) but after that, I'll be on summer break and then I'll give my best to update twice a week again. In case I don't update one time, I'll try to update twice the week after that. If I don't manage to, don't be too hard on me, cuz I got a chemistry exam coming up.
Well then, until next time folks!
(I totally missed writing this last part hahahahahahahahahaha!)
( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Chapter 59: 57. You coming? (3)
Summary:
We love fluffy times and Alberu being the jealous bf he is ;)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Can I hit him?”
-Human, let me hit him too!
“Mn, young master-nim, allow me to-“
Raising his hand, Cale stopped Beacrox mid-sentence and also managed to get Alberu, still disguised as ‘Steve’ with his raven hair and green eyes, and Raon to keep quiet. Currently, the four of them had come down to the basement of the Urbarr residence on the shoreline, where the cells were located. Having dismissed all the guards, and with Raon’s soundproof barrier set-up, they could talk comfortably – at least in theory that is.
The problem for the conversation not going smoothly was the chained down, big man in front of them, known under the alias of ‘Bob’. Having a fat grin plastered across his face despite blood still dripping down his nose (a small punch coming from Alberu that he didn’t manage to hold back in the end), he looked both mad and like he’d completely lost it.
“Muahahaha! I smell so many strong people! Let’s fight!”
“Haaa-“
Letting out a deep sigh, Cale sat down on the free chair sitting at a safe distance away from the Whipper Kingdom’s Commander. After all, it would be quite bad if Toonka would manage to rip out the restraining chains and attack him…not that he didn’t trust his boyfriend, Beacrox and Raon, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Bob, was it? Let me repeat it one last time. Your situation right now is the following: Either you’ll be banned from entering the Urbarr territory after receiving your punishment for endangering a noble – which, in most cases, would be decapitation or the separation of a limb from the body – or you agree to this deal. And you better hurry up your decision, as I don’t have all day.”
Toonka’s mad laughter filled the cell once again, making Alberu glance at his boyfriend’s annoyed face. It was no wonder, given that Cale disliked stupid people like Toonka. Alberu wouldn’t want to spend any more time than absolutely necessary with someone like that either, honestly.
“Let’s fight first! What good are words if you have fists!”
Having had enough of Toonka’s voice for the rest of his life, Beacrox turned to look at Cale.
“Young master-nim, with your permission, I’ll-“
“Nah, if that bastard wants to fight, let me fight that asshole. He’s the reason you fell into the sea, so I gotta set the score right either way.”
For once, Beacrox didn’t really mind getting interrupted by Alberu. Seeing that the young crown prince’s hands trembled in anticipation – or suppressed rage, it could be either to tell the truth – he even agreed with that.
“Tsk, it’d be irresponsible to-“
“Muahahaha! If that kid wants to fight, let’s fight! You smell like a strong person!”
Cale would have loved to bang his head against the wall as he saw his boyfriend’s grin grow wider.
-Human, human, let the cookie prince beat that bastard to a pulp! He deserves it anyways!
‘Haaa, what did I do to deserve this?’
Cale shook his head and finally got up from his chair, making eye contact with the crazy Toonka.
“Let’s make it like this then. If you two fight and you lose, you have to agree with what I say. That sounds good?”
Toonka laughed, obviously doubting that he’d ever lose to anyone, yet alone someone as ‘meekly’ looking as Alberu. Alright, Cale looked way worse than him, but to Toonka both of them were akin to small cats while he’d play the role of a tiger. Perhaps that was why he agreed so easily, without even thinking about the consequences of his actions, believing that this would be an easy win.
Well…
He didn’t think the same as he was crashed face first against the ground in the Urbarr residence’s inner yard. The debris of that crash was very well visible, as a dent was left behind by his face alone. Honestly, it was a wonder how that smash hadn’t broken Toonka’s skull, as a normal person would have been killed by it. No, not just by that, but also by anything Alberu did ever since this fight began three minutes ago.
Cale got the chills as he recalled how scary his boyfriend could be. He clearly remembered the contents of ‘The Birth of a Hero’ and it had definitely not mentioned that Alberu was this fucking strong. Okay, it also hadn’t mentioned his identity as a quarter dark elf, but this was so much different.
(Of course, Cale fully forgot or perhaps even ignored the small detail that in this world, Eruhaben had helped Alberu with his magic – not that he was using it currently – and Ron had helped him out a tiny little bit with his strength training with the help of his son.)
Still, Alberu’s basic strength, which rivaled even Choi Han’s current strength, was more than simply impressive. It was even close to being kind of scary…
“…I’m glad that he loves me.”
Cale couldn’t help but say those words out loud. Almost immediately, all eyes were focused on him, staring at him as if he had just spouted the bullshit of the millennium – which he obviously did.
“Tsk, you brat, why do you look so scared?”
Cale quickly took off his eyes of his boyfriend continuously beating the already down Toonka to a pulp, instead looking at Eruhaben who had come down with Ron and the two kittens at some point after the fight began. Thankfully he also cast a barrier, preventing anyone else from entering, as Raon had been seemingly too invested into the fight, whatever reason he might have to do that
“…”
Deciding to stay silent in the end, Cale turned his head back to look at the scene in front of him. Right now, Raon was by Alberu’s side. While he wasn’t supporting him and simply watching from a closer distance, it was still unusual for him to leave Cale’s side.
“Haaa, you pitiful child…”
Cale decided to let the ancient dragon’s words in one ear and straight out the other. He wasn’t really pitiful, nor a child. He was simply…a bit shocked…to find out that his boyfriend could go up against Choi Han and not immediately lose.
In the end, the match had been decided before it even began with Alberu’s first move being kicking the over seven feet tall giant into the stone pillar, enough to render Toonka unconscious for a split second, in which he punched his face repeatedly, not allowing him to move or fight back, before he slammed him into the ground, sitting down on top of him while (still) punching his face once again. Perhaps Alberu planned to punch some brains into him or something along those lines.
After around another five minutes in which Alberu vented out all of his stored up anger on Toonka’s now unrecognizable face, he finally got up, exhausted breaths coming out of his mouth as he stretched out his neck.
“That felt damn good~”
-Cookie prince, you did very well, now we finally avenged the human!
Alberu nodded, wiping his blood stained hands on his beige pants (because he couldn’t just walk over those ten steps and ask Cale and Beacrox or even Eruhaben for a handkerchief, right?). Driving his still bloody, but dry hand through his black dyed hair, he took one last deep breath while looking at ‘Bob’. The way the man’s purple-blush face, mixed with his own crimson blood and dirt, moved, Alberu could tell that he had been conscious, or had woken up from being unconscious, both of which he didn’t really care for.
“You up? Great~”
Alberu’s enthusiastic voice was met with a regretful and pained groan, then a slight movement of Toonka’s hand, which the strong quarter dark elf noticed yet chose to blissfully ignore.
“Well, since I’m still standing and you, well, ain’t, that means that you lost, asshole. Now do whatever he says.”
Alberu pointed at Cale with his thumb, his eyes sharp, in them lay an unspoken warning. Toonka quickly understood, but if anyone expected him to be scared, that someone must have been a pitiful, naïve fool. He simply snorted, slowly but surely picking himself off the ground.
“Muahahaha, for now I’ll do as we’ve discussed, but in the future I want a rematch, hahaha!”
Alberu rolled his eyes finally walking away from Toonka. He felt a weight pressing down on his shoulder, the familiar feeling of two paws grabbing it to stabilize themselves the same as ever.
-Cookie prince, you were awesome.
For a split second, Alberu stopped in his tracks after hearing the young dragon’s quiet, almost inaudible words of praise or perhaps even admiration. Usually, he only used the words ‘great’ and ‘mighty’, Alberu didn’t believe that he would use any others to praise his family members. For some reason, he felt like he’d accomplished something greater than just taking out his rage on the person who caused Cale to experience a life or death situation once again.
“Thanks Raon.”
As the young dragon remained invisible, no one but himself knew of his small, proud smile and ever so small nod. Over the years, it seemed like Raon had grown quite attacked to his human’s partner, to the extent that ‘cookie prince’ was more than just ‘human’s boyfriend’ but also a person-person – someone who could and would protect his human with him.
Well, perhaps that was the kind of bonding a father had with a child that played favorites on his mother from day one…more or less.
~
Having taken care of Toonka and sending him off to the Whipper Kingdom, Cale’s group could finally depart, more or less at least.
Eruhaben clicked his tongue as he glanced at the crown prince, then at the frowning redhead. The two of them always tended to make things (well, goodbyes) more difficult and dramatic than they actually were – at least one of them and the other went along with him.
“Don’t do something dangerous and keep Raon by your side, yeah?”
“Yes.”
“Also, call me. And not the way you usually do.”
“Haaa, I get it, I get it.”
“About the Count; if he attempts anything-“
“I already know. Honestly, who do you think I am?”
Alberu looked at Cale, his expression being answer enough.
“Do you really want me to answer that question?”
Cale rolled his eyes, shrugging. He attempted to turn around, most likely to return to his carriage, yet wasn’t able to do so as his boyfriend hugged him. Alberu, still wearing his disguise as a normal citizen named Steve, couldn’t help but bury his head in Cale’s neck. Sure, it was a rather uncomfortable position due to their height difference, but Alberu couldn’t help it. He could hear Cale heave a deep sigh, gently patting him on the back.
“You sure trusted me way more when we were just kids, you know.”
Alberu couldn’t help but scoff at that. Raising his head again, he looked down on Cale’s gorgeous facial features, a small smile tugging on his lips.
“Sure, you were much more serious back then. Like some grumpy old cat~”
Cale raised his eyebrow. Of course, he himself couldn’t have noticed the change he’d undergone in the last ten years he’d spent in this world with Alberu, Ron, Beacrox and later also Raon and Eruhaben, even the Mercenaries King Bud Illis and his best friend Glenn Poeff by his side. He certainly wouldn’t have noticed the way he slowly opened up to them, began to rely on them, began to trust them. Now that Alberu looked back at everything, he thought that Cale came a long, a very long, way. He still didn’t know about what happened to him during his childhood as Kim Rok Soo, and he generally didn’t know much about Kim Rok Soo’s personal life other than that he’d been working in some company and later became a team leader. He also didn’t know much about the things Cale’s instructor did to him before he’d been taken care of.
Those are the things Cale never talked about, but Alberu wouldn’t push him. But compared to the earlier days, Cale had changed in a lot of ways. He talked more about his plans. Not all of them, but the important stuff. He didn’t keep everything to himself and talked about his feelings and emotions. But most importantly…
He seemed full of life. His face, while there were times it was stoic and emotionless, the same as in the past, whenever he was around his friends and family he showed more emotions. He smiled quite a bit, even if he didn’t notice.
“Hey, what are you looking at me for like that? It’s not like I’ll do something stupid, so don’t worry, haaa.”
Alberu shook his head and ruffled Cale’s hair, feeling nostalgic about the past. He still clearly remembered his first meeting with the redhead – how could he ever forget it?
“Tsk, stop this; I’ll go if you don’t.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll go either way, no matter if I stop or don’t.”
Cale rolled his eyes, returning to his usual frown as he simply patted his disguised boyfriend’s arm. After all, despite Alberu acting so clingy, even as ‘Steve’, they still had a few onlookers who didn’t know about his true identity as Cale’s boyfriend. While the redhead didn’t care about rumors, the way these people stared at him unnerved him.
“Take care of the wolf children, alright? They’re still kids.”
Alberu rolled his eyes, taking a small step back, understanding that it’d be best not to act too close right now.
“Yeah, I’ll feed them properly alright.”
The way Cale practically glared at him made Alberu chuckle.
“Relax, I’ve taken care of Raon while you had your four weeks beauty sleep, and that I did not only once.”
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Cale gave a simple nod. He knew that his people were already waiting for him and the way Eruhaben glared at Alberu was signaling him that the ancient dragon too was waiting. Once again, he attempted to go around, yet was held back yet another time.
“What is it-“
Cale stopped talking the moment he laid eyes on the round, golden thing Alberu was holding in a way no one else but him could see.
“For good luck. Don’t let the Count talk you into another deal concerning money. Get your reward, do whatever you have to with those people and come back – in one piece, I’d prefer.”
Cale’s reddish brown eyes were sparking and a small smile made its way to his lips. Honestly, seeing this kind of expression made talking the golden plaque along all worth it already.
“Oh and Cale, you better don’t get into any kind of trouble, alright?”
Yet another nod came from the redhead as he took the golden plaque that was handed to him and stored it away in his breast pocket. Seeing his boyfriend all happy, Alberu felt a bit better about leaving with Eruhaben. With a few last words and (sadly) no kiss, the two of them split up and walked in opposite directions. While one’s destination was the carriage where the two Whale siblings and three children waited in, the other’s was the ancient, grumpy looking ancient dragon.
Neither of them looked back as Eruhaben teleported away and the carriage finally departed. The onlookers, Amiru Urbarr and her mother Popelina Urbarr, stared at the smaller getting carriage as it departed with Beacrox riding alongside it on his horse.
“Mom…who was the guy who came here to take care of young master Cale in his highness’s stead? I thought that young master Cale was in a relationship with his highness, and not his highness’s handsome servant…”
Popelina Urbarr had a small knowing smile on her lips as she shook her head. Putting her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, she gently accompanied her on their way back inside.
“Don’t worry about it, Amiru. His highness and young master Cale surely have it all figured out.”
Amiru looked up at her mother, unsure about her words. After all, she had seen the way this Steve person destroyed ‘Bob’ while appearing to be on a walk or something. He was a scary man indeed, one she’d rather not get involved with…If both he and his highness the crown prince were in love with Cale Henituse-
She didn’t even want to imagine it. One had political power while being average in all other aspects, while the other was someone who’d slammed someone like Bob in the ground while not breaking a single sweat. What good was political power then, huh? The future heir to the Urbarr Viscountcy got the chills while thinking of the possible outcome of this love-battle/competition or whatever it was. Then she thought about the poor weak person who was in the middle of it all. What had he done wrong in his life? He wasn’t at fault for having such a gorgeous face that no one could help but fall in love with!
In the carriage, Cale sneezed while getting chills all over his body all of a sudden. He frowned, getting a strange feeling.
“Human! Are you sick? You can’t be sick!”
“Cale-nya, the youngest is right, don’t get sick!”
“Nya, noona is right!”
Surrounded by the three young children, who all seemed to be worried about him, and the two Whale siblings that were still staring at the young Raon with something akin to wonder and curiosity in their eyes, the redhead felt like he should have listened to Alberu and simply not agreed to the thirty billion gallons deal with Deruth Henituse.
Then again…thirty billion gallons were a very beautiful sum of money…no?
And, if he helped the Whale siblings, he’d also get quite a few favors in return – the Whale siblings had told them himself. He could use that to make Alberu’s life a bit easier and prepare for the coming war with the Whale’s protection. It was never a bad thing to have strong acquaintances who can become one’s allies because of a favor or two. And the Whales were a tribe that repaid kindness quite a bit.
“The human’s acting weird again!”
“Cale-nya, are you sick?”
“It’s all because he fell into the water, noona!”
“Oh my, young master Cale-nim, you shouldn’t overwork yourself if you’re sick.”
“Noona is right, after all, you did fall into the sea. The ocean’s water is still very cold.”
On second thought, he really should have just ignored everything and went back to Alberu’s palace to slack off. What did he do to deserve all of this?
~
“My liege,”
A tall man bowed down respectfully, even going as far as to knee down; a pointless action to show off his never faltering loyalty, well, loyalty mixed with a sense of fear naturally. His blonde hair was thin and his extremely boney body was enough for people to know what may have happened to this man. His green eyes had a muddy, somewhat sickly color and his face had that haunted, mad expression which people usually avoided.
The man that this sickly man was kneeing in front of had a disinterested expression on his face as he simply waved his hand at him. While he usually wouldn’t be here, he had found a new clue as of late, leading him to come to this famous land of ‘boulders’. Brushing back his crimson red hair, a small smile made its way to his lips – not that it was possible for him to be amused. Of course, if it wasn’t for his white mask that covered the upper half of his face, the man bowing to him may have noticed. His cold, light brownish eyes were piercing through this useless man’s body, but the man, Venion Stan, did not dare to look up.
He knew that this man that, at first, reminded him of that bastard Cale Henituse he wanted to get rid of so badly, was beyond him, above him in sorts. He could not dare hope to be considered equal, let alone anything more than a useful slave.
“You told me you’ve gathered intel about something that’d be of interest to me? Spit it out, I don’t have much time to waste on you.”
The man’s smile vanished after he finished, almost as if it hadn’t been there to begin with. Smiling was hard; it hurt the muscles around the lips. There was no reason to smile for this replaceable fool like slave he could get rid of at any moment. Neither did he hold a significant amount of physical strength, nor was he very influential in politics. The only reason this red haired man somewhat tolerated Venion Stan and even answered his desperate letter, it was all because of…
“I’ve found the power you’ve been looking for! While it’s not the one you described, the legends and myths were rather precise about it being in the land of-“
The redheaded man gave Venion a sharp glance, upon which he immediately skipped the process of him finding the earth attribute ancient power (which was incredibly difficult) and narrowed down where this man in front of him could find it – that is if he wanted to stay alive.
“It’s the Forest of Darkness in the Henituse Territory up north, my liege!”
The Forest of Darkness, huh? The man who was casually sitting on his chair straightened up ever so slightly as he glanced at the still bowing Venion. He remembered the Forest of Darkness – it being the place he found the wood-attribute ancient power that made it possible for him to see all living being’s times, well, actually it was more like he could see how old something was. Well, it didn’t matter anyways, since it was an ancient power he purely gathered to balance his plate.
His fingers were tapping on the chair’s wooden armrest as he began to think about the possibility of Venion Stan’s words to be the truth. It wasn’t very unlikely, for all he knew. The Forest of Darkness was incredibly vast and despite him having been there already, it wouldn’t be very unlikely that he missed an ancient power hidden there, especially one as annoying as an earth attribute ancient power. And while he was certain that it wasn’t the same he’s been looking for – the one of his predecessor – it would be more than plenty to balance his plate. And stability was the most important thing he needed right now.
“…You are aware of the consequences of lying to me?”
His voice was calm and emotionless – the same way he felt. It was cold and chilling and felt like a sharp sword that was pointing at Venion’s throat. The noble swallowed hard as he nodded, ignoring the cold sweat on his forehead.
“A-According to my b-brother’s studies, i-it is the only possible l-location!”
After listening to the scared man’s words, the smile returned on the man’s pale-skinned face. He had a sharp jawline and handsome features. His white teeth and reddish lips made him look very beautiful even, yet there was something about him that was incredibly off. Perhaps it was that creepy smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Very well, then.”
The man got up from his seat, then tore a paper scroll he had been holding on to this entire conversation. The moment a magic circle appeared under his feet and he disappeared into thin air, the still kneeling Venion let out a sigh of relief as the adrenaline, which had been keeping him from collapsing a moment ago, burned out. This person he had gotten involved with, Venion knew very well, was not someone he could shove on his side and use.
No, not at all.
While the second born of the Stan March approached this mysterious man, who was called “White Star” by all of his subordinates and followers as well as allies, with the intention to use him or make him work for him, the puppet-master had quickly become the puppet in the process.
Venion was just glad that he was still alive and hadn’t yet been killed by this man, who, very easily and stealthily, could dispose of him at any given day without much trouble. The noble couldn’t help but gulp after thinking about that.
But it didn’t matter, since he had done his share of the work…
…or so he thought.
But either way, for now Venion Stan would be safe, safe from danger and anything other than that. He was very confident that this person, the ‘White Star’ would be able to find what he’d been looking for so long – all thanks to him. And because he would, naturally, be so thankful, he’d finally fulfill Venion’s wish for revenge on his brother and Cale Henituse, the man who’d failed his plan to cripple his brother and disrespected him so often, it was ridiculous. While it happened only once, Venion was no sane man. His obsession with a certain man named Cale Henituse was even worse than his obsession with obtaining the heir position for the Stan March.
Yes, all he had to do now was to wait for the White Star’s return. Then he’d be rewarded for the hardships he’d had to endure all this time. He’d finally make everyone pay.
While Venion was caught in his own delusions, a certain group of people entered the Forest of Darkness. They were clothed in black clothes as to not stick out too much. While they entered the vast forest through the gates, another man with a white mask teleported straight into the inner circle of the forbidden region.
Notes:
Hi!
I am here, delivering the weekly update ;)
AND it is a cliffhanger too! How exciting, right? Y'all can thank me later, hehe
(ღ˘⌣˘ღ)Furthermore, guys, the Ao3 author's curse is fucking real.
I don't know why the fuck weird shit keeps happening to me.
Like legit.
I am a normal kid, just write on ao3, and boom, as if the universe thinks I belong to the 'my life is exciting gang', stupid shits unfold in front of me damn itttttt T^TUgh, I bet it's Karma for what's about to come ;) (y'all can give special thanks to my friend for it too, hehehe - *insert mouse emoji*)
Oki doki, I gotta go back to real life.
Juts have fun with this fluff filler.
I think I'm gonna end the final novel-arc within a couple chapters, I think two to three more will come, maybe four, whatever I feel like writing. And then, my dear audience, shit's gonna be coming down ;)Then, I really hope you still enjoyed this, and until next time!
<3
Chapter 60: 58. Remnants
Summary:
I am not sorry for this :)
Notes:
Trigger warning:
- child abuse
- child neglect
- mention of death
- mental health issues (not directly but could be interpreted as such)
(these are the major ones, so read very carefully. I didn't mark them with the [T] as usual, as pretty much the whole chapter goes on about them in a way or two. If I forgot to mention something major, please don't shy away and tell me. I'd like for all my readers to stay safe and read this with joy instead of getting triggered by this fic, even if I did tag 'angst')
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Do gods dream?
~
There was a small river separating the two halves of the same island. The river was neither strong nor very big; actually, it was more of a small, weak stream than a big strong river. Then again, it was being called a river because the water flowed steadily, no matter what the people tried to do to stop it. This small river was being called god’s river. The water flowing inside, while only being enough to call it a stream, was clear and different than any other kind of water. It had a deep blue color and was rumored to bring the people who consumed it good fortune.
Perhaps that was the reason that a small boy, perhaps eight years of age, trotted to this mysterious river. His clothes were disheveled and his blonde hair was almost unrecognizable, as dirty as it looked. The sandals the boy wore were lose and too big for his small feet and his robe was more air than actual fabric.
He kneeled down at the waterfront and put his small hands into the slowly bypassing water. Because it was so clear, he could easily make out the colorful fish swimming inside peacefully. There were a few small frogs too; some had a golden shine while others were as dark as the night with light green eyes. The small boy wondered whether those darker dogs disliked the golden ones, but after observing them jump or swim past each other without doing anything, he quickly dismissed that thought.
Frogs were frogs, no matter if they were green, gold or black.
The trees that were surrounding his side of the river were tall and steady; they were the perfect cover for the boy to go unnoticed by his village’s people. If they ever found out that he’d come here to touch the ‘holy’ river with his dirty hands – who knew, maybe they’d slaughter him in the end?
Drying his hands on the rags he wore, the boy looked to the other side of the river. It was completely empty. It’s been decades since the last person from the villages of the other side came to visit the river. Were their lives so fortunate that they didn’t feel the need to come by for a god’s blessing? Or perhaps, with time, they had completely forgotten about it, similar to his village’s people?
How much he’d love to jump over this river to find out.
No, perhaps he simply told himself that, so he’d have a reason to jump over the river. He didn’t want to stay in his village any longer. The people were treating him badly and he had no family and no friends. Even the village elder, who’d told him that he was his family and would take care of him, didn’t seem to care about him.
Was it because he looked different from everybody else? But wasn’t it human to look different? Why did he have to be punished for the way he looked like? Just because everyone else had a dark hair color and either green, brown or blue eyes?
But then again, there was no way for the boy to jump over to the other side of the river; no way for him to get away from his village’s people to get to the other side where he was hoping the people were more tolerating. Perhaps things were meant to be like this, then again. If he was to cross the river and the people over there were the same as his village’s people – no, he’d rather not cross the river and continue to imagine that the people on the other side were perfect. That he’d been a bit unlucky by being born on this side.
Getting up from his crouching position, the boy took one last glance at the other side of the river before deciding to head back. It wouldn’t be neither a long nor short trip; long enough for people to notice him being gone but short enough for no one to worry that he’d done something utterly stupid.
The boy headed back using the same way he’d used hundreds of times before. The trees became smaller and darker the farther away he walked from the god’s river, until they resembled a ‘normal’ tree again. He could hear birds chirping happily. They were most likely singing to impress each other or simply communicating in such beautiful tunes. Humans could never do something like that; they were always yelling at each other.
On his way back, the boy began to think about humans. He had only met the villagers from his village, but if he knew one thing about them, it was that all of them were cruel and terrible. They were liars and only did whatever they felt like doing. Compared to animals that they hunted to survive, humans were like wild beasts. They lived in groups, a society so to speak. They had a leader but, for some reason, always ended up betraying that leader – either lying to him or planning a rebellion in secret. Animals never did such hideous things; in that regard they were much better than the wild human race.
They also didn’t stab each other in the back like humans did.
The small boy suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around. He had wandered way too far for him to still be able to see the god’s river, but for some reason he felt like just staring into its vague direction. God’s river – a river with so much history, it couldn’t be passed down all the way to the newer generations that weren't willing to listen. It was said to bring fortune.
Fortune.
What was fortune?
Could just visiting a river bring fortune?
For the first time in a while, a disbelieving scoff escaped the boy’s mouth as he shook his head, his displeased expression turning into an ever so slight grin. Letting out a deep sigh, he returned to his village. No matter what happened, there were two things he absolutely knew with certainty.
Firstly, he would always return to that village, no matter what happened.
Secondly, if gods really did exist, they were absolute losers.
The boy turned back around and quickened his pace. The sun was slowly setting. Perhaps it was because summer was ending and fall was beginning. The days would get much shorter and the temperatures would be dropping. Then, in a couple months’ time, when winter began and snow would be falling, the villagers would start their annual arguments about anything again. And then, everyone would just slaughter each other – to survive as there is so little food during the cold season.
Now that the boy thought about it, he’d never been touched before, nor had anyone ever discussed to kill him. Perhaps that was fortune…?
Or, which was more likely, it was because if he died, who else was going to do the dirty work?
For an eight year old, the boy worked rather efficient and clean, after all.
Seeing that the trees became fewer and fewer and the tree trunks more and more, the boy’s steps became quieter and quieter as he realized he was approaching the village again. There was a tall wooden fence surrounding the village, preventing enemies, or rather wild animals, from entering. In front of the fence, by the gates, stood two guards, supposedly keeping an eye out but actually performing the art of sleeping while standing.
As small as the boy was, he managed to quickly get inside through a tiny hole a few feet away. It was a small hole that should have been fixed a while ago, yet no one deemed it important enough to actually do it – which was a good thing for the boy, as it was his means to escape this village and head to the river every so often.
The village wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t small either. With around a thousand people living here, there were over five-hundred buildings built, with the largest, the city hall, standing tall in the middle. The streets were mostly empty, as people were usually eating at home at this hour.
As the boy wandered down the streets, he wondered how many people would die this year around. Last year, it had been a hundred – a new-time high even for the villagers. But given that the cold season became colder and longer with each year, this year would probably beat the number, no? Seeing that so many women tried to get pregnant those last couple months so that they wouldn’t have to die, it was fairly plausible.
Being too deep in thought, the boy didn’t notice the man he was slowly approaching. Before he knew it, his small feet left the ground, instead touching nothing but the air. Looking up, he realized that it was because the guard had lifted him with his arm, grabbing his back collar. The guard wasn’t an unfamiliar one; actually, it was the one who had taken ‘care’ of him the most, meaning the one who had supervised him during his cleaning jobs around the city the most.
His dark, bushy brows were furrowed deep together as he glanced at the boy who was looking up at him with those different colored eyes. He couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of unfamiliarity but also fear overcome him, which was why he quickly let go of the boy, not caring that he fell down onto his knees. Clearing his throat, the guard rubbed his long beard as he pointed towards the direction of the city hall.
“Sir Khal is looking for you, brat.”
The boy picked himself up from the ground, patting his rags clean as if they were something expensive. He looked away, careful not to meet the guard’s eyes unlike before. He knew that it was because of his eyes – it was always because of his eyes. As if his light hair wasn’t enough to make him stick out between all these people with dark hair, his eyes were what made them really dislike him, hate him.
So it was better not to look into their eyes.
Knowing better than to ask questions, or speak altogether, the boy gave a quick nod and then strode towards the direction the guard pointed at. His walk wasn’t long, which was why he arrived after few minutes in front of the large wooden building. He didn’t hesitate as he opened the doors and entered the empty hall. Well, it wasn’t completely empty, as there was a tall man inside. He wore a mixture of purple and black leather robes and also had fancy appearing jewelry on him, like his many rings and the necklaces around his neck – all means to showcase his superiority to everybody else.
With almost black hair and deep brown eyes, he could be described as a friendly looking man, but he wasn’t. His cold, hateful eyes bore into the boy’s body, but he didn’t care about that. Sir Khal, this fancy-pants man, was probably the worst out of everyone in the village. Not only did he beat him whenever he felt like it, he was also the reason why no one dared to approach or talk to the boy – saying he’s the sprout of the devil himself.
As if a devil even existed, how ridiculous.
The boy did not speak his mind as he obediently stared at the floor. If there was one rule he had to follow when being in Sir Khal’s presence, it was to keep quiet like a dead rat and pretend that he wasn’t even here to begin with.
“Where were you today? Don’s you know that ungrateful brats don’t get dinner?”
The boy would have loved to sigh and retort something along the lines of ‘I don’t get dinner even if I do everything you say’, but instead kept quiet, knowing better. Putting his head even lower, now being in a bowing position, the boy continued to listen to the grown ass man’s words.
“Tsk, but what can I expect of such a bastard devil’s child?”
And there Sir Khal went again, talking about his unknown parents that had abandoned him in front of the city hall – probably after seeing his eyes and getting scared. After all, who’d want to raise someone like him? And then Sir Khal continued, talking about how gracious he was, as he took him in – which he didn’t do – and fed him – which, honestly, he didn’t do either. It was a story the boy had heard over and over again, slowly and surely getting enough of it.
But he couldn’t exactly just speak his thoughts out loud, now could he?
“…and all you do to repay my kindness is being such an ungrateful brat!”
With the same sentence as always, he concluded his little ‘be-grateful-to-me-or-get-beaten’ speech, which, as always, ended in him beating the boy. Today was no different. For a grown-ass man who beat a scrawny, little, malnutritioned eight year old child, Sir Khal seemed to be very focused, similar to a soldier on a battlefield during a war.
At some point, a certain question had popped up in the boy’s head. If everyone thought of him as an evil omen, as a devil’s spout or reincarnation or whatever, why would they dare mistreat him? Why would they beat him, make him do all their work? Couldn’t they just avoid him, or even abandon him, kill him off like they did with everyone else?
There were countless things the boy didn’t understand and questioned, but his biggest questions were those. He knew that some of the villagers were also afraid of him; others were simply disgusted and pointed their fingers at him for looking different. Perhaps they did what they did to ridicule him, to make him feel like dying. They kept him alive so that he’d live the most miserable life out of them all, no? So that he’d regret the day he’d been born.
After a while, the beating was over, and Sir Khal let out a satisfied snort. Having ‘beating up a defenseless, powerless, weak eight year old kid who I think of as a devil’s spout’ as a hobby makes a person have a very disgusting fetish indeed. Sir Khal, as famous, rich and liked he may be, was a man with such a crazy fetish.
Looking down on his weak arms, which were just skin and bones, the young boy gave his best not to sigh. They were all bloody again, filled with red punch marks. His stomach area was aching and he felt lightheaded and dizzy at the same time. Hm, but it was better than usual, so he didn’t dare complain – or cry for that matter.
“Tsk, you should be thankful that I only did this much, humph!”
Sir Khal took out a paper sheet from his breast pocket and handed it to the young, beat up boy. With it, he gave him a used handkerchief – so that the paper wouldn’t get all bloody.
“Your list of tasks for this week. You ought to skip dinner tonight, as punishment for not coming to me immediately and making me look for you.”
The boy didn’t reply, but that was enough as the tall figure that was Sir Khal slowly walked away, his footsteps sounding farther and farther away. Or perhaps it was just the boy beginning to drift to sleep, who knew? Life was never easy, and sometimes, when a person was a bit too tired, they’d just fall asleep.
Sleep was like death, without the whole dying thing. But it wasn’t painless either, unlike what the boy imagined death to be. Dreams and nightmares, both were a shitty experience to have. That was why he was so thankful that he didn’t dream that night.
Things happened and time passed by. At some point, the young boy was granted a new piece of clothing, and thankfully, he was given a long-sleeved shirt. While he’d have loved to have a warm jacket, he couldn’t complain as the long sleeves were much better than the potato-sack like sag he’d been wearing before. With his pants being of a more comfortable fabric, he couldn’t find it in him to complain. Winter was approaching, and with winter, the ‘people-who-will-die’ election. As before, his name wasn’t even once mentioned – which granted him many envious glared from adults.
It seemed like they had forgotten to think of him as a child. Children were never included in the list of people that would die so that the majority could survive. It wasn’t just for the reason that they were the future of the people, no, not at all.
The reason children were never included was because they were weak and frail, broke easily. The people who were chosen to die and be abandoned would have to walk up north so that wild beasts who could possibly overcome the wooden fence would follow them instead. To do that, they’d be wounded before. Children would most likely not survive long enough, which was why it was likely that the wild beasts would find this village.
The reason why people, even the people chosen to die, complied with this, was because the chief elder said it was a ritual. That those who ‘sacrificed’ themselves for the people were the chosen ones, destined for greatness. After their deaths, they would meet the gods and get a vast fortune bestowed upon them.
What a load of bullshit, no?
“Village elder! It is not fair! That child, isn’t he old enough by now to go in our stead?!”
“That’s right! I’ve seen him run around for hours and he also doesn’t need to eat much, which is how we can keep more food for ourselves!”
“That thing has quite the endurance too!”
Ah, there they were. The boy had already wondered how old he’d be when people would start to be willing to throw him under the bus. But then again, he could understand them. To them, he wasn’t one of them. He looked different – was different. Who knew, perhaps they didn’t even think of him as a human being?
“Village elder, if I may say something~?”
The boy watched the tall man with the dark hair and eyes and friendly looking face get up from his seat. He had an amiable smile on his lips, appearing harmless and concerned about the situation.
‘As much as he beats me, there’s no way he’d want to throw his toy away.’
The boy couldn’t help but have those thoughts. Even if he despised and hated Sir Khal, he knew that he’d prevent him from being sent off to die…or at least so he thought.
“As all of you are aware, I’ve been supervising him for the past nine years, and I’ve noticed how he is not like us in any ways. His wounds heal too quickly and whenever he stares at me with those hellish eyes of his I feel like he’d draining years of my life off of me. He’s too strong and fast for a human child and he never opens his mouth to talk, isn’t that ominous?”
The room became quiet as everyone’s chatter quitted down. They nodded in agreement, their eyes greedy for life.
“Yes, yes, indeed, Sir Khal is telling the truth.”
“Of course he is! He’s the one who warned us from the very beginning!”
“But is it really right to just send a child?”
“What child? All I see is a devil’s sprout!”
The people’s mumbles were getting shut out of the boy’s ears as his eyes widened ever so slightly. He stared at Sir Khal, and for the very first time in a long while, the two of them met eyes. Sir Khal looked away quickly, but it was enough for the boy to realize that he looked ecstatic; not a drop guilty.
“Village elder, let me ask you, isn’t it better to send a single person that smells like meat rather than many with small injuries? From what I’ve tested, that thing will survive even if we skin him alive! If we send him, this year, no one has to die! We have so many pregnant women; do they really have to go through the stressing mourning phase if they lose their husbands?”
As if to underline his point further, the men of the pregnant women nod in unison. The village elder looked through the crowd of approximately nine-hundred people. Besides very few, all of them seemed to love Sir Khal’s proposal. At the very end, the village elder looked at the very back, many feet away from the crowd of people. While his eyes weren't the best, he could still make out a small silhouette of a person standing there, weakly leaning against the wall. His dark green eyes met those described as hellish, as if to ask him a silent question.
But before the young boy could say anything, or even react, the eyes of the village elder returned to Sir Khal. He seemed convinced, for some reason. Perhaps he hadn’t asked a single question, only made sure that the boy was truly ‘strong’ enough for this march or some sorts.
“Sir Khal, I will trust your judgement with this. But send two men with him, to keep him on tracks so that he doesn’t lead the wild monsters to our village.”
Sir Khal’s victorious gaze was something the boy would never forget; it burned itself into the back of his mind. The way that gentle face turned ugly, almost as if he was the actual devil rather than a strong believer of god.
That was the last time the boy had met Sir Khal.
A week later, two strong men in thick coats and with backpacks on their backs stood in front of the gates to the forest outside the village. Both of them looked more than ready to go on this march which had just one possible outcome: It always resulted in death for the wanderers.
There was a small boy standing in between them, weak and frail. For the first time in his entire life, he wore good quality, normal clothes and a warm winter jacket. There was a scarf around his neck and a hat keeping his ears from freezing. His shoes were his size and kept his feet warm; there was no way he could accidentally lose them contrary to his usual ‘sandals’.
“Walk up north, to the big mountain. If you reach it, the gods will save you.”
The two men gave firm nods as they listened to the village elder’s instructions. They had determined expressions on their faces; they probably felt like they were doing something great today, which deserved all the praise it could possibly get.
‘What a load of bullshit.’
The young boy couldn’t help but feel annoyance. His entire life, he had never been allowed to choose a thing. It was almost as if he was acting on a script – but there was no way of breaking out. The two men were handed two knives with the instructions to use them when they were far enough – to use them on the boy, naturally.
Cut him, stab him, whatever; just make him bleed. Because the scent of blood attracts wild animals and monsters. Then, run. Run as fast as your feet could possibly carry you up the mountain, where the largest beast known to mankind lived. His roar, when he smelled the blood, would attract all other animals, and they would then head up to the mountain too, looking for pray.
And then, don’t get caught and hold on long enough for the winter season to get over. Then, either die at the hands of the beasts or because of your wounds. Whatever, no one cared.
Everyone knew about what they had to do.
The gates were opened and the three people, two men and one now nine year old boy, were kicked out from the safety the place behind the wooden fence brought. One of the two men grabbed the boy and then, the three of them began to walk through the thick snow. There was no way of escape; one simply had to go all the way to the mountain. Wait for his death or get killed by some animal earlier.
At some point, after hours and hours of walking, when the sky turned dark, the boy began to wonder about things he knew he couldn’t ever find an answer to. What is a god? Did gods really exist? Who made those gods to what they were? Was there some entity above a god? Who was responsible for life, and who for death? Who made him? Who was responsible for his existence?
Perhaps he shouldn’t have spent the little free time he had at the god’s river. Sure, the water was pretty and beautiful, unlike any other water, but if he’d used his free time to bow his head in front of Sir Khal, or even getting beat up by him, he maybe wouldn’t be in this kind of situation – in this death march. Or was that too something that was inventible? His looks; perhaps that was the reason he ended up here. He should have just ripped out his hair and let someone, anyone, stab his eyes. Blindness was okay if it meant that he could live.
In the end, the boy too wanted to live. Despite not knowing anything other than violence, fear, anger and pain, he wanted to live. Maybe that was because he had gone out to see the god’s river, seen its steadily flowing water which would flow even if the entire island burned down and realized that maybe, not all things in life were bad.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have allowed himself to enjoy such a simple thing as a river surrounded by myths and legends. Perhaps he shouldn’t have allowed himself to go check it out despite not believing in a god.
Perhaps…oh well, he shouldn’t have done many things, but he still did them and ended up here, there was nothing that could change that now, was there?
Now, wasn’t this final proof of his thesis that gods didn’t exist?
If they really did, wouldn’t they do something, anything, to get him out of this situation?
The boy suddenly stopped in his tracks after having that thought. The man who’d been holding on to his hand the entire time, frowned as he glared down at him, his annoyance evident in his furrowed brows and lips that he was pressing together tightly.
“What is it? Why are you stopping Ray?”
Turning around, the other man had his brows raised as he took in the situation. He sighed and shook his head.
“Don’t glare at him like that Ray, else he might curse you or something.”
Clicking his tongue, Ray, turned around and tried to drag the boy with him, yet nothing happened. Before he knew it, a sharp pain practically exploded in his private parts and he could no longer hold on to the boy, grabbing his crotch in pain while letting out pained gasps.
The other man was confused at first, yet fell into a similar state soon after getting kicked in the balls as well. The culprit was naturally the young boy everyone called the sprout of the devil, despite him not having done a single wrong thing in his entire life. Well, if everyone already saw him like that, he should make their words come true, no?
Well, not exactly. He’d rather not go back there.
Quickly taking one of the two backpacks (he couldn’t let these two men just die before they even reached their ‘destination’, after all, hope dies last as he’d noticed himself just now), he ran away, in whatever direction he felt like running. Making strange turns every now and then to assure that no one could ever catch up to him, the boy ran the fastest he ever did. The wind blowing against his back seemed to be supporting him, and, for the very first time ever, he felt that the air that he breathed felt fresh. His body felt light and despite him carrying a heavy backpack, he didn’t felt like he was carrying anything.
His steps were light, he felt like he was flying.
Was this what being free meant?
If there were no gods and he knew that because he had told himself that over and over again, whenever he was getting beaten up by the villagers and Sir Khal, why didn’t he take his fate into his own hands instead of complying?
The answer was pretty simple, now that he thought about it. It was the same reason why, despite always heading there and thinking about it, he never crossed the god’s river.
It was because he did indeed believe in gods.
He hoped that they were watching out for him out there.
That they were ensuring he wouldn’t die.
But now that they didn’t come, that no one came, why should he wait any longer?
Gods didn’t exist.
So why should he wait for them?
It was his life, his choice, his fate.
His feet carried him to the god’s river. Despite it being supposed to be frozen, the water was flowing just like any other day. The river, perhaps three feet wide, was not that big. Running up to it with everything he god before tensing his body and jerking his body forward, the boy jumped.
He jumped over the river.
He felt like the flying.
The imaginary chains around his body finally loosened and completely disappeared.
That was it.
He was free.
He could feel it.
His landing was a crash landing and he hurt his wrist and ankle as he landed. His clothes were getting wet and he was freezing, but he didn’t feel any of that right now. He was smiling. He was smiling so much it hurt. His mouth hurt because of the wide grin spread across his face. And then…
He fell back into the snow and laughed. He laughed so much, it shouldn’t be possible. His laugh, while sounding strange and awkward, was mirroring his inner joy about finally escaping. He laughed and laughed and it was already night and he still laughed.
It was because he felt like it.
He felt like laughing.
He wanted to laugh.
Yeah, if he felt like it, he should just do it, no?
He should have done this so much sooner!
He laughed and laughed and laughed until he fell asleep at some point.
At the same time, the loud cries of two grown men attracted famished, wild beasts. There was no second warning besides the loud growl of a wolf, then the two men were ripped to shreds. And a few hours later, a whole village filled with dark haired and mostly dark eyes people was burning to the ground.
~
Cale Henituse smiled victoriously as he obtained yet another ancient power – this time, one that was of actual use other than most of his ancient powers. The young dragon that was holding on to his shoulder, looked curiously at the carter he’d caused after destroying the pool of dead mana.
“Human, did I do good?”
Cale patted the young Raon’s head and nodded.
“Yeah, you did good.”
As if on cue, two young kittens, one silver one red, tapped on the redhead’s pants, as if to ask for a compliment from him as well. The redhead’s stoic expression was the same as any other day, but his eyes softened ever so slightly.
“You two did good too.”
The two Whale siblings whose mission was completed with this, since the dead mana source which strengthened the mermaids was now gone, with Raon destroying it like that, stared at the redhead who was still behaving so casually in shock. But all of that didn’t hold on for much longer.
They could hear a frustrated yell; it was quite loud, but not loud enough for the person responsible for it being too far away.
“Human! I hear something strange!”
Cale frowned, recalling the contents of the ‘Birth of a Hero’. Currently, there shouldn’t be anyone inside the Forest of Darkness besides, well, monsters. He had a strange feeling, but chose to ignore it. It couldn’t be something too important, right?
“Y, young master Cale-nim, what was that?”
Witira, who was able to speak first before her younger brother, looked at Cale. As they were similar in height, she didn’t have to look up or down to meet his eyes. Cale simply shrugged, as he honestly didn’t know. Well, it wouldn’t matter much if they made haste and went home.
But as fate was a bitch, they did, in fact, not make it back as quickly as Cale had hoped for.
Notes:
Hi~
And y'all are continung to sit on the cliffhanger I put up last week, despite this being an update, hehe.
I bet this chapter was very confusing (or at least hopefully very confusing ;))
Anyways, this is it for this week.
I'll give out a warning now: Since I decided to advance with my own plot, the story will be getting darker and angstier in a couple chapters (idk when, but it is planned so ig I'd warn y'all right now).
Well, this is it from me again. I gotta study for school (English, math and chemistry as well as a history report) - and yet here I am, not that I'm complaining though.
Okay, okay, I really hope you still liked this chapter.
Until next time!
<3
Chapter 61: 59. Memoria Calamitosa (1)
Summary:
Good luck :)
Notes:
Generally I'd advice you to be careful when reading this chapter. I wouldnt really describe its contents as triggering, but yk, it's a bit...dark. Like not descriptive, but something is there. Like, it gets a teeny tiny bit sad, more or less ig.
Ah!
And there's a panic attack, at least it could be interpreted as such!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
-Are you trying to sacrifice yourself?
In his life as Kim Rok Soo, Cale had lived through many different kinds of life-threatening situations. For example, he had almost starved to death; he had been beaten by his uncle Kim Seung Jong and that more than once, might I add; he had also been faced with an apocalypse and mutant monsters like the sixteen legged spider or a fifteen headed lion-spider and he had survived the Unranked Monster attack. There were times, where he had powerlessly watched people he knew and didn’t know die.
-Are you trying to sacrifice yourself?
Of course, there were also times that he actually wanted to die – yet he kept on living. He always kept on living. Like some crazy ass cockroach, Cale hung on to life. As he told himself in the end, ‘even rolling around in a pile of dog shit is better than dying’.
That was why, over all these years, the redhead had developed a unique sense regarding dangerous situations. Real dangerous situations were so much different compared to most of the things he’d experienced in this world of ‘The Birth of a Hero’.
That is why he was the first to notice it.
The changing air, the way the birds stopped chirping, the suffocating silence of the forest.
Not to forget the Super Rock’s repetitive words of ‘Are you trying to sacrifice yourself’.
He got chills all over his body – all of his senses were warning him, they were screaming at him to move, to do something, anything. But all Cale did was to stop in his tracks. Then, slowly, as if the world was standing still and as if he had all the time in the world, he turned around.
A cheetah would, in the end, catch the antelope. It was much faster and stronger than the poor animal. It would always wait, hidden away in the bushes, then sprint forward after it was noticed. It would first bite into the antelope’s legs, so it couldn’t run away any longer. Severing the means to run away was also a technique used by hunters.
For example, if one was trying to catch a fish, one would always immediately pull the prey out of the water, so it couldn’t slip away. Similarly, if one was trying to catch a flying animal, like an eagle, one would aim for the wings first, so it couldn’t get away.
Now, what would happen if the hunted knew that it was prey before it could be spotted by the hunter?
What if the fish swam away before the fishing net could capture it?
What if the eagle flew away before its wings could be injured?
What if the antelope kept on running and didn’t slow down, tiring out the cheetah?
And what if the hunter was also ready for that?
What if the fishing net was extended, catching the fish no matter how hard it tried to get away?
What if there was another shoot for the eagle’s wings?
And what if the cheetah didn’t slow down and kept on pursuing the antelope?
In the end, there was a major difference between the prey and the hunter – between the powerful and powerless. No matter how strong someone was, there would always be someone stronger. And the weak, they had a way of telling if there was someone much stronger nearby.
Cale, who’d always been weak, knew the feeling he was experiencing very well. Just because he hadn’t felt it in well over a decade, doesn’t mean he forgot what it felt like, not at all. That is why, when he finally spotted the figure standing around a hundred feet behind them, leaning casually against a tree, his face hidden by his hood, he knew it instantly.
The man may look weak, with his stature being similar to Cale’s, and yet, the aura around him, it was something that Cale had felt once before. Cold sweat was slowly running down his face and he immediately activated his ‘Record’ ability, going through all of his past records, calculating the probabilities of the things that could happen, go wrong.
“Human?”
The young Raon was the first to notice the redhead’s absence from the group. Turning around, the six year old was met with quite a sight. Cale seemed to be frozen in place with his breathing becoming heavier with each passing second. It was only after the young dragon followed his human’s line of sight that he noticed the other person that was standing inside the Forest of Darkness, yet definitely didn’t belong to the group at all.
In this moment, he caught himself wishing that a responsible adult like Ron or Eruhaben was here with them, both of whom were busy with their own things. One was with the crown prince, acting as his guard on a certain someone’s wish, while the other said he still had to take care of something. Even Beacrox, the ever so reliable head chef, said that he had one last thing to take care of – leaving the three children and two Whale siblings alone with Cale. But it really wasn’t a bad thing.
Raon was a great and mighty dragon, he was very strong. And his weak human, despite being weak, wasn’t really all that weak either. But besides being a strong dragon, Raon had been taught to be a smart dragon by Cale. He knew that there were times, where he wouldn’t be strong. And seeing Cale frozen in place like that, a straight out terrified expression on his face-
If even his ever so calm human was in such a frightened state, Raon would be powerless too. He could feel that this man, hidden in the shadows, was not ordinary, not at all. He knew that something was wrong with him, that something about him was simply not right. But he didn’t know much besides that.
But someone did know. Cale’s fingers were shaking while his mind was racing. He recognized the man. While the hair was much lighter of color, a rich crimson instead of the black it had been the last two times they met, everything else remained the same. The white mask that covered the upper half of his face, that cold smile with nothing behind it, that scrawny body (not that Cale was one to talk)-
Back when Cale had been disguised as the Vampire Duke’s son Naru van Ejellan in the Endable Kingdom, when he had helped that douchebag get rid of the White Star and become king, seizing the opportunity when said bastard was away, he had not realized just how terrifying that man could actually be. No, not at all.
Maybe it was because his senses had been dulled by the fake friendliness, or the tasty cookies that person always brought, or the money and fancy gifts…Either way, it was because the White Star believed ‘Naru’ to be on his side.
Cale swallowed hard, thinking about how lucky he had been that the White Star didn’t know anything about him and didn’t find out about his real identity either.
“Young master Cale-nim? What is it-“
Witira and her younger brother, who were a couple steps away from Cale, just now noticing his missing steps behind them, turned around and were met with the same sight as the young Raon before.
But there was a difference, as they weren't fazed by Cale’s terrified appearance and his slightly shaking body. Their eyes immediately landed on the unknown figure- a mistake.
“Ugh!”
“Fuck, noona, what is that?!”
“Nya!”
Gasping for air at the sudden pressure that was released the following second, both of their eyes wandered to Cale. Contrary to a second before, he looked much more composed, as if he was done with panicking and decided to take matters into his own hands. He glanced at the young Raon next to his head, his usual, stoic expression not giving anything of his inner tumult away.
“Raon.”
He didn’t need to say much more as the young dragon immediately understood. But it was too late already. The Dominating Aura, which Cale activated, while being incredibly useful against his own allies, did nothing to the White Star. The edges of his lips curled upward and, as if to ridicule him even more, he began to clap his hands.
As if this was just a big show instead of Cale’s actual attempt of getting away.
Right, there was always the other kind of prey that tried to defy their fate to the best of their abilities. Like venomous snakes, they bit and poisoned the hunter. But there were hunters that preyed on venomous cobras too, like mongooses. Immune to their poison.
The ancient power Cale just found had absolutely no effect on the White Star, but it was not something Cale hadn’t anticipated. While it certainly was unexpected, he had also expected it to happen, in one of the millions of possible things that could go wrong for every move he was about to do.
How long has it been since he’d been forced to use his ‘Record’ ability like this? He didn’t remember. That was the first indication. His memories got blurry as he focused more and more on the situation at hand, the foe he’d have to face – or at least slow down until they could escape.
The clapping sound that came from the other side of the road became louder, despite still being the same – it didn’t come closer and the White Star didn’t increase the volume of his clapping either. The voices of Cale’s comrades were suddenly becoming duller and washier, somehow.
Ah.
He had the one solution he’d desperately looked for now.
It was in front of his inner eye like a silver lining in this endless mess of dead ends. A solution where no one immediately died. A solution that didn’t involve anyone getting hurt either – at least not a single soul he tried to protect right now.
He barely noticed three pair of pawns clenching to his pants and shoulder, well, it didn’t matter now anyways.
‘Oi Rok Soo, you disrespectful punk, what are you doing, huh?’
There was a smile on Cale’s lips as he calculated the probability of his silver lining. The moment he was done, he could hear Lee Soo Hyuk’s voice behind him. There was a pat on his shoulder, but it was just his imagination playing tricks on him, he knew it. If Lee Soo Hyuk would be back, he’d just beat him up right here right now; he was that kind of person, after all. But it didn’t matter because the thought of Lee Soo Hyuk being there, even if it was not real, was really comforting.
Now that he thought about it, compared to his earlier years in this world, he nowadays didn’t think that much about Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo anymore, instead thinking about the present and the war he first needed to avoid and now needed to end.
He closed his eyes, then did what he had to do. There were loud yells coming from behind him, which he gradually ignored like the ignoring expert that he was.
‘Ay, he’s at it again, Jung Soo.’
‘Rok Soo! Rok Soo, lemme beat you up real quick for this, yeah? If you wanna die so badly, you should have jumped off a cliff or something, would be less painful, ya know?’
Just imagining the voices with their typical reactions amused Cale.
The clapping sound stopped and the sky rumbled.
Everything happened way too fast, and at the same time, time seemed to slow down the instant a foreign ancient power filled with unimaginable strength hit a freshly appeared silver shield. It glowed clearer and purer than it ever had before, lighting up the dark forest instantly.
But it was not enough.
Cale knew it deep in his bones.
So he began the second step of his plan.
‘Haaa, that punk really wants me to come over and beat his thin ass.’
‘Hyung, he doesn’t have an ass, he is one.’
Cale scoffed the moment the imaginary voices of his first two family members sounded in his ears. By now, he couldn’t even tell if it was just his imagination or some sealed memory he had buried too far away in his own consciousness at some point in his life. It could be a mixture of both though. But at this very moment, it definitely didn’t matter.
What mattered was that, instead of three children grabbing on to him, he felt his team leader’s rough hand pat him. The pats were hard – he was scolding him, Cale knew – but at the same time there was this softness in his every pat. As if he would ensure that Cale would manage to get away.
Then there was the other hand patting is left shoulder. The pats were different from Lee Soo Hyuk’s, much less reassuring and stabilizing and rather…encouraging, telling him that he could go run wild while this person patting his left shoulder, Choi Jung Soo, would ensure to have his back.
It was not real.
Cale knew.
No, he should know that it wasn’t real.
But at this moment, it felt very real even.
Perhaps knowing that those two people were by his side, the two people who had sacrificed anything for him to be where he was now, who had died in his stead, made Cale realize that he could – would – get out of this.
‘Tsk, you stupid punk! There’s no way you’re gonna throw away two extra lives just like that, are ya?’
‘Ai hyung, Rok Soo’s always been dumb, his brain’s no good in things like these, ain’t that right Rok Soo?’
Yeah, Cale was no good in things like these – but here he was, doing it anyways because no one else would do it otherwise. It’s always been like that; he doing the bare minimum (in his eyes) because no one else did it properly.
Cale raised his hand, the power of the destructive thunderbolt ancient power rushing through his veins. It was much different compared to the first time he used it; as if it had become so much more powerful. Perhaps it had, Cale didn’t know and honestly, he didn’t care as long as it’d get the job done.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, the Super Rock ancient power that had warned him about the White Star’s presence sounded with its usual flat words.
-Are you trying to sacrifice yourself?
No, Cale wasn’t trying to do that.
‘What an annoying talking rock.’
‘Pfft, it’s kinda funny though, don’t you agree hyung?’
Yeah, the Super Rock was an annoying talking rock, but it had its uses too, for example in detecting danger.
Cale’s hand went down in a swift motion, and with it, the sky rambled, even louder than when the foreign power – ancient power, Cale corrected himself as he noticed that it was more akin to a nature’s disaster than magic, though he had to ask Raon to be certain – had descended and hit his shield.
He didn’t notice that he was bleeding buckets until his sight got really blurry while he felt really dizzy. But he was not done.
Not yet.
‘Haaa, Jung Soo, what did I do to deserve such a punk in my life?’
‘Well, there are a couple things that I can list right now, but if you want more-‘
So it were memories, huh?
Good memories.
Why did Cale bury them again?
He didn’t remember.
He raised his hand once again, still feeling two firm and seemingly unshakable hands on his shoulder, two hands that were also helping him to remain standing firm and upright. His legs had long since lost their own strength. It was truly fascinating how he was standing with the help of two hallucinations.
“Raon.”
Cale coughed more blood, but his voice was calm and collected, as if he wasn’t bleeding to death right now.
The young Raon, who was actually hanging on to his human’s right shoulder, flinched after hearing his name being called out. He knew what he had to do. He really, really did know, but it was difficult. His paws and small body were shaking. Despite being supposed to be great and mighty, he was powerless right now.
He felt the strength of their opponent. But he had noticed after his human.
He was of no help.
And now he couldn’t even-
“I think I forgot to tell Beacrox what’s for dinner.”
Cale’s voice, if that was even possible, turned even calmer into a soothing tone. He moved his hand down again, another fiery red thunderbolt descending down from the sky, hitting the shield of the White Star and rendering him immobile because of that.
Raon couldn’t help the sniff he let out. He wanted to respond, say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. He stayed silent in the end, listening to his human’s haggard breathing despite the calm voice.
“Let’s go back now; I don’t want fish for dinner, yeah?”
Raon couldn’t help but give a small and weak nod, but he did so nonetheless. He did not let go of his human’s formerly white shirt, even as he cast the teleportation array his human wanted him to do from the very beginning. He was shaky and did it much slower than usual, but he pulled through – be it just for his human.
The two Whale siblings, the ever so powerful future Whale Tribe Queen and her younger brother Paseton, watched the frail back of the person they’d saved from drowning after he’d rescued the half-whale from dying. He was…rescuing them again.
Witira was no pushover.
She knew she was freaking strong, hell, in her berserk transformation she could take on any foe that wasn’t a dragon. But that thing, as she couldn’t even tell if that person was a human to begin with, she did not dare step closer to it than she already was.
And that weak-ass human who could break his bones if he fell down the wrong way once, he was currently protecting all of them, giving them a chance to get away. His back, it was so small, his shoulders too narrow for the burden of protecting someone from death. He…
“Amazing…”
He was freaking amazing.
He was a damn bastard that was going over his limits, spitting buckets of blood – more blood than should have been in his tiny body – while being freaking weak. Witira had seen fishes that were physically stronger than Cale Henituse. And here she stood, behind the man, watching his back while he saved her life, after helping her eradicate the dead mana supply the mermaids used.
He-
Witira was more than just indebted to him now. She had to; absolutely had to stick close to her rescuer and the Whale Tribe’s savior. Else she wouldn’t be any good as a queen.
There was one last swing of Cale’s shaking and bloody hand, then the young dragon’s teleportation array was activated. Witira felt relieved. Paseton felt exhausted and the two kitten siblings clenched their eyes shut as they buried their heads in Cale’s pants while Raon did the same with his head in Cale’s shoulder.
The redhead was the only one who didn’t close his eyes.
That was why he saw it.
The way the White Star was smirking.
The way he was still – no, had resumed to – clapping his hands.
His expression was amused; he was smiling, but his eyes were cold and void of any sort of emotions.
-Who are you?
~
A gentle hand, softly caressing his cheek.
A tender and loving touch unlike anything he ever remembered feeling.
The skin of those fingers was smooth, the nails weren’t short but they weren't long enough to scratch him either.
The intention behind the touch seemed to be caressing his cheek, and yet, it felt like something much more important was going on behind it.
He wanted to look, to pry his eyes open and see who was stroking his cheek ever so gently, yet he couldn’t.
His eyes wouldn’t listen to him, they wouldn’t open.
Usually, if someone was unable to open their eyes, they’d worry. But for some reason unknown to him, he didn’t feel that way, instead one wave of calmness after another washed over him.
The caressing was getting even more adoring, easing his mind. No, it wasn’t just easing his mind, it made him forget all of his useless thoughts regarding that simple yet complicated show of affection.
Could it even be called a show of affection if he didn’t know the one who was caressing his cheek in such a loving manner?
The hand suddenly stopped and Cale regretted thinking so much about the simple motion, wishing the caressing would continue. It wasn’t Alberu and it wasn’t anyone else he knew, but he felt as if he should know.
Now he really wanted to open his eyes, to look at the person he knew he had to know. But he didn’t open his eyes, didn’t get to see the person’s face.
He heard a low sigh.
To Cale’s experienced ears, it sounded like a resigned sigh, as if the person had a heavy workload on their desk and didn’t want to get back or to it, but at the same time it sounded heavier. As if the person that had been caressing his cheek ever so lovingly was carrying a heavy burden on their shoulder.
Who knew, most likely they were. All the people Cale surrounded himself with had their own burdens to carry, their own duties to perform.
Suddenly, Cale could feel the weight next to him shifting. Ah, he hadn’t noticed before, but it appeared he was currently in bed. Wait; that’d mean he escaped the White Star, right? Then the one who’d been caressing his cheek was most likely his boyfriend-
“Seo Yeon, are you coming?”
The voice, that voice, Cale did not recognize it, but he felt like he should. The name spoken was an unfamiliar one, he hadn’t heard it before – not even once –, but it felt like he was supposed to.
“Give me a moment, Sung Ho; you truly have absolutely no patience whatsoever.”
There was an amused chuckle that was coming closer. Those names, they were Korean.
Cale, no, Kim Rok Soo, did not know those names.
His ‘Record’ ability made it impossible for him to forget the names of his colleagues and the people that were important to him, hell, even people he simply knew. Even before he awakened that ability, Kim Rok Soo had good memory. He wouldn’t have forgotten names, not a single one. He still remembered all of his classmates’ names, his teachers’, anyone’s.
It felt wrong to not know to whom those names belonged.
“He’s so small.”
The voice that spoke was a soft and deep one, it belonged to this Sung Ho person that had just cackled like some chicken.
“Mhm, it’s a bit worrying, but isn’t he beautiful?”
There was silence, and then there were suddenly two hands on his face, one was back to caressing his cheek while the other was gently touching his nose. Kim Rok Soo did not understand the situation he was in. Why were these people saying such words? Wait, could it be that-
Was it possible that he’d died?
That something major had happened and he’d come to yet another world?
Was something like that truly possible?
But he had so many things to do! He couldn’t die-
No, there was no way he was dead, it simply couldn’t have happened.
Hell, he didn’t even understand how he managed to enter the world of ‘The Birth of a Hero’, but most certainly he wouldn’t just leave it – at least he sincerely held on to that thought. There had to be another explanation for this.
“I suddenly don’t want to leave anymore, Seo Yeon, can’t we stay? I don’t think my brother’s the best of babysitter…”
There was silence and Kim Rok Soo almost thought that he just imagined Sung Ho saying that, yet what followed was a long sigh.
“No, no we can’t. And you know why.”
There was yet another pause, and suddenly, the air around felt heavy and strained. While the atmosphere had been calm and soothing before, it had made a 180° degree turn. The man kept silent and then, once again, the caressing on his cheek stopped.
He wanted Seo Yeon to continue caressing his cheek. She did it in such an unfamiliarly familiar way – Kim Rok Soo should remember her. Why didn’t he? Could it really be that he’d forgotten someone or reincarnated into someone new yet again?
“Are you sure-sure, Seo Yeon? There will be no going back.”
There the hand was again, caressing his face. Kim Rok Soo’s chest felt so incredibly heavy out of nowhere and he wanted to open his eyes and to scream and to yell, to cry and to throw a tantrum and Kim Rok Soo never wanted to throw tantrums.
The words these two people, Seo Yeon and Sung Ho exchanged, felt like something so important but Kim Rok Soo just didn’t get them. They were Korean, he could understand them, but he didn’t get them. What did they mean? They didn’t make sense? Who were those two people? Why were they with him? Why were they caressing his cheek, sitting by his side?
And most importantly, they were about to go away, weren't they?
This was their goodbye, wasn’t it?
And Kim Rok Soo didn’t even open his eyes and didn’t even get to look at them to look at their faces.
They were – should be – strangers to him, and yet he felt like his head was about to explode if they really went away.
He didn’t even get to say something.
Didn’t get to do anything but lie there and listen.
And lie there and listen.
Lie there and listen.
Until the weight shifted once again and the sound of footsteps exiting the room sounded in his ears. Then something was closing. It was a door.
Kim Rok Soo suddenly felt such despair overwhelm him – he couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t-
He couldn’t breathe; b-r-e-a-t-h-e!
The air didn’t want to enter his lungs, no matter how many times he tried to breathe in. It was almost as if there was a filter there preventing anything from entering his body. He wanted to scream, to yell, to cry, to do something – anything – but he didn’t.
He was lying there.
He didn’t breathe.
He couldn’t breathe.
His body wasn’t moving.
He felt fear, despair and terror worse than anything he’d ever felt before overcome him. He couldn’t get fucking air into his lungs!
Was this it?
Was he currently dying?
Was this but a dream?
But he couldn’t b-r-e-a-t-h-e!
And then, he heard the door getting thrown open again.
There were those gentle hands on his face, then those soft arms were holding him up, pressing him against a warm body. It was then that he noticed that he had been cold, but more importantly; he regained the ability to breathe. He could breathe; air was getting into his lungs again.
“Seo Yeon…?”
There came the other person, Sung Ho, stumbling into the room while he sounded out of breath. He most likely took in the scenery in front of him while catching his breath.
He then sighed, most likely shaking his head.
“He did it again, didn’t he?”
The chest of the woman who was hugging him, Seo Yeon, then vibrated as she laughed.
“Sung Ho, I think he knows.”
Her laughter was frustrated as she clenched to Kim Rok Soo’s body. Wait; was he even Kim Rok Soo? He had assumed so since the names and language were Korean, but what if he now was neither Kim Rok Soo nor Cale Henituse?
But all of those thoughts dispersed the very same moment he had them as a gentle hand stroke through his head. The hand felt so big, no, his head was just small.
Ah, was he a child again?
He disliked being a child; both of his childhoods had been shit, one worse than the other though. Well, then again, his second childhood hadn’t been that shitty, given that he met-
The thoughts dispersed and an unexplainable calmness washed over him.
He felt at ease.
The person that was hugging him made him feel at ease.
Seo Yeon said something he didn’t understand.
He didn’t listen anymore.
He felt tired.
He then fell asleep.
‘Don’t go away while I sleep.’
‘Don’t go away at all.’
‘Don’t leave me.’
‘I don’t want to be alone.’
But they did go away, didn’t they?
They did leave after a while, no?
He did end up all by himself, wasn’t that right?
It was the same as always.
Notes:
Hello~
I really don't know how to feel about this chapter - like on the one hand, I absolutely love it (I didn't have so much fun writing a chapter since forever), but when i read through it myself I was like, that's kinda dark? Even for me?Anyways, it is what it is and you gotta live with it, hehe~
Now it's, once again, time to complain about my life (damn, it's been a while since I did that I think, or at least it feels that way).
Ok, so today's topic is...
My fucking NwT teacher! Yay! (for those that have forgotten, nwt is like a mixture of engineering, physics and basically nature, science and IT, something along those lines).
So well, it's the end of the school year, and basically all of our teacher are already done with exams and tests and grades altogether (besides very few). He is one of those very few (and he is also my fucking chemistry teacher, damnnnnnnitttttt). Anyways, well, guess what we're doing at the end of the year?
A big fucking group project that requires an IT programm (basically we have to write a computer programm to programm a pulsesensor (do you even say it like this???))
And in that group project, I'm in a group with two of my close friends. One of those friends is sick while the other won't be back until next week Wednesday, yay, meaning all the work has to be done by none other than....MEEEEEEEEE! Yay!!!
And while I usually don't care, I simply, for the love of god, can't write computer programs! And our teacher doesn't help us. You can imagine it as him sitting in his chair, watching some of his own stuff (who knows, perhaps he's reading or secretly watching Netflix while all of us work our fucking asses off T^T)...
Basically, everything went to shit until I somehow managed to pull some (hopefully) good shit off, which I'm still not quite sure works, but I strongly believe that it is better than nothing (rightttttt?????)
Ugh, stupid teacher, making me work so much more than I intend to on something I won't ever use again in my life, since I basically forget everything that is of no interest to me at some point!Okokok, that gotta be enough complaining on my part.
(funny thing, yesterday I complained like one and a half hour to my friend)Ahhhhh one last thing:
YESYESYESYESYESYESYES (next time bring flowers tho)
->a bit out of context thing, you don't have to understand it hehe!Well, this is it from me~
As always, it's a pleasure updating for you guys!
Until next week, then~
<3
Chapter 62: 60. Memoria Calamitosa (2)
Summary:
...good luck guys ;)
.
.
.
It's not that bad, okay?
Notes:
TW: nothing really bad gets mentioned, at least I don't think so, but like, be still careful since this chapter is kinda angsty. If there's anything that's triggering to you, I apologize in advance! Please tell me so I can add it as a trigger warning (tho you guys already got the tags, even if they're kinda 'old'?)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The term hypnagogic dream refers to a vividly realistic dream. It is characterized by the fact that the dreaming person may fail to recognize the dream as a dream and instead think of it as a real event.
In other words, a hypnagogic dream is a hyper realistic, non-lucid dream; one the dreamer recognizes as anything but a dream.
Cale, no, at that moment he was back to being Kim Rok Soo, stared at the hand being held in front of him, waiting for him to take it. Wave after wave of confusion washed over him, making him wonder whether what was currently happening in front of him – what he was seeing with his own two eyes – was actually real.
“C’mon, whatcha staring at it for like that, huh? Ain’t ya gonna take it? Ya thinking it’s some monster or what?”
The hand that was stretched out in front of Kim Rok Soo, waiting for him to take it; either shake it or whatnot; was free of any scars – the only battle it had ever been in was in a battle against time while finishing some fancy document inside the safe four walls of the company’s office.
The nails of the hand were clean; they were being taken care of. There was neither dirt nor blood underneath them – there was no need for this man to head out to do the dirty work when others were taking care of it, no?
And yet, the man was standing in front of him, looking down on him, the soles of his polished leather shoes touching the bloody and dirty ground on which Kim Rok Soo was still kneeling. Clean hand outstretched, waiting for Kim Rok Soo’s dirty hand to make contact with it.
The man in front of him was not someone Kim Rok Soo didn’t recognize or knew; it was department head Hu Wang – a man who usually avoided Kim Rok Soo like some dirty pest about to infect him with an incurable disease. Who knew, maybe Kim Rok Soo indeed was like a rat carrying such a disease, or even worse, a mouse carrying the curse of death on his back, getting everyone he spent time with infected.
“What? You’re not gonna get up and instead want to continue sitting there like that, huh?”
Kim Rok Soo looked away, unable to look into Hu Wang’s eyes for much longer. He didn’t know when, how or why, but he suddenly felt an unusual calmness overcome him. Perhaps it wasn’t truly calmness but rather a blanket of tiredness he accumulated over the past few months, but even if, did it matter?
“Team Leader Kim, get up from the ground immediately. This is no proper way to behave for a high ranking member of our cooperation.”
Unusual formal language was leaving foul-mouthed Hu Wang’s mouth, causing Kim Rok Soo to look up again. But it wasn’t solely because of the formal language, but rather because of the title that was used to address him.
‘Team Leader?’
“Whatcha lookin’ at me for like that, huh? I got nothing to do with any of this, the only reason I’m here is cuz I was the first person ya rookies met on their way back, getting on their knees to beg me to come and fetch ya.”
Hu Wang paused for a moment, glancing Kim Rok Soo up and down, an unusual frown appearing on his casual and somewhat serene expression. It was then that Kim Rok Soo glanced down on himself too.
“Ah.”
He couldn’t help but let out a loud of realization, finally remembering what was currently happening. Memories of the past events that happened less than an hour ago replayed in front of his inner eye. It couldn’t be a dream now, could it?
“What ‘ah’, huh?”
Hu Wang crossed his arms in front of his chest, but for a change, he actually looked concerned. Perhaps it had something to do with him seeing his co-worker kneeling on the ground, unable to move with blood pouring out of the countless cuts all over his body. Those cuts, they were deep and would surely scar. Not even his face was free of those, making him more than a simple bloody mess.
Right, less than three hours ago, Kim Rok Soo led out his very first team of new rookies on this field mission. It wasn’t supposed to be a challenge at all, just something to improve their team work. Fighting a hoard of poisoned Lion-Snakes was a bit difficult, but once you got the hang of the right footwork and way of movement and managed to dodge the poisonous attacks, they were even easier to get rid of than Grade 3 monsters, making their Grade 2 rank a bit overrated.
But instead of encountering those Grade 2 monsters, Team 1 led by Kim Rok Soo encountered two Grade 1 monsters. It was absolutely ridiculous to even encounter a single Grade 1 monster, let alone two of them – and with a team filled with rookies nonetheless.
And before Kim Rok Soo could even think things through, he instructed everyone to step back.
He didn’t remember much after that, well, one thing he did remember.
That thing was him activating his second ability.
It was an ability he got after Lee Soo Hyuk’s and Choi Jung Soo’s deaths. An ability he cussed out for coming too late. An ability which caused him so much despair – it made life difficult for him, in more ways than should have been possible.
‘Instant’ was an ability Kim Rok Soo didn’t want to ever use, not only because of the physical pain he’d have to endure because of it.
And yet he did.
Why?
Why did he do it?
Why did he use it when he could have easily retreated with his rookies?
Why did he use it instead of calculating other kinds of solutions?
Or was it because he couldn’t use it for Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo that he needed to use it for rookies he hadn’t even known for longer than a couple months?
But he used it, so there was no use dwelling on it any longer, nor on his reasons for doing so.
“Team Leader Kim! Are you just spacing out when an elder’s talking to ya, huh?”
Kim Rok Soo almost rolled his eyes after hearing Hu Wang’s annoyed voice. It was true that the man was older. With his mid-fifties, he was double Cale’s age, but he looked much younger than that. And mentally, he was most likely even younger than Kim Rok Soo.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, still staring, are we huh? I can’t even lift ya since I dunno what that’ll do to ya! Would be great if the new mighty team leader following in the great Lee Soo Hyuk’s footsteps could at least gimme an honest reply – just a reply works too though.”
‘Great Lee Soo Hyuk, huh?’
Kim Rok Soo almost snorted upon hearing Hu Wang say that. If Lee Soo Hyuk had heard him, he’d either beat him up or at least punch him, saying that he was anything but great. Truth to be told, Kim Rok Soo agreed.
Lee Soo Hyuk wasn’t great.
He wasn’t amazing either.
He was a fucking bastard and a liar.
A man who broke his promise.
“How are the others doing?”
The past was not worth thinking about, and being petty over a dead person’s deeds and words was useless; each unchangeable in its own way.
Hu Wang was taken aback for a moment by Kim Rok Soo’s stern voice. He was the one that was fully covered in his own blood and questionable substances which could be a mixture of the monster’s blood and some dirt. He was the one on the ground, crouching, most likely unable to get up. He was not the one who had enough energy to run away to safety or to get help.
How ridiculous.
Hu Wang had absolutely no idea about field missions or anything related to combat altogether. Out of all the people in this century, he had survived the apocalypse without any sacrifices. Both his wife and only daughter had survived until the very end, being safe. The three of them didn’t face any strong monsters and managed to avoid the ugly sights the monster invasion brought with it. But that didn’t mean that he was oblivious and didn’t know anything.
He looked down at the twenty six year old boy; because that’s what Kim Rok Soo actually was, a boy. He was a young kid, only two years older than his daughter. But compared to her, he had absolutely no one, being all alone. And the rumors that were going around the company after his two former team members’ funeral – let’s just say that life didn’t treat Kim Rok Soo the kindest.
Hu Wang was a snob.
He’d been overly privileged, coming from a rich family and without experiencing any sort of trouble at any point in his life. Studying was easy since he was naturally gifted with smarts, and all in all, the road in front of him, in any direction he’d chose to go, had been paved out, free of any bricks. But it didn’t make him a jerk.
Despite hating dirt, especially on his expensive clothes, Wu Wang plopped down next to Kim Rok Soo, groaning a bit after he was fully sitting on the ground, only a few inches away from Kim Rok Soo. In moments like these, the young man’s sharp features and handsome face became more than obvious, but he ignored it. What he truly focused on were his dull reddish-brown eyes.
Kim Rok Soo wasn’t looking at him, instead staring at the destroyed road in front of him. The two of them hadn’t truly met ever before, only on occasion. For example, Hu Wang was a high ranking member of the organization, allowing him to participate in urgent meetings regarding future procedures. Lee Soo Hyuk did too, and he always dragged Choi Jung Soo and Kim Rok Soo with him whenever he headed to those meetings. But that was about the extent of the two knowing each other. As far as Kim Rok Soo recorded, the two of them had never talked to each other before this.
He didn’t understand why Hu Wang came here and didn’t go away after seeing that Kim Rok Soo was responsive – meaning, obviously fine.
“Haaa, young ones are always the most stubborn…”
Hearing Hu Wang’s voice after so long, Kim Rok Soo looked up from the ground, focusing on the man’s long and clean fingers. He was playing with a golden ring, his marriage ring Rok Soo concluded. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Hu Wang raised his hand and hit the back of Kim Rok Soo’s head. It wasn’t a hard hit, but it wasn’t especially soft either.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, what would Lee Soo Hyuk say if he was to see his one of his precious rookies sitting out here like this, covered in cuts and bruises and his own blood, unmoving and partly unresponsive – or is it that you’re just the silent type, huh?”
It was obvious that Hu Wang didn’t expect an answer, yet Rok Soo wasn’t able to hold himself back. Subconsciously, a frown appeared on his face, yet Hu Wang welcomed anything other than that expressionless face of his.
“He’d most likely beat me even more after a thorough scolding, or force me to do some nasty tasks – not like he can do any of that though.”
Hu Wang leaned back, using both of his hands to support him as he did so. He ignored the feeling of uneven ground pressing into his hands, instead paying more attention to the reddish sky. It was supposed to be a beautiful sunset, and yet this red sky was rather unsettling, more like the sky was bleeding out rather than that the sun was setting.
“I can’t tell youngster, I’ve never talked to him much. On that regard though, if you want to, I can beat you up and force you into some nasty tasks too.”
Kim Rok Soo’s eyes widened in slight surprise and he finally looked up from the ground, locking his eyes with Hu Wang. The man wasn’t even looking at him anymore, instead staring up into the sky, but his words were sincere. Rok Soo couldn’t help but laugh at that in the end, pushing back all prior thoughts and slowly but surely rising negative emotions.
“Not that you could, old man.”
Kim Rok Soo didn’t realize that he dropped the formal language and didn’t even address Hu Wang with ‘Sir’ or ‘Mr’ despite knowing his position and rank. Theoretically though, Kim Rok Soo held the same rank, meaning he didn’t exactly have to use formal language, yet he still tended to do so with elders. At least mostly.
Hu Wang chuckled, amusement evident in the way his lips were slowly curling up. He then pulled his eyes away from the sky, looking at him Rok Soo.
“Pretty sure I could, I mean, look at you, you look like even a gust of strong wind’d be enough to force you to the ground.”
To be fair, Kim Rok Soo didn’t look like that. While he was quite thin and lean, he was still very tall and had a muscular and strong build, but the boy didn’t have to know.
An amused scoff escaped the young man’s lips as he closed his eyes, shrugging.
“Guess you have a point there.”
Hu Wang nodded his head, slight smile appearing on his face. At least Kim Rok Soo wasn’t dying, unlike the rookie he met told him. It was a relief, since Hu Wang didn’t want people to die, like not at all. But that was secondary now.
‘Huh?’
Kim Rok Soo stopped looking at Hu Wang and instead felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulder, almost as if there was a hand pressing down on it. But as he turned to look at it, his shoulder was empty. Yeah, it was empty, but his clothes…why wasn’t he wearing the uniform he always wore during field missions? The one he had ripped apart by using his ‘Instant’ ability, the one that had been soaked in his blood?
No, instead of wearing that uniform, he wore a formal, black suit. It was clean and ironed something Kim Rok Soo never cared for. Quickly turning his head back around, Kim Rok Soo noticed that Hu Wang wasn’t sitting next to him anymore, instead there was some faceless man holding up a black umbrella which protected him from the rain. Kim Rok Soo looked up and was met with rain.
Where did Hu Wang go? Had Kim Rok Soo passed out? Or was something wrong with his memory? Wait, it couldn’t be the latter, not with his ‘Record’ ability being there. But…
Ah!
Ah.
Oh.
It all came crashing down into Kim Rok Soo and before he knew it, he looked at the piece of stone in front of him. It wasn’t exactly in front of him, given that he was standing in the last row of people, but he could still see it just fine. It was a grey stone, a simple stone, and not many things were written on it.
A name, a birthdate – as well as a death date.
Standing closest to the gravestone were two small figures. One was crouched over, her shoulders tense and trembling from all the crying and stress she was most likely experiencing. The figure next to her was holding up the umbrella, glaring hatefully at the stone as if it would change anything about it standing there. As if her glaring at it would cause it to crumble and the person buried beneath it to resurrect or something.
The loud sobbing sounds reached Kim Rok Soo’s ears fairly early and before he knew what he was doing, he turned around and walked away.
He didn’t know why he walked away.
He wanted to stay and to give his condolences, even if it wasn’t of any use.
Yet, his body acted on its own accord making him walk away. The people closest to him, it were his former rookies that requested to get transferred to another team; the reason being Kim Rok Soo made them uncomfortable. Working with a man who always had the same kind of apathetic expression on his face tended to make an awful lot of people decide to not work with him under any circumstances, and the scars on his body didn’t make it any easier. All of them glanced after Kim Rok Soo, quickly whispering unkind things at his departure from the funeral of Hu Wang.
“But something like this should be expected of a man who didn’t even cry at the funeral of his team members that spent years with him and walked away, no? After all, someone like Kim Rok Soo, so arrogant, emotionless and selfish, would only think about himself until the end.”
Kim Rok Soo ignored those words, at least he tried to.
It was then that he remembered why he was doing here.
This funeral happened few days after he turned twenty-eight. Hu Wang went to visit him on his birthday. He…after the time he found Kim Rok Soo that day he used his ‘Instant’ ability for the first time, he tended to check up on him an awful lot. He always stopped by to do some senseless small talk, or he just talked about his daughter or wife during lunch. He didn’t spend as much time with the old man as he had with Lee Soo Hyuk or Choi Jung Soo, but it was enough time for Kim Rok Soo to start to finally care.
And then, the moment he did care, Hu Wang was gone.
Kim Rok Soo halted in his steps as he wondered how he had forgotten the man. As a matter of fact, he could tell that whatever this was, wherever he was right now, it couldn’t be reality. Kim Rok Soo, no, Cale realized that this must have been a dream. If it was, what could have caused it? Did he drink poison again? He didn’t remember doing so though.
On the point of not remembering…
Hu Wang.
Cale had never heard of a man with such a name before. At least he thought that way, until the countless records of the man flooded his mind. He hadn’t been very close to him, but enough for Kim Rok Soo to care about him. He had been reliable, like some sort of uncle. He hadn’t always been there, but enough times for Kim Rok Soo to know that he cared too. So how could he have forgotten him?
Did he even forget Hu Wang?
Or was this whole Hu Wang person just an illusion this fucked up dream came up with? A glitch in his memories of some sort?
Actually, it was something Kim Rok Soo desperately wished to be the answer. Because if Hu Wang truly existed; if he had truly met him and forgotten him…
Then it returned, the sensation of someone pressing down his shoulder. Cale’s head snapped to his left shoulder, and contrary to before, he actually saw someone standing there and doing the patting.
He gasped and curled forward, feeling the air getting sucked out of his lungs, as if he’d been punched really, really hard. But it was just a sensation. The man standing in front of him was about the same height as him, furrowing his brows as he shook his head disapprovingly.
“You’re a fucking bastard, Rok Soo, I hope you know that, goddamn it.”
Hearing the all too familiar voice saying those cuss words was unusual, but at the same time, familiar. Cale stared at the person in front of him, and suddenly his surroundings changed once again and he was back where he had first woken up when he came to this world of ‘The Birth of a Hero’. The room was a lot darker and had a gloomy atmosphere, but none of that was very noticeable when Choi Jung Soo was standing there in front of him.
“No…I should say Cale now – doesn’t change that you’re a fucking asshole though.”
Cale stared at the man in front of him, blinking dumbly. He could see the annoyance that Choi Jung Soo so desperately tried to display, so Cale wouldn’t see the worry behind it. Choi Jung Soo-
He stretched out his hand and tried to grab Choi Jung Soo’s collar. To grab his collar to pull him closer and inspect whether he was truly there, alive. In that moment, all his rational thoughts made a swan dive off the rooftop, leaving him irrational and emotional. And while Cale, had he been thinking straight, would have known better and deducted that this man couldn’t be real, Cale was in a dazed state.
His hand going through Choi Jung Soo’s chest didn’t change that as he glared at the older in confusion but also desperation.
Jung Soo’s eyes immediately softened and he shook his head. A small smile on his lips, it was a pitying smile. Definitely a pitying smile. Because he saw how miserable his old friend truly was, even if that sacrificial bastard didn’t notice it even himself.
Choi Jung Soo could see right through Cale. He could also see deep inside his soul. He could see the countless stack of suppressed memories that were trying to get out of the box Cale had pushed them in. The good memories which brought Cale the most pain.
But he understood.
Sometimes, forgetting was easier.
Much easier.
That was why, sometimes, he wished that Cale could have forgotten him and Lee Soo Hyuk too.
But the memories related to the two of them were too many.
That was why he pitied his friend, but even more than that, he felt endless sorrow overcome him. Because, to break all of it down, it was his fault. His and Lee Soo Hyuk’s.
For leaving Kim Rok Soo. They had been selfish because they cherished him more than they did their lives. They were selfish because dying was so much easier than living in a world without Kim Rok Soo. They had been selfish because neither of them could bear the thought of watching Kim Rok Soo die, be it with them or not. They had allowed themselves to be selfish, just this once.
And look where that left them.
Kim Rok Soo, no, he was Cale now, he was so much worse than before. Things were going well for him, but for how much longer? Choi Jung Soo watched him, looked over him, tried to protect him even after death. But…it was useless. So very useless. And the fucking God of Death, that asshole, he didn’t help. He never helped. He was a fucking loser god. He was a-
“…Jung Soo?”
Cale’s voice broke. Choi Jung Soo immediately broke free from his thoughts as he was left with looking at Cale. His old friend…his reddish-brown eyes were glassy. He-
Choi Jung Soo’s breath hitched before he could control it and subconsciously, he stepped closer to Cale, trying to hold him, but once again, his hand went through him. Right, he was only here under the condition of sealing Cale’s memories back again, to make his life a bit easier.
He hated how Kim Rok Soo bottled everything up he didn’t want to deal with, like his childhood memories. (Choi Jung Soo still didn’t know much about Kim Rok Soo’s childhood as the God of Death didn’t tell him, or the god didn’t know about it either, who knows?) It was guaranteed that one day, it would all burst, the memories resurfacing non-stop and merciless. And if that day was to come- Kim Rok Soo, no Cale, would he really manage?
Sure, he was strong and everything.
But at the same time, Cale was the most fragile person to ever have existed. He could break so easily, even easier than a thin plate of glass.
And Choi Jung Soo would be powerless. Even now, he was powerless, only able to come here because of the fucking God of Death. And the only reason that bastard god allowed him to come here in the first place was because he needed an emotionally stable and reliable Cale until the issue with the White Star was sorted out.
Basically, he was fixing a pipe leak with duck-tape.
It would, no question, hold out…Choi Jung Soo gave it around two to three years.
But what happened after?
Did he have to come here and push Cale’s memories back into the box for that fucking loser god? Did he have to see his friend suffer so much again? Did he have to remind himself of all the pain he had put the one person through for his selfish reasons?
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no…Fuck!”
Once again, Choi Jung Soo realized too late that he’d been spacing out. He returned his full attention to Cale, who was clenching his head with both of his hands, almost as if it was about to explode. With everything happening, it was a wonder it didn’t happen already. The long, crimson hair was new, so was the pale porcelain skin. The skinny body on the other hand was Kim Rok Soo’s trademark. Cale Henituse had a different kind of beauty compared to Kim Rok Soo. He was pretty while Kim Rok Soo had been handsome. He was slimmer and a lot more pretty that was almost inhumane and otherworldly, but Choi Jung Soo thought that it suited Kim Rok Soo. And those eyes, they were still the same.
“Kim Rok Soo, I’m sorry. I really am.”
He knew that Cale wasn’t listening, the way he was staring down on the floor, hands on his ears…Ah. Choi Jung Soo realized that he may have underestimated Cale’s actual emotional state. But even if he did, he’d just fix it now.
Right, what did one more pained memory inside a box filled with hundreds of thousands of such change? He’d make him forget. Right, he’d make him forget.
Cale was stretching out a hand for him, sensing that something was wrong. He looked so desperate, so unwilling to part ways again, so anguished and…broken. Delicate. Fragile.
“I’m very sorry.”
Then Choi Jung Soo swung his head, and Cale disappeared, leaving him alone in Cale Henituse’s childhood room.
He’d never get the image of his old friend’s crying and breaking down state out of his mind, not ever again.
~
Tick-tack, tick-tack.
Alberu furrowed his brows in annoyance, feeling a headache rise from the constant ticking of the large golden clock standing inside Cale’s former room. He glared at the thing as if he could make it explode with his eyes alone. But the constant ticking reminded him that it was useless, absolutely useless.
Letting out a groan, he allowed himself to close his eyes – just for a moment, for a very little moment. He was just so fucking tired and his eyes were just burning and burning and burning and it was definitely not because he had cried (really, Alberu managed to compose himself this time, allowing only his anger to show. He knew that bottling up emotions was no good, but if Cale was allowed to do it, why couldn’t he?)
A loud bang sounded through the room and Alberu jolted forward, realizing that he’d been about to fall asleep despite trying not to. Massaging the bridge of his nose, he looked up and met Deruth Henituse’s eyes before he glanced to the tall man standing behind him. Showing absolutely no emotions, unlike all the times Alberu had seen him before, the root of Cale’s trouble was standing there. Alberu would have loved to describe him as tall and proud, just like he’d been when he had first met him, yet the man who looked no older than seventeen was robotic rather than standing tall and proud. As if at this moment, his thoughts were elsewhere. Who knows, most likely they were.
“You!”
Deruth Henituse’s angry and accusing voice sounded through the silent room and the man was pointing a finger at Alberu. Why he was doing so, Alberu didn’t know. There were many possibilities, one of them being that he was dating Cale. Technically, it shouldn’t concern the Count, given that he had quite literally nothing to do with Cale anymore, but the man was rather delusional.
Still, Alberu was not one who’d let someone like Deruth Henituse talk down to him. Maybe he’d have, if Deruth had been a somewhat alright parent. But he wasn’t.
The crown prince didn’t care to get up from his chair and simply crossed his legs, folding his hands together. He didn’t care to put on his princy smile this time, didn’t have the energy to do so.
“Count Henituse, what a surprise it is to see you here.”
Deruth’s glare became even more hateful, if possible, and his to fists formed hands were shaking in fury. Alberu looked the man up and down. He didn’t know why he did so, and also didn’t know what he’d hoped to see, but he knew he didn’t find it. Perhaps he’d prayed to find even an ounce of concern for Cale to be there, maybe not as a son, but simply as a person, but no, nothing but fury upon being called out.
“What do you mean surprise! This is my mansion!”
Indeed, it was his fucking mansion. And Alberu had been here for over a week already. He’d been staying inside this fucking room for over a damned week. And not a single hellish time did this bastard care to show his ugly visage. The only reason he did so now was the man standing behind him.
Choi Han had returned with Lock and Rosalyn. The two of them were most likely in the lobby while the swordsmaster had pressed on to see Cale. That was why that disappointment of a human being was here, entering his son’s room.
“Indeed, and how much I regret being in it.”
Alberu didn’t care about letting his true thoughts slip. He’d had enough of everything and he was just so, so damn tired.
“You-!”
Deruth didn’t finish his sentence, be it because he realized that he was talking to Roan Kingdom’s crown prince or because there was an audience there, it didn’t matter.
Actually, nothing really mattered.
The one thing that did actually matter to Alberu, that one person that was worth more than this entire world and universe, that was worth more than anyone and anything else, that person was currently passed out and in pain.
And Alberu could do absolutely nothing to help.
Only to sit there, uselessly staring at his world’s, his light’s, his hope’s, his universe’s, his love’s; his Cale’s face.
“Count Henituse, rest assured that as soon as my boyfriend awakes, we will get out of your Estate. If you were as kind and would leave now, I believe he needs to rest. And you…”
Alberu glanced over at Choi Han, only to notice that he wasn’t following the conversation, instead staring at Cale’s pale face. Yeah, his boyfriend was quite a sight, awfully pale with a cold towel on his forehead that had just been changed due to the high fever he’d been running a while ago and cold sweat running down his face. Not to forget the way he didn’t look at peace at all, instead frowning even in his sleep, uneven breaths making Alberu’s heartrate go up.
No matter when, Alberu couldn’t remember when Cale had been in a state such as this. Sure, he was constantly getting involved in something dangerous and in the past, he’d passed out before, and not just once, even because of him overusing his ancient powers. But…it had never been this bad.
“How dare you! This is my son and-!”
“Deruth Henituse, I won’t repeat myself twice. Rest assured, if I am to yell loud enough, someone will come and get rid of your presence for me. I will only say this one more time, exit the room. Now.”
Alberu’s voice was a tad colder than he wanted it to be, but it didn’t matter. Nothing did.
In the end, Deruth truly did exit, leaving two men alone with an unconscious Cale. Well, two men and an invisible dragon that curled up next to his guardian’s face.
The air was tense, but no one spoke for a long while. Alberu didn’t want to talk to Choi Han, and the swordsmaster’s thoughts were anywhere but on the topic of a conversation. In the end though, he was the first to speak.
“Your highness,”
Alberu didn’t look up again, only humming to clarify that he’d heard Choi Han. There was the sound of footsteps coming closer, and before he knew it, Choi Han was standing next to him. While he was pretty tall, Alberu didn’t think that he was smaller. But all of those thoughts went away when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, how Choi Han crouched down. Ripping his eyes away from Cale’s chest (he had to make sure he was still breathing, after all), Alberu looked at Choi Han, who had his head down.
“Please allow me to be Cale-nim’s knight. I am strong, very strong. I will make sure to protect him, so something like this will not happen again.”
Alberu was less surprised by the swordsmaster’s words than he should have been. Perhaps, for some strange reason, he had anticipated this. His boyfriend, even if he didn’t notice it, had a talent to draw people in. His face may be stoic and his eyes cold, but something about him made people’s heads turn so that they could look at him for a little while longer. It wasn’t his pretty face, nor his confidence or the way he carried himself. It was something deeper, something invisible like an aura. Yes, it was his aura. Cale…one couldn’t help but come to idolize him. He was just…well, he was just Cale. And him just being Cale was…special. He was different, so different that he stood out in a crowd of special people. He stood out in a crowd of dark elves, dragons, vampires and other incredible people. He stood out anywhere.
A heart of gold, perhaps it was that what made something like this happen.
Because Alberu knew, his boyfriend did have that famous heart of gold. No, forget gold. It was a heart of diamonds. So precious, something like that existed only once.
He stayed silent, not answering Choi Han for a long while. His eyes wandered back to Cale, and a slight smirk made its way to his lips. He could imagine the way Cale’s face would turn into an upset pout if he was to tell him he’d allowed Choi Han to become his knight, even after knowing how desperately Cale had tried to push the swordsmaster away.
But knowing Cale…
He wouldn’t sit back in the war to come.
He wouldn’t sit back when other kind of trouble were to arise.
Witira and Raon had told him thoroughly about this man from the woods.
Things were getting dangerous, and while Cale and the people around Cale were by no means weak, when did some extra protection ever not come in handy?
Choi Han waited silently, still kneeling, ready to jump up and start a discussion, a duel, or even to beg, yet none of that was necessary in the end.
“I won’t ask for your motive, as it is of no interest to me. Just know that if you have any ill intentions, you will be taken care of. I know a few people.”
Choi Han looked up from the ground, only to see that Alberu wasn’t even looking at him. He then turned his head around to look at Cale.
He was glad that the crown prince wasn’t asking for his motive, as he himself didn’t even know why he came in and asked such a thing. Hell, the only reason he asked Count Deruth to take him to Cale was so he could see him. After this blue haired woman told him that he was injured – Choi Han didn’t know what made him ask the Count, nor did he know why he asked to be Cale’s personal knight just now. But now that he was it…
It was a good thing.
His heart was telling him that this was right. After all the stories Rosalyn told him about Cale, he needed someone like Choi Han by his side, a sharp sword with unwavering loyalty. This was good, very good. Choi Han didn’t want to leave Cale’s side, not after seeing how selfless he was. He needed to stay and protect someone like that. Because if he did so, he felt like he was doing the right thing. And Choi Han hadn’t felt like that in a long, very long while.
Notes:
Hello~
I'm sorry for the late update, tho I did tell you that it's possible I'm gonna skip a week. Last week I didnt have that much time on my hands because of my chemistry exam (we don't talk about that fucking shit, yes we do hell why is chemistry so tough?! Like legit, I studied the things he told me to and then the exam's questions were so strange and I don't think I understood much help I think I'm failing chemistry agrhhhhhh - ignore this, this is just my stupid ass rant T^T)So well anyways, I simply couldnt update because of that - tho I did write the chapter! So yeah, I hope this will do. I should be done with the important exams, only leaving french class test on thursday...yea, let's not talk about those things that will cause me to cry for like an hour thinking I'll fail instead of doing some active studying...
Yeah...
Let's not talk that the only words I can understand are baguette, bonjour, merci, je voudrais, est-ce que je pouvais aller au toilette ant j'ai oblie mes devoirs ... yea, I'm gonna fail french too damnit...Okok, moving on to more imortant stuff, which would be one major thing for you guys. With this chapter, Cale's 18 y/o arc ends. Nope, you ain't getting an Alberu, Ron, Eruhaben etc reaction to Cale coughing blood or meeting the White Star, neither his initial reaction to finding out about his new guard being Choi Han ;)
Me doing this has a couple reasons. For one, I have to pace up this fic, like a lot. We are about 40~50 percent in right now, but I'd prefer being at 60, since I won't be able to focus on this for the next two years or so (meaning I'm trying to get this fic to a finish until September). As we all know, it's most likely not going to work, but yea, I'll at least give it a shot - my best shot.
If me skipping those reactions makes you sad, I also have good news, those good news being that now with the initial introduction done, things are gonna get a lot more angsty. A war is coming guys, and with the war, my own plot is slowly approaching too.
From now on, going forward, be a tad more mindful of the tags, yea? It was rather fluffy until now, trust me on this.
Okkkkkkk, I think I've said it all now?Hmmmm...
.
.
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ILUGTL60;)Oki doki, now I'm done!
Then, as always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I gave it my best despite being kinda busy, so I'm sorry if the grammer's shit (it was late, ok?).
Until next time, then!
<3
Chapter 63: 61. Selfishly Selfless (1)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Some more or less calm times hehe
Notes:
Uhhh, I wouldnt say things are very triggering, but this chapter mentions insomnia, acute memory loss and hints towards Cale's survivor guilt. Meh, you read the tags, you were warned. I wouldnt say it's very heavy of a chapter tho...
:)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
If one was to ask Cale Henituse the question, whether he regretted having the ability to record all of his memories and to never forget them, he’d respond with his usual frown before turning to his boyfriend and sneer at the one who asked.
His ‘Record’ ability, to him, was both a blessing and a curse – more of a blessing than a curse most of the time. But that didn’t change the fact that at times, when he overused it beyond simple overheating, it was a nuisance to deal with.
‘Record’ was pretty similar to a gallery on a phone. It stored all the data Cale loaded into it – both actively and passively (meaning the things he wanted but also those he didn’t want to). There, it was getting sorted into different albums – some of which could get buried in the back of the redhead’s mind. While their contents couldn’t be deleted, the data could be ‘hidden’ so that even Cale wouldn’t remember it.
This process of certain data getting hidden (some would say forgotten, but it would be wrong to say that, since it was more like it was being stored away for no one to see), was both a subconscious one and a conscious one.
‘Record’ was a Grade 1 ability, after all; its priority lay within Cale’s well-being, even if it didn’t come off as such with all its side effects. Whenever things would get too overwhelming for Cale, whenever he simply couldn’t bear a memory, a record, without it hurting him to the point of damaging him, it would get stored in one of those many hidden albums. The memories were still there, nothing could be deleted, but Cale wouldn’t remember still having them.
But they were still there.
And the mind was something that even Grade 1 abilities couldn’t fully control, even if it was ‘Record’. Those hidden memories would always find a way of breaking out from the hidden albums, to resurface and make Cale feel the despair he shouldn’t feel when watching them. Of course, ‘Record’ would quickly store them away again, seal them so that Cale could forget them again, but when too many memories broke out all at once, one worse than the other with especially bad ones in tow, even ‘Record’ could only uselessly sit back.
But it would be a completely different deal if not all of those memories broke lose all at once, but rather resurfaces in incomprehensive bits and pieces, coming to Cale’s mind in the form of dreams.
A face he didn’t recognize, a conservation he didn’t remember, a fluffy feeling he got after dreaming about a peaceful lunch with people he couldn’t remember the faces of no more. After record pulled the actual memories and the memory of the dreams about them back, all that was left with Cale was a strange feeling that something major inside him was missing, especially with ‘Record’ burying the resurfaced memories deeper than before, and the memories that were intervened with them as well, memories that shouldn’t have been hidden.
After Cale finished his preparations for the approaching war, when he stopped being busy and actually managed to slack off, roll around in bed and do nothing but eat and sleep all day, well, he also showed up to watch his children’s and Choi Han’s training as they insisted on it, these dreams where years’ worth of suppressed memories resurfaced without Cale recognized them as such came visit him almost every night.
What had been a once in a month experience, became something that caused Cale to actually sleep less. If anyone noticed the change in the redhead’s behavior, they didn’t point it out. Cale may have been dense, but even he realized that something was wrong if he fell asleep and woke up with a feeling of dread, without even knowing why he felt the way he did.
But then again, that hadn’t that big of a deal to Cale.
What actually caused the redhead’s extreme reaction was because he failed to remember a face. A face he had seen so often, it was ridiculous that he couldn’t exactly remember it, not if he had recorded it plenty of times with his ‘Record’ ability, not if it was someone he’d seen almost every day and certainly not if it was someone he had considered family. And while the face had only been the beginning, Cale realized that he failed to recall certain bits of pieces of conservations he knew he had had with the man.
He couldn’t have forgotten.
‘Record’ wouldn’t have let that happen.
But he forgot.
He didn’t know.
He couldn’t remember.
But as Cale was Cale, he decided to brush it off for now, focus on the approaching war rather than something he could fix after the war.
Right, the war-
“Absolutely not!”
A loud thud echoed through Alberu’s empty office as he slammed his hands at his desk, getting up from his chair in the process and knocking over the stacks of paper standing on his desk. His expression was unreadable, even to Cale, who usually read Alberu like an open book he had read billions of times over and over again.
Ignoring the pang of something that felt like hurt in his chest, Cale crossed his arms in front of it. His action could be seen as aggressive and disrespectful to many, but Alberu knew better. It was Cale’s way of hiding behind something, even if it were his own weak, thin arms.
Letting out a groan before Cale could retort, Alberu’s hand wandered to his face and he pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closed and brows furrowed in something that was neither annoyance nor irritation. If one looked more closely, they would notice that it was exhaustion and frustration rather than anything else.
“…You promised me. You promised after you finished all these preparations you were busy with for a whole year and a half – a period you couldn’t be here with me, couldn’t sleep in the same fucking bed as me – that you’d be done. That you wouldn’t get involved in the war.”
Alberu reopened his eyes and glared at his boyfriend. Even compared to his usual self, Cale looked especially weak and sickly. Of course his boyfriend caught on that something’s been on his mind, that something’s been causing him all of these sleepless nights for the last four months. These dark circles under his eyes told the tale to anyone who wanted to know and just looked. But with Cale standing in front of him, his eyes firm and filled with determination and a stubbornness unique to him, Alberu thought that this has been what had been bothering him.
And he’d finally said it aloud, just like he’d hoped for.
But there was no way in hell – no fucking way in the entire universe and galaxy, be it paradise or something else – that Alberu would agree to let his boyfriend wander off into war. He knew Cale wouldn’t sit still.
It was Cale.
Of course he wouldn’t sit still.
But what Alberu had expected was Cale investigating in secret, pulling out information from god-knows-where god-knows-how. He knew Cale had been gathering intel on Arm too, besides setting up a plot for the downfall of the Mongoru Empire he still hadn’t fully shared with him. He had also been gathering enough allies for Alberu to use as he pleased in the coming war – he had said so himself.
He had only gotten involved with Toonka, Queen Litana, the Whale Siblings, the Elf Village, the Tiger Tribe and so many more parties to give Alberu more allies. Not himself.
He wasn’t supposed to be on the frontlines.
No, forget that, he wasn’t supposed to be on the battlefield or fight at all.
With everything Cale had done in the past two years besides his slacking, he had done so much more than anyone else.
And besides, the two of them had a deal.
A deal that said Alberu would let Cale act however he wanted until he finished his preparations, and in return, Cale would stay back, out of the battles and war altogether. He knew that Cale wouldn’t be okay with some of his friends and family fighting while he was sitting back, so Alberu had agreed that he could still go snooping around for information on Arm and the White Star, as well as finish his plot for the Empire.
That was the deal.
Not the battlefield, not the war, not the frontlines.
Cale was not allowed to fight.
That’s basically what Alberu was after.
Because if Cale couldn’t fight, he couldn’t be in danger and hence didn’t have to use his ancient powers, not ever again. After he passed out in the Forest of Darkness after his encounter with that asshole who called himself ‘White Star’, even after he woke up he’d been incoherent for days. Alberu had never seen Cale look so empty, with his eyes dull. As dull as they’d been when he first encountered Cale when the child had been eight years old and at his body’s biological mother’s funeral.
He also didn’t seem to be hearing what anyone was saying, only eating and sleeping. The time in between had been spent looking out the window or blankly staring at a non-moving object. When Cale finally snapped back to his usual self, he had acted as if nothing happened and when Alberu asked, the redhead frowned and didn’t remember.
Alberu had promised himself that that was the last time he would see Cale passed out, yet was proven wrong after Cale helped the elf village at Eruhaben’s request. With Choi Han, Ron and Beacrox as well as the three children and Lock by his side (as Eruhaben had to stay back with Alberu, he was bound as the crown prince’s personal guard), Alberu had been certain that nothing would happen.
But his love, his universe, his most precious and sacred treasure had passed out again, even if it wasn’t half as bad as before.
So Alberu endured and endured, telling himself that he had to endure for another few months.
‘If I pull through this, Cale won’t get involved in the war. I have to buckle this up, for later.’
It became his personal mantra at some point. He endured it now so that he didn’t have to later, when the threat was much more major.
And now, all of that had been for naught?
With Cale standing in front of him, his gaze firm and passionate despite him having his usual stoic and cold expression on his face that told him that he had made up his mind and wouldn’t take no for an answer?
Was he kidding him?
Was this a bad joke?
They had a deal.
They had a fucking deal.
Cale couldn’t be serious.
Not now, not here, not like this.
He could ask Alberu for anything, hell, he could even ask Alberu to lick a dirty shoe and wage war against another country he disliked or wanted to reign over (this was Cale he was thinking about, there was no way he’d ever ask such things from Alberu, maybe he’d request two golden plaques and then be done with it, but still). He could ask Alberu to step down from his position as crown prince, could ask him to do anything and everything and Alberu wouldn’t say no.
But this, this one request was too much.
Letting out a deep sigh, Cale shifted his weight to the other foot, brushing back the few lose strands of hair that had escaped his messy braid that On had braided. His plain white shirt was too big on him, given that it was Alberu’s, and the way he tugged it in beneath his black pants that complemented his long, slender leg, both emphasized his narrow waist. While Cale’s outfit was anything but fancy (well, it was hella expensive, but that’s a whole other topic), to Alberu, seeing his beloved boyfriend in something so plain and simple, it was more than just a feeling of adoration and happiness that overcame him. Yet, that was quickly replaced by the steadily growing sorrow and frustration inside him.
His boyfriend’s pretty face and perfect body could only do that much.
“Alberu, dear, listen-“
Hearing Cale address him with the cute nickname he’d come up with during one of their video calls in which Alberu had continuously addressed him as ‘love’ and still didn’t drop, not that Alberu minded, had the usual effect on Alberu and he couldn’t stop his heart from softening immediately.
But he couldn’t say yes.
Couldn’t, for the love of god, send his own universe into a ruthless war in the position of fucking Commander.
Not when he knew that it would put all responsibility on Cale’s shoulders.
Has anyone seen those shoulders of Cale’s? They were so narrow, so weak, so thin, he shouldn’t carry any responsibility beyond the one he put on himself already.
While usually, a Commander would oversee the battle and only bark orders at the soldiers, Alberu knew Cale too well to believe that the redhead would do the same.
No, Cale would be the first to head in, barking orders while fighting alongside soldiers on the front lines.
Undeniably, Cale was freaking strong. He was so strong, it should be impossible for someone so weak and frail to hold that much power inside of him. If Alberu had spent even a single instant thinking about the matter as Roan Kingdom’s Crown Prince Alberu Crossman, he’d immediately agreed. With Cale’s experience in battle from his past life as Kim Rok Soo, with his experience in leading a team and his ability to oversee the entire battle field, his ability to calculate any outcomes and infinite possibilities and ways of winning a battle with the least amount of losses- Alberu had to be a fool to not hand over the position of Commander to such a capable man who suited that position like a glove-like fit.
But at things concerning Cale, he wasn’t Roan Kingdom’s Crown Prince Alberu Crossman, the council and noisy nobles as well as citizens of the kingdom be damned. No, he was Alberu, plain old Alberu, who was Cale’s boyfriend. He thus made decisions not for the sake of the kingdom and its citizens, but for the sake of Cale and Cale only. Everyone be damned, if something was to happen to Cale-
“Over my dead body Cale, over my fucking dead body. You cannot seriously expect me to be thrilled when you tell me you want to go out there and fight the godforsaken war you promised you would stay out of!”
Cale took a deep breath and it was then that Alberu realized that he’d been gripping the paper he’d been working on before so tightly, it had ripped apart. Nothing a few swings of hand couldn’t fix though.
“No, you have to listen to me on this one. I’m serious. Think about this rationally, for just a second, alright? Wouldn’t it be the best course of action if you made me the Commander? You can trust me to tell you everything and I wouldn’t hand out any information to the enemy either. I would work the most efficient and with my experience, I could minimalize Raon’s loss…”
Cale continued to say the things Alberu had already concluded in his short moment of rationality. But he didn’t want to. No matter how absurd it sounded and actually was, he refused to send out his boyfriend to a fucking war. Even if he knew his boyfriend would make it so that none of the battles he fought would be lost. He knew Cale was right, knew it was the most logical thing to do, he knew in his mind but his heart screamed no. And Alberu, while he always listened to his mind and was a big fan of rationality, he listened to his heart in regards to this.
“No. I said no. Nothing you say matters more to me than you, Cale.”
Cale, who was interrupted mid-sentence, frowned as he glared at his boyfriend, this time with furrowed brows.
“Alberu, are you seriously saying that you’d rather have me here while the kingdom’s citizens could be out there, dying in battle or getting injured? You know just as well as I do that without a damn good leader, we will lose, even if we do have an alliance between the Break Kingdom, the Whipper Kingdom, the Jungle and the Whales. The chances of me dying are so slim, it’s close to impossible. With my experience and the ancient powers I’ve gathered-“
“You’ve gathered these powers to protect yourself, not the entire kingdom, Cale! Please, for one second, can you think about what I may be feeling? If you go out there, what use will it have? Sure, it will most likely shorten the war immensely and we will have much fewer losses and fewer resources to spend our money for, but at what cost?”
Cale frowned, clearly not understanding that to Alberu, him being in pain was just as bad as him being close to dying.
“Alberu, dear, if you listen for just one moment, understand that it would be worth it. Isn’t it in your best interest to keep the war as short as possible too? To finish things early? When the war is over you will be king, don’t forget that, and with me out there it will be the fastest-“
“It’s not about me becoming king earlier, Cale, love, can’t you understand that? If I do as you wish, appoint you as Commander-“
“It is the most logical thing to do, dear. Think about the risks.”
Alberu groaned. Logic is the last thing he wanted to think about or follow. Not in this case.
“Love, now please try to understand my side? Please?”
His voice became less aggravated, more pleading and even begging to an extent. His expression had softened and Cale couldn’t help but let out a small sigh and walk over his lover, leaning against the table while letting the older take both of his hands into his, gently rubbing circles on the back of his hands.
“…I know you want to keep me here so you don’t worry, you made it more than clear in our video calls when I was out.”
Cale averted his gaze for only a second, but it was enough for Alberu to realize that Cale really understood. This made this decision so much harder.
Of course Cale knew why Alberu was hesitant about this. He himself promised him that he wouldn’t get involved in the war, and Cale really wanted to keep that promise. Yet, after all these sleepless nights in which not even Alberu’s tight embrace kept away those strange dreams, Cale saw but one solution, which was to get busy again.
He was stupid and selfish, but it was the most logical things to do. And if he was to become Commander, he could also ease Alberu’s job a teeny tiny bit. Of course his boyfriend would worry, but it would be so much better than if he was overseeing towers of dead soldier’s reports and letters of their families or writing apology letters to their families.
Cale becoming Commander would be beneficial in many ways.
Because if he took care of the war himself, he knew he’d do it thoroughly. And when the danger was gone, he could maybe focus on a solution for his memory-problem. The temporary solution he’d come up with besides avoiding sleep was to get busy again. To keep his mind busy so it couldn’t afford to wander off to places he never wanted to find out at night.
Alberu sighed, averted his gaze.
That was the sign of defeat Cale had been looking forward to.
He had won, gotten his way.
And maybe, just maybe, this would make Alberu’s life also a teeny tiny bit easier.
“…You get your damn way, Commander Cale Henituse. I’ll be looking forward to meeting you in the military meetings each Friday afternoon until late December as well as the noble’s meetings on Monday.”
While Cale would usually groan in annoyance, he actually simply nodded. Alberu frowned as he looked up, meeting his pleased boyfriend’s smug expression. He knew something was off, but decided that if it was something truly important, Cale would tell him. Perhaps he’d simply been bored out of his mind though. While it was unusual, Alberu wouldn’t put it past Cale.
The redhead nodded in satisfaction.
That was why he’d asked Alberu for this position now, in early fall, rather than shortly before the first battle that was set to happen in February. Besides the few things he’d still pushed off for later, like visiting the World Tree on Eruhaben’s request, he now had something major to focus his mind on.
To him, it was naturally a win.
To Alberu though, he couldn’t help but let out a frustrated grumble as Cale kissed him, sitting down on the couch a few feet away, a stack of Alberu’s documents in hand as if to silently offer him something in return to getting his way.
Knowing Cale, Alberu maybe should have been more suspicious about the way he wanted to work, especially on something that he wasn’t supposed to work on – Cale hated work, after all. But Alberu paid it not too much mind, deciding that despite everything Cale said and his constant attitude saying he was lazy and hated to work with his life goal being achieving a slacker life (he could have achieved if he simply listened to Alberu and didn’t do anything else besides what he had been doing in the past, which was mindlessly rolling around in bed and doing nothing but eat and sleep all day), it was natural Cale-behavior.
After all, maybe his boyfriend was a secret work-alcoholic?
Alberu frowned at that thought and dismissed it as quickly as it came to mind, instead focusing on his own stack of papers, which he first had to pick up from the floor. A defeated sigh left his mouth, containing all of his frustrations and utter defeat of this discussion with his beloved.
~
While Cale getting appointed as Commander was kept a secret from the public still, it became common knowledge under Cale’s people, meaning that it wasn’t too soon until Eruhaben and Ron stormed in, the intention to kill or at least beat Alberu to a pulp obvious. Hasn’t it been for Cale sticking to Alberu’s side like glue and his utter confusion on why either of them would want to punish Alberu on what he asked him to do, Alberu would have most certainly not been able to walk for another couple days. Contrary to these two best friends, a friendship that had been there for a while and only seemed to deepen, Choi Han seemed excited. Given his role as the hero and main protagonist from ‘The Birth of a Hero’, that was a natural reaction. What wasn’t were the three children’s lack of one, as if they’d already expected it and didn’t exactly mind or exactly oppose.
But honestly, despite Alberu hating himself for allowing this to happen, he hadn’t exactly not expected Cale to get involved in the war. He knew that it lay in his boyfriend’s selfishly selfless nature, even if he did expect things to be different.
And with a formal letter informing King Zed Crossman and Roan’s military, it didn’t take soon for rumors to spread.
One night, when he lay in their shared bed with Cale bundled up in his arms, head on his chest while actually sleeping peacefully, or at least slowly drifting to sleep, and everything seemed to have finally settled down, Alberu was also able to finally crack a few jokes about the situation.
“Young Master Silver Light, are you setting on your journey to be forever written down as our small kingdom’s hero? Besides Young Master Silver Light, you’ll become Commander Cale Henituse – hm, Crossman sounds somewhat better in my opinion – anyways, and as such you’ll forever be cast down in our history books. Not to forget, when we marry and you’ll become Queen you’ll-“
Alberu had to stop after getting hit by Cale, an annoyed groan following the irritated shifting of his boyfriend and his attempt to turn away from Alberu – failed attempt. The redhead had somehow completely overheard Alberu hinting at a possible future for the two of them, only hearing the official titles and being written down in history.
After that evening, Alberu managed to somewhat come to terms with the situation.
He didn’t like it one bit, couldn’t like it one bit and no one expected him to like it one bit. Ron and Eruhaben as well as Beacrox still hated the arrangements too, but they accepted it. All they could do was keep a certain redhead safe, even if it was himself they had to keep him save from.
And just like that, time passed by. Rumors continued to spread, but it was inventible in the first place. No need to say that Alberu had laughed his ass off when he saw Cale’s irritated face after waking up to loud cheering from the plaza, calling out ‘Commander Young Master Silver Shield is the best’!
Things were calm.
It was the calm before the storm, after all.
Notes:
Hiiiii~
I may or may not have forgotten to post this chapter earlier this week, I sincerely apologize haha, I was busy...playing Genshin...yeah...let's leave it at that.
I know that for the long wait, this chapter is kinda very small - but the last two (if I remember correctly) have been longer than usual, so I guess this makes it up to you? Hopefully? Dont worry, the next chapter will be a normal length chapter again, promise!
Anyways, now that's that done, back to my usual life update, yay... Honestly tho, things have been looking great lately. I only have a week and a half left of school, the grades are all done, basically I'm done-done. On Friday, my class and I head to our teacher's home to make some sort of party, given that next year, we won't be a real class anymore...A bit sad, now that I think about it.
I'm kinda afraid of the next two years, given that it'll be my last two years of school. Each grade will count into my diploma...ugh, let's not think about that shit.
Another thing that makes me scared is that I'm a year closer to the end - well, the end of school, whatever. I have absolutely no idea what I'm gonna do in the future, I have no plans and I really have no talents passable enough to work in a specific field. Even if, the field most likely isnt of much interest to me. I think it's safe to say that I'm a bit lost. My friends and classmates all have a rough direction they know they want to head to, a job-field they're interested in. And here I am, having nothing...yea, like my wifey always says, it is what it is...ugh...(doesn't make it better)...
I guess since it's the end of the year, it's normal to think about these kind of things, or not, whatever.
Getting older sucks fr, wahhhhh, make me a child again and take me back to fifth grade or so T^T...
Oki, this should be enough of a rant, an informative rant hehe.
Then, I will try to bring out another chapter soon, but honestly, don't expect me to. I gotta dye my hair this week (I dunno if I mentioned it but I colored my hair back in January from my natural dark brown hair color to a ginger one and now I wanna go back to my brown but with a bit more red, like a maroon color ig? And I wanna do that before my bd on Sunday, so it gotta be this week) and generally, I meet up with my two friends for a project for the last week of school we organize...
But most likely I'll manage to post another chapter, given that now, the funny part begins (for me :))
Oki, this is it from me, I hope the wait wasnt all too long, then again, some of you were so kind and supportive, saying you're willing to wait forever for me (my heart broke when I read that, thank you so very much again <3!)Then, until next time, folks!
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
Chapter 64: 62. Selfishly Selfless (2)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Just a filler chapter this time again :)
Notes:
Just a bunch of senseless information that won't make sense just yet but may answer a couple questions (tho it'll cause even more haha) that I throw your way because I couldn't think of a better way to get to where I want to get and welp, I hope it doesn't get too boring haha!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
War has always been an ugly thing.
Most of the time, if not all, it was meaningless.
It happened because the leaders of a country had a conflict of interests, or simply wanted to have more than they had.
Invasion and destruction was what followed.
Starvation and homelessness would befall both countries’ people.
Death upon the land and men, for short.
And it all was the king’s fault.
A war would start and end with the king.
With a swift flicker of his wrist, the young boy holding onto the chess piece of the black queen beat the white king. The wooden figure fell over with a loud ‘clack’, a noise that ended the match. The sound of people clapping their hands followed, given that this game of chess had been one, if not the, fastest the people ever got to witness.
The boy’s opponent was clapping his hands too. It was a middle aged man in his early fifties with a long, grey beard and calm, brown eyes. His smile was sincere and his eyes displayed a mild curiosity about his opponent’s play style.
“Impressive, boy. But why would you end our match so soon already?”
The young boy, no older than perhaps nine of age, shrugged. His unique golden hair was of shoulder length and quite unkempt, his long, strangely cut bangs covering the upper half of his face. He was thin, too thin. Most likely one of the homeless orphans too unlucky to get taken in somewhere. For that, the old man didn’t care though. What he did care about was the young boy’s intriguing way of playing chess.
“…You had an opening, I moved accordingly.”
The old man couldn’t help but chuckle at the boy’s explanation. He nodded his head as he picked up his king figure and held in between his fingers. It was the first and only figure that fell.
“Indeed, but wouldn’t it have been more entertaining if you, for example, moved your bishop there, taking my queen, and then ate up all of my other figures?”
The boy’s frown, despite his bangs covering most of his face, was undeniable, so much that the man couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.
“I see, you’re not a fan of intimidating your opponent.”
The child was obviously confused, yet at the same time also mildly irritated.
“Why would anyone do that?”
The old man’s expression turned thoughtful as he lastly hummed, shrugging.
“Well, the game would be longer than half a minute then.”
The boy frowned once more.
“But that’s a waste of time?”
The old man put down his king again, folding his hands into each other and then using them to support his head. He leaned forward, a gentle smile tugging on his lips.
“Well, that depends on your opponent boy. Do you know why people play this game, out in the open like this?”
The old man pointed around them. Currently, the two of them were sitting in the middle of a park where seven other desks with either chess boards or other strategy games similar to it were standing. It was a place people could freely come to and play a game of chess against someone they didn’t have to know. It was something unique to this small village.
The boy’s best guess as to why such an arrangement was made was that these people didn’t have anyone to play with.
And he was partly right. The old man smiled as he nodded his head.
“Chess is more than just a game. For example…”
The old man got up from the chair and took his walking stick. He came to a stop in front of the young boy and with a quick movement of his hand; he wiped away the child’s bangs before he could do anything, revealing his ruby red eyes.
“…I know that you’ve led a difficult life, boy. You think ahead, it’s something most people I play with don’t do. I can tell that you’ve got nowhere to go, but if you’re willing, I can take you along and mayhap teach you a thing or two, or you’ll be the one to teach me, he.”
The boy frowned once more, pushing the old man’s hand away and putting his bangs back in place in front of his eyes. He scoffed and got up from his chair too, following the man who began to walk away slowly, making room for the people that wanted to play after them.
“It’s impossible to deduct all that in that game of chess just now. Who told you all that? How do you know?”
The old man glanced down at the young child, his smile turning even wider after noticing the child’s cute pout.
“Now is it? Subtlety is useless in chess; body language alone isn’t what counts – which you concealed quite professionally, I must admit.”
The boy was left with as much of an answer as before, and even more questions. But nevertheless, he continued to follow the man, even though he didn’t know where he was going.
Then again, when did he ever know where he was going? He was simply wandering around, no real target in mind, all on his own. He had no one to care or worry for him, no one ever willing to teach him.
Maybe the boy was curious and perhaps also a tiny bit excited – who knew, maybe his streak of bad luck had finally subdued?
~
Alberu was calmly standing in front of the audience door of the king, clothed in his fanciest and most expensive suit chosen by Cale’s loyal butler Ron. Two documents were in his hands, each as important as a national state secret, if not more – so important, that he didn’t see any way to approve of them without the current king’s signature.
Well, new laws always needed to be approved by the king.
Giving himself just a few seconds more to take a deep breath before talking with the man who’d been shutting him out ever since he could remember, a man who was the king of this kingdom before he was his father, if he could be called that at all, Alberu nodded himself. He usually avoided meeting Zed Crossman, going as far as to skip meetings on days he could.
‘But this is for Cale. I need to do this for him.’
Alberu had made his choice the moment he’d received a call from his boyfriend last night. Cale was awfully pale, even for his usual self these days, and the blood on his white shirt explained it all. He was currently in the Paerun Kingdom, causing trouble to every living being there, given he’d taken not only Choi Han and Rosalyn, but also the killer whale Archie with him, leaving Ron and Eruhaben out of this for a change. The children were, of course, accompanying him, taking care of him in their own way – unable to be separated from him for even a second. Honestly, Alberu understood that. If he could, he would stick to Cale like gum.
In any case, Cale creating trouble these days always involved him coughing up blood or getting injured. And no matter how often he claims that he got the Vitality of the Heart, a healing ancient power, it must still be painful. Ugh, Alberu still recalled the days in which Cale promised him he wouldn’t do anything reckless if he was appointed as the Military Commander – which he fucking was. Alberu felt used…
But it was precisely because of Cale going out again, preparing for the coming war, that Alberu found the opportunity to create these laws – laws that can and will ensure his boyfriend’s safety if the king was to approve of them.
Shaking his head, the quarter dark elf in disguise finally gathered enough courage and decided that it was time to knock on the door. It was only two seconds later, then a tall man who was just a bit shorter than Alberu opened the door. The man, by no means a proper knight or knight at all, raised his eyebrow and simply stepped aside. His ashen hair was messy and his golden eyes which reminded him an awful lot of Eruhaben’s gave him a mysterious and untypical appearance, one that was extremely difficult to forget.
It took Alberu a moment, but he quickly recognized the man as one of the king’s own. He was also the person that had come to help Cale all those years back when he got poisoned at the banquet.
“Zeddy Teddy-“
Alberu cringed at the words that the man, a mage if he recalled correctly, spoke in such a serious and unamused; almost flat voice, which addressed his father. Even stranger than those words, was the man’s unchanged expression, and the king’s missing displeased frown which he usually always had on his face whenever he saw something of dismay.
“Your kiddo is here.”
The serious tone the mage spoke in didn’t match his words, but then again, back when he crouched down to help Cale, using foul language to get rid of the crowd, maybe that was his attempt of teasing someone? He did seem to be close to the king, just as close as Sir Lucas, Zed Crossman’s faithfully loyal knight, who was also inside this room, doing his best at not laughing, going as far as to hide his mouth behind his hand.
Zed himself was sitting on a chair at his desk, pen in hand as he was working on something – which couldn’t be documents, as he had given all his work to Alberu. He raised a brow, waiting for Alberu to state the reason for his visit.
“I greet his Majesty, shall you continue to burn as bright above our citizen’s heads to guide and watch over them as you do now and for many years to come.”
Bowing down in the most formal way possible, a ninety-degree bow, Alberu straightened up again, getting ready to state his business. He ignored the two curious pairs of eyes on him, instead glancing at the mage that was looking at the orb in front of him. Quickly shaking his head, he walked up to the king, placing the two documents on his desk.
“Your Majesty, I’ve come to ask for your approval on a new law, technically two. It is nothing that will have a major impact on Roan’s people or anyone other than our military forces.”
Alberu straightened his back to appear even taller than he already was – subconsciously wanting to appear just a bit taller, more grown, to the man that had once seen him at his worse, perhaps still even regarded him as that weak child.
Zed raised his brows at the vague words his son used. Alberu Crossman may have a silver tongue he used more often than not, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that Alberu was never vague about something as important as this.
“What exactly does this law – these laws – you request do?”
Now how do you say ‘it makes sure my boyfriend can’t be touched in any way during and after the war’ without saying it’s about your boyfriend?
“Your Majesty, as you are more than well aware, our kingdom is about to get involved in a war. We have many allies – all thanks to Commander Cale Henituse – which makes him the most important figure of this war. And not only because of his several connections to countless important figures outside our kingdom’s reach, but also because of his military position. But since it isn’t yet well known that he is to be the Commander, for him to continue to do what he is currently doing, he needs absolute invincibility regarding our state’s laws.”
Zed hummed, as if he agreed with his son’s words – something Alberu couldn’t help but find strange. Zed picked up the second document – the one that was most important to Alberu and the one he didn’t mention anything about. The wheels in his head were already spinning at the highest speed possible as he was thinking about the best way to say ‘it’s a law that makes sure Cale can’t stay Commander longer than two years so that he stays safe’.
Honestly, Alberu would rather have it that Cale only stayed the Commander for much less, actually, he’d prefer if Cale wasn’t the Commander at all, but two years seemed like the perfect amount of time to say that it’s a state law that’s been around for longer, and not one Alberu just added to make sure Cale didn’t overwork himself.
Perhaps talking about possible future corruption would be a good way – though then again, hinting that Cale could possibly betray the kingdom just felt utterly wrong. What else could he say, what else could possibly be-
“Alright, if that’s all there is to it.”
Zed picked up his pen and simply signed both documents at the bottom of the page, handing them back to Alberu.
“As you’ve said, they don’t involve our citizen’s wellbeing. While it is a bit unusual for our military Commander to attain legal invincibility for the coming two years only, I trust your judgement as the crown prince of Roan.”
Relief flooded over Alberu, especially since Zed didn’t require any kind of explanation. He nodded his head, bowing down in front of his father once more as he got ready to exit the room.
The moment his hand was about to press down the door knob though, his father’s loud voice sounded inside the room once again.
“And Alberu, I trust you to take down both laws as soon as they’ve served their purpose.”
Alberu stopped in his motion and turned around; only to see that his father was back to working on whatever he was doing before. His gaze wandered to the mage, who was still as disinterested as before and looking at that strange orb, then to Sir Lucas who had a hint of a small smile on his lips. Ah, so maybe he knew. But it didn’t matter, since no one had said anything. The king approved of the laws, and his reason behind it shouldn’t really matter. What did matter was that Cale should be safe.
No, not really, ugh, how could he be safe if he was to fight a stupid ass war that shouldn’t even matter to him. He wanted to be a slacker, no? Why didn’t he slack off, then? Why didn’t he roll around in bed and sleep or eat all day? Or was he secretly some madman who was also a work alcoholic and simply lying to himself and everyone else about it?
Honestly, Alberu felt that it was the latter.
But, with these two laws, Cale would be as safe as Alberu could get him to be without betraying his trust and going against his wish, in any case. Truthfully, maybe he should have gone against Cale’s wish, against his trust – just on this. Even now, Alberu could feel that it’d come back to bite him in the ass later, if not sooner.
But make that future Alberu’s problem, because present Alberu is already worried enough about Cale. Ugh, that bastard, how come Alberu still loved him so much, huh? In any case, that fucking idiot better stay safe as he promised, with all these powerful beings he’s surrounded himself with, all of whom were so much stronger than he was.
Given that it was Cale though…
“You fucking lunatic better keep your promise or I swear to god I’ll keep you locked inside my room.”
The guards that heard Alberu’s low mumbles as he was bypassing them froze on their spot and exchanged both frightened and disbelieving glances, given that they’ve never heard their crown prince use such foul language before. Furthermore, hopefully the gods would watch over said lunatic so he’d keep his promise, else whoever it was would be in deep trouble. And not only with their crown prince, but also young master Cale Henituse who was known to be their crown prince’s lover.
~
“Mn, how generous of you to approve of such useless laws, Zeddy Teddy, pfft.”
The swordsmaster Sir Lucas couldn’t help but snicker at his own words. His long, violet hair was tied up in a lose ponytail today, contrary to his usual half up ponytail half-bun. He picked up one of Zed’s own documents he didn’t push Alberu’s way out of courtesy, some unimportant administrator work, and put it back down again. With his piercing deep blue eyes that had a purple touch to them he glanced once again at Zed, wiggling his brows in a teasing manner.
The king rolled his eyes at the stupid nickname Henry had come up with a while ago, ignoring the swordsmaster’s words. Yet as even Henry stopped looking at his strange orb – a magic device he’s been working on for days now, one he doesn’t disclose anything about – curiosity written all over his features. Zed let out a defeated sigh, realizing that there was no way his left and right hand man would let him go that easily on this.
“He wanted these two laws approved, and they don’t impact the people, so why not?”
Lucas snickered as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, nodding in fake understanding.
“Sure, sure, you tell yourself that so you can sleep peacefully at night.”
Zed frowned and leaned back in his own chair after hearing Lucas’ words. What was that supposed to mean? These two laws his son proposed truly weren't of importance, well, not that important anyways, and he had no problem approving of them. Everything he said was true and-
“Just say you want to give your kiddo some peace of mind, my god, it’s not the end of the world if you admit you actually care about one of your what, five kids?”
Zed mumbled something inaudible before correcting Henry.
“Six, I’ve got six kids.”
Lucas burst out laughing while Henry simply shook his head. One out of six was actually loved and cared about…what a quota.
“He’s right though; it’s not like we don’t already know just how much you care about prince Alberu.”
Zed rolled his eyes, ignoring Henry’s teasing grin that followed Lucas’ shit eating expression. How long had he known these two people? It must be well over thirty years now, huh? Honestly, swordsmaster Lucas and the above highest grade mage Henry were people unbeatable in any field. Their talent reached beyond humanly and even worldly possible, which was why Zed kept them hidden, even in times of conflict and war. There was no way he could reveal his biggest two cards just yet. These two people were the only people Zed trusted blind. If they told him to go jump down a cliff, you better believe he’d do it without questioning or even doubting it.
But sometimes, these two could also be the most annoying people on earth. Ugh, Zed hated it whenever they stopped behaving as professionally and changed to their ‘bad habits’ of teasing him from the times they were just young teens.
“You two do know that you’re talking to the king of the kingdom you’re staying in, right?”
In times like these, where he was outnumbered by his actual only friends, Zed let his authority play. Henry, who didn’t care about fancy royal titles, simply rolled his eyes while Lucas, who did care, shut up, clearing his throat and standing straighter.
Honestly, now that Zed thought about it, despite being disrespectful, it was more likely that Henry listened to Zed rather than Lucas – with the order being to stay hidden and to not get involved in this world’s affairs. Both he and Henry knew that before Zed Crossman, to Lucas, there was Jour. She was his first priority, always had been. And since she died, the only thing she cherished more than anything in the world had come to replace her as his top priority now. To Lucas, Cale came before his duty for Zed.
He may be cursed, but he’d rather burn in hell than to let Jour’s everything die. He was more realistic than people thought, given that he didn’t even try to protect Cale Henituse as much as he could and should. But in case a life threatening scenario did come-
“Whatcha thinkin’ about so much that you ain’t even smilin’ no more?”
Getting broken out of his thoughts, Lucas looked up and met Henry’s golden eyes. There was a quiet and unspoken understanding in the mage’s gaze as he shrugged and went back to annoying this sacred country’s king.
That’s right, just as Zed’s top priority was his own son, Lucas’ was Jour. And Henry’s, well, Henry didn’t hold anything in high regards. It was true that he would protect Alberu – for Zed – and he would protect Cale too, not for Jour, but simply because he thought that the kid was interesting and different. But contrary to both of his friends, his real priority lay in fulfilling their mission before the curse caught up to them.
Hm, the only curse the God of Time and Space ever casted on anyone in his more than three thousand years of being a god – no wonder there was no way to breaking such a curse. Henry smirked at the thought, knowing that sooner or later, if death didn’t await him, hell sure would.
But maybe it was deserved – just maybe.
Well, everyone’s been young once, right?
Kim Seo Yeon and Kim Sung Ho would definitely agree with him on this.
Then again, they too had a priority before…hm, a small son, right?
Henry looked down at the orb he held in his hands. He knew that what he attempted to do right now was technically another no-go, another forbidden thing, something that would certainly attract the God of Time and Space’s attention again.
But he was curious, and he was already cursed. The worst the god could do was to speed up his curse, which wouldn’t be beneficial to him. Then again, the God of Time and Space didn’t seem like the type of person to think about tomorrow – or the kind of person that needed him at all, given that he’d have no problem with a world without him, Zed and Lucas.
He looked down at the orb again, wondering how to best make this work. He was missing a name, as well as a face. Hm, of course Seo Yeon and Sung Ho did everything they could to keep their sacred treasure away from this world, in a similar way Jour had attempted to do with Cale.
But Henry had snorted at the impossible and shown it the middle finger before, meaning he had his way of doing the same again. Kim something, a face that was a mixture of Seo Yeon and Sung Ho and…nothing.
Sighing, Henry stored the orb in his spacial pocket away safely, glancing outside Zed’s window which showed Alberu’s office/bedroom. Truly, that mad king that loved his son so much yet couldn’t show it at all was probably the most unlucky parent out of his old friend group, huh?
Ugh, so many memories resurfaced just because of the approaching events and that stupid kiddo who was oh so madly in love with Jour’s kid.
If Seo Yeon’s kid had a similar lover, or perhaps he himself was the madly in love lover?
Henry shook his head, ignoring the strange glances he received from his two friends in return. He was, by no means, a sentimental person, so he had absolutely no idea where all of this was coming from.
It must be the age, huh? Despite looking like he was in his mid-twenties, he was close to sixty at this point. With age came sentimental stuff, right? Or maybe he was just lost in memories, given that the coming times would be similar to what once had been. But the problem was that neither he nor Lucas would be allowed to be there and shoulder the burden this time.
Maybe he should have accepted that game of chess all those years back, even if it was against an almighty god, huh? Perhaps then, he wouldn’t have to rely on a twenty year old kiddo (Jour’s kiddo) to go to war with another twenty five year old kiddo (Zed’s kiddo) doing his best in a diplomatic war.
In any case, it is what it is.
Henry will not think that way in a couple months’ time.
Notes:
Hi~~~
I have lived! >^<
Sorry for the non-update last weak and the kinda late update this week? (It's Tuesday at almost 1am, how is it a late update this week, I tell myself while I still think that it's a late update), anyways, I did warn you about my messy update schedule.
ALSOOOOO I know I did tell you guys that longer chapters are coming, and it doesnt help that this one is just above 4k words (I am ashamed, truly, I sincerely aplologize for not just the late update but also the short chapter, omg I'm just disappointing you guys since this chapter isnt even that good and must be disappointing omg I'm gonna go cry in the corner cuz I'm so fucking ughhhhhhh) anywayssssssssssss, I really hope you guys can deal with this!
Truth to be told, I wasn't that busy, as busy as one can be with playing video games and reading and occassionally meeting up with friends, but I was simply too low on motivation to write anything. BUTTTTT it struck me just now, like lighting, so I'm confident in my ability to write again! MEANING I will most likely bring out another chapter soon, and this time, with at least 5k words if not more
(*nods to myself cuz I feel really confident while saying this, not imagining or thinking about the possibility of my midnight motivation running out*)Anways, I know this chapter was mid at best and most likely boring, being a filler chapter and all (trust me, I didnt expect that I'd need a second filler chapter, BUTTTTT I can finally head to the event that I wanted to write since the beginning, well, after a couple other INTERESTING (I PROMISE) events since the brigde is there now. Also, as some may have noticed, FINALLY my own plot is moving forward (*crying tears of relief because I honestly didn't think it would be possible for me anymore, given that I thought I would be eternally stuck at tcf plot T^T*)
Okey dokey, with all of this done, I'll finish my matcha latte now (no coffee today, to my dismay, cuy someone *looking at my mother* drank it all and didn't tell me OR bought new one despite being in the grocery store today- ehem, going off topic but it had to be said) and try too squeeze another couple scenes outta my brain tonight haha! Dw, I will stop before I lose my motivation, tho once again, I doubt it will happen again.
(honestly, I have my phases where i'm less motivated to write or even read, ig we all have that kind of stuff haha)Then, this is it from meeeeeee!
As always, I hope you liked this chapter (once again so sorry T^T) despite all its flaws.
Thank you for your patience and your support! I really am lucky to have such amazing readers!!Until next time, then!
<3
Chapter 65: 63. Selfishly Selfless (3)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Just some fluff with a bit of angst around the end but nothing too bad, promise ;)
Chapter Text
The battle at the Henituse castle was just around the corner, it approached too fast for not only Alberu’s liking. Time had always been a strange concept; it was like a shy animal, whenever you glanced at it, it remained in place, then as soon as you’d glance away, it fled as if its life depended on it. Alberu made the mistake of looking away for too long. And now the few peaceful weeks where his boyfriend was able to lean back and slack away were gone.
He frowned at that thought and looked up to see Cale fumble on his sleeves. The black suit he was wearing was a fancy one, a mixture of luxury and practical military wear. With its many golden ornaments, it reminded Alberu of the very first fancy suit Cale had worn four years back. But that suit and his current one were vastly different from each other.
One was made for festivities.
The other for war.
Oblivious to the crown prince’s troubled thoughts, Cale continued to get ready the way he always did. It made no difference if he was getting ready for war or an outing, any event that made him leave the bed was not a joyous occasion.
“Cale.”
The redhead quickly turned around, looking at his frowning boyfriend rather than the snowy gardens outside the window. As always, the crown prince was unrivaled in terms of beauty with his naturally pale skin, his radiating golden hair and those shining azure eyes. Had be been smiling though, he would have looked much more handsome.
“What?”
It was no secret that Alberu was opposed to Cale participating in the war, hell, he was opposed to anything that could strain Cale, or even worse, put him in danger. It didn’t matter that Cale was surrounded by powerful people like two dragons, a couple swordsmaster and countless beast people as well as mages. It was because despite all these people being there, Cale would still have to participate in the war.
It was because he was a stupid brainless lunatic bastard.
Alberu knew that no matter what he said, it wouldn’t really matter. No, maybe it did matter, but not even half as much as Cale’s self-sacrificing habit. Perhaps that too was more than a simple habit, linked to a story the redhead wasn’t yet ready to share. Then again, it didn’t matter.
“Warning you to stay out would be stupid, so I won’t bother, but I swear to god, if you pass out one more time or get seriously hurt- there are plenty of tasks for the military commander to take care of back at the palace, understood?”
Cale rolled his reddish-brown eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Both of them knew that Alberu’s words were empty, yet neither pointed it out. If Cale really wanted to, he would be back at the battlefield in no time and nothing in the world could stop him. But while Alberu was fully aware of Cale’s antics, the redhead truly believed that nothing he did was bad enough to deserve such a speech from his boyfriend.
“I didn’t plan to get hurt.”
´What a very Cale-like response.´
Alberu couldn’t help but smile while shaking his head, suppressing his frustration.
“So you’re telling me there are times you actually plan to get hurt?”
His sarcasm made Cale scoff and the redhead decided to leave it at that. He returned to fiddle on his clothes, and while he was by no means doing a bad job, he was clearly struggling with the buttons. Against his will, Alberu felt his body get up from the chair and his legs moved up to his boyfriend.
Raising his brows, Cale gave him a questioning look, which the quarter dark elf fully ignored. As soon as he was done buttoning up Cale’s jacket, he pulled the redhead closer by the collar. In moments like these, he truly appreciated being taller.
“Sometimes I really wonder whether I’m a fool through and through or just some lovesick idiot.”
Cale rolled his eyes and attempted to turn away, given that the children were waiting downstairs together with Beacrox and Choi Han, yet Alberu didn’t let him go. Letting out a deep sigh, the redhead waited patiently for his boyfriend’s small protest to be over.
Alberu let out a small chuckle and leaned his head on Cale’s small and frail shoulder. Fuck, he was such a failure of a boyfriend, sending out the love of his life to the battlefield without giving much of a protest...
“You’re hurting this lovesick fool’s feelings...”
The redhead could feel his heart beginning to beat faster as his boyfriend’s warm breath stroke by his right ear. Feeling the heat rise in his cheeks, Cale was gave his best to push the older away, which naturally resulted in failure.
“Just a second more, mn~”
Resigning to his fate, Cale let Alberu have his way just this once. As a matter of fact, he too enjoyed the quiet embrace of his boyfriend, though he would never actually admit it. These small, precious moments were his most treasured, after all.
After a small while that felt both too long and yet too short at the same time, Alberu finally lifted his head off of Cale’s frail shoulder, smirking upon noticing his boyfriend’s now pink cheeks.
“Seems like I’m not the only lovesick fool around here though~”
Cale couldn’t hold back and lightly punched Alberu’s arm. With his puny strength, it hurt less than even a child’s punch, but Alberu’s always been a great actor. Unable to keep up the act of being hurt for long though, the crown prince burst out in laughter, pulling Cale in for a kiss before the first official battle against the Indomitable Alliance.
It was a tender kiss, one that said more than words ever could. A silent scream that portrayed Alberu’s worries; a silent plea for Cale to stay safe and a silent agreement from Cale, one that eased Alberu’s worries more than any words of reassurance ever could.
“Seems like it…”
Cale’s low mumbles as soon as the two of them separated didn’t escape Alberu’s ears. True, he wasn’t the only lovesick fool out here. Cale may be dense, no, forget dense, he was a complete senseless idiot in the love-compartment, but it was true that he too was foolish when it regarded Alberu in any way.
‘Two fools in love, huh?’
Alberu grinned at that thought and watched as his boyfriend practically fled when he exited the room with the excuse that he had to get going or else the children and everyone else waiting for him would worry. While it wasn’t exactly a lie, they wouldn’t worry too much given that all of them were aware that Cale was currently with Alberu. Then again, seeing Cale flee with his ever so stoic expression missing, replaced by red cheeks and a cute pout, he wouldn’t mind such excuses for the world.
Now that he thought about it, he felt more at ease, much calmer and less stressed about the battle that was about to go down in a few days’ time. Still, that didn’t mean he completely stopped worrying, he could never stop worrying, not if it was about Cale.
~
By now, news that a war was about to come upon the people of the Roan Kingdom had gotten out and weren’t news anymore, more of an old message. What was new though, was that the so called ‘trash’ Cale Henituse was appointed as Military Commander and was about to participate in the first official battle against the Indomitable Alliance, defending the Henituse Castle at that.
The opinions were split on this, while anyone outside Rain City was overcome with joy and confidence, given that ‘Young Master Silver Light’ himself went to defend their treasured kingdom, the people of Rain City were still unsure what to think of their young master that had broken their lord’s heart times over and over again.
So it was to be expected that when Cale and his people finally arrived at Rain City, the people weren’t cheering nor all too excited, instead going on about their daily lives as if nothing special was happening at the moment - and honestly, Cale truly preferred it that way. Because these people were right, his and his people’s arrival was nothing special and no big deal.
“Young master-nim, are you certain it’s been a good decision to leave Eruhaben-nim and my father behind?”
Looking up, Cale locked eyes with the talented chef that had come here as his caretaker rather than a cook. Beacrox, instead of driving the carriage, was sitting opposite to Cale next to Choi Han, watching the redhead caress the young dragon’s scales. As usual, Cale’s expression was stoic and unreadable - well, it wasn’t to Beacrox who could tell that Cale was questioning his intelligence at the moment.
“Yes, there’s nothing to worry about. This should be enough for the first battle.”
Naturally, Cale was oblivious to his choice of words. This event, the entire war, was something he did not read about. It were all events outside the five volumes of the book ‘The Birth of a Hero’ he read; but that didn’t mean that it were things he couldn’t predict.
Kim Rok Soo, no, he was Cale Henituse, was someone who went through all possibilities and made sure to predict the worst possible outcome, then find ways to prevent it from happening, or if that was not possible, he’d find ways to counter it and lessen its effects. That was why, with all the information he’s gathered so far, he was confident that the people he’d brought with him today as well as those he’d called to come here in advance would suffice for the first battle against the Indomitable Alliance.
Turning his head to his right, a small but confident smile on his lips, Cale faced the fourth adult that was with them in the carriage.
“Isn’t that right, Miss Mary?”
The last necromancer’s face wasn’t visible because of her hood casting a dark shadow over her face, but she was smiling too. Nodding her head virgiously, she clenched her fists in excitement. Not for the battle, but for the chance to be useful to the man who’d showed her the vast, endless sky for the first time, expecting absolutely nothing in return (of course, Cale didn’t think so, given that he had planned to use Mary as an asset for the war if she was willing to help).
“Yes, Cale-nim. I’ll do by absolute best.”
Her robotic voice, while it sounded the same as usual, had a strange excited sub tone to it. The young Raon, who had kept his eyes closed so far, opened them, a bright smile on his lips as he jumped over to Mary’s lap.
“Good Mary! You are a very good girl!”
Hearing an eight year old call a twenty six year old woman a ‘good girl’ brough a smile to Choi Han’s lips, which he quickly hid behind a fake caught. It wasn’t his first time hearing Raon say things like these, one could have thought he’d be used to it by now. Beacrox, on the contrary, wasn’t affected at all. Sighing, he nodded his head. But still, the head chef couldn’t help the doubts that were flooding his mind. The countless ‘what ifs’ that accompanied Cale heading out to a battle.
Battle…it was such a simple word with such a heavy meaning behind it. A battle was associated with war, and in this case, it’d the first battle of the war against the Indomitable Alliance - an alliance that consisted of the three northern kingdoms as well as Arm. A mixture of the four of them was dangerous. While the three northern kingdoms didn’t have much to show for themselves besides Paerun’s Guardian Knight Clopeh Sekka, Arm had many people they had to be cautious of. Not only their leader, the one they called the ‘White Star’, but also many different kinds of individuals such as the Lion Beast People Tribe were possible enemies during this was - but also countless individuals whose strength could match or even surpass Cale’s people.
Especially since this was the first battle, shouldn’t they go for a quick win - quite literally trampling over their enemies to show off Roan’s true strength?
It was at the very moment that thought went through Beacrox’ head, that the head chef realized that that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do. If they were to reveal all of their cards from the very beginning, their enemies could form strategies to give them a harder time. But then again, Eruhaben was an ancient dragon. He didn’t have to participate in the battle, it’d be fine to just have him present, standing right next to Cale to protect just him alone.
“Beaxcox, you coming?”
Too lost in thought, the head chef looked up at his young master-nim, who was standing in front of him, his usual frown on his face.
“Are you not feeling well? You don’t have to-“
“It is nothing, young master-nim, I am just preparing myself mentally.”
Cale, who’d never heard Beacrox say those words before, simply nodded and exited the carriage, two small cats in his arms. Naturally those cats, one with silver, the other with red fur, were the two cat children On and Hong. While the younger was as oblivious as Cale to the cook’s words, the smart On’s golden eyes remained on the tall man a bit longer. She could tell that he was tense, but for a different reason than the battle in front of them. But it wasn’t her place to ask.
“My son! You’ve lost so much weight! Just look at you! And how pale you are…don’t tell me the crown prince isn’t taking care of his own lover properly!”
The strange way Deruth spat out the word ‘lover’ made Cale’s frown deepen ever so slightly, yet he chose to ignore it for now and to simply brush it off.
—Human, I still don’t like that guy!
Cale gave a stealthy nod at the invisible Raon’s words and immediately after, he could feel teh young dragon’s weight on his shoulder. If it had been anyone else, Cale’d have fallen over, but since it was Raon, it was fine for now. Personally, Cale didn’t mind Deruth Henituse. No, it wasn’t quite right to word it like this. It wasn’t that he didn’t mind the man, but rather that he simply didn’t care about him at all. Deruth Henituse was his body’s - the original Cale Henituse’s - biological father, but other than that, he was nothing but a mere acquaintance. He was just a guy he knew by name, someone whose roof he’d lived under and whose money he’d received. There was no attachment to that person, given that he’d never regarded him as a father. The guy also never acted lik one.
Rather than him, his second wife, Violan Henituse, was much more of a parent to Cale than Deruth could have ever been. The way she didn’t overstep boundaries but still showed her care, love and concern in her own, subtle, almost unnoticeable way, Cale could tell that she thought of herself as a parent of his.
Maybe that was why, ignoring Deruth’s attempt at hugging him, he accepted Violan’s embrace instead. It was short but gentle and warm. Her cold expression softened almost immediately and she looked like she was going to break out in tears, which confused Cale. It was but a hug, no?
“Ehem, great to have you here, son.”
Cale gave a simple nod at Deruth’s words, ignoring the last part. It felt strange, the way he was called son by a person he didn’t regard as a father in the least bit. But then again, it didn’t really matter. It was fine as long as he ignored it, no? He didn’t have to pay attention anyways. Furthermore…
”I greet the Lord and Countess.”
Nodding his head - a less respectful gesture compared to bowing down, but bowing down was something Cale didn’t want to do, so this should suffice -, the redhead stretched out his hand for Deruth Henituse to shake, who appeared to be startled.
“I am here on official business as the Military Commander, Lord. Please treat me as such. For now, I’d like to request a servant to show us to our rooms before we occupy the library in order to discuss our strategy for the battle tomorrow. You have my gratefulness for your hospitality.”
Cale didn’t wait long and before Deruth even had a chance to say anything (most likely something along the lines of ‘drop the formalities, we’re family here’), Violan waved her hand and immediately, a servant with the name of Hans, yes, Cale still remembered him, bowed down in front of the redhead and his people, who were standing either by his side or close behind him.
“Commander-nim, I’ll gladly do so!”
Giving Hans a stern nod with his usual stoic expression, the young butler’s smile widened and he began to speed walk inside the mansion. Cale frowned, yet somehow managed to get the butler to slow down again (which only happened because of the kitten’s protesting miaus).
Naturally, Cale’s people followed him silently, ignoring both Deruth and Violan. While neither of them besides Beacrox was aware of the full extent of what this man had done to Cale, all of them had been warned by Alberu to give him the cold shoulder if possible. If it wasn’t for their current status, it wouldn’t have been.
“Ah! Young mas- I mean Commander-nim, do you want to sleep in your old room or…?”
Hans let his question trail off, expecting Cale’s answer, yet none came. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, only to see the same stoic expression on the redhead’s face as before.
“Whatever works best.”
It was as if the young twenty year old didn’t care - which he naturally didn’t. But still, seeing him answer so nonchalantly, after he’d practically ran away from home…
”A new room it is, then.”
Hans nodded proudly, then continued walking, obvious to the tenseness in the back disappearing. He’d made the right call, giving Cale a new room, given that if he’d assigned him his old one, Beacrox would have gone crazy. The head butler’s way of thinking was simply that Cale had closed the chapter in which he stayed with the Henituse Family and opened a new one with that crown prince lover of his - as such, there was no room for something from the old chapter to return in the new one.
Cale gave a low hum, not paying too much attention to Hans’ continued blabbering about how much the County had changed. Rather than that, he listened to Raon’s excited voice.
—Human! They’ve changed so much since we last visited! It’s so strange, this carpet seems very new too! It’s not as nice as ours, though!
The young dragon excitedly continued to name anything and everything that had changed over the two years since their last visit in the County (the time Cale received a couple billion from the Count for his work at the naval base).
—Oi Human! Look over there to the left! Is that a picture of your mom?
At Raon’s last remark, Cale stopped in his tracks, glancing to his left. A strange feeling he couldn’t name went through his body, which he naturally ignored. Rather than paying attention to that, his eyes locked onto the painting of a gorgeous woman who could easily say that she was a dragon and people would believe her because of that beauty of hers alone. She was awfully pale, but it didn’t look unhealthy on her. With cherry lips and even darker, crimson hair, she looked the same as Cale, just more feminine through her chest and softer facial features.
Her reddish brown eyes that were lighter than Cale’s were framed by long, black lashes and altogether, she was just so damn beautiful. The soft smile on her lips…it made Cale feel like he was gently looking at him with all the love only a mother could possess for her child. But…
’This is wrong.’
Cale couldn’t help but look away from the paining, even if it took quite a bit of willpower to rip his eyes away from the woman whose funeral he’d attended when he first arrived in this world.
Jour Henituse, formerly Thames - his body’s, the original Cale Henituse’s, birth mother.
—Woah, she’s so pretty! Of course not as pretty as you, hehe!
Cale was silent as he gave a simple nod, a small frown on his face. Naturally, his change of expressions didn’t go unnoticed by either of his strong comrades, and while neither Mary nor Choi Han knew much about Cale’s childhood, they felt bad for him all the same, knowing that he’d lost his mother when he’d still been young. Beacrox, on the other hand, was frowning.
After the late Countess’ funeral, Cale had behaved as if he hadn’t ever had his mother by his side. Her early death naturally had a strong impact on a child as young as Cale, and despite him being ‘over’ her death, was that really the truth?
“Young master-nim a-“
‘Are you alright?’
Beacrox couldn’t get the words out, they remained stuck in his throat as he watched Cale raise his brow in question for him to continue his sentence. Clearing his throat, the head chef shook his head.
“Nevermind, I was just wondering whether you were hungry and I should go make something.”
At that, Hans quickly jumped in on the conversation.
“Ah! Mister Beacrox, please, there’s no need for a guest such as yourself to cook! Please let the cooks of the Henituse Family do that during the time you’re here! If you’re that hungry, I’ll go tell them to make something right after I’ve shown you to your rooms!”
Hans resumed walking in a fast pace, and the others quickly followed after him, the portray of Jour Henituse still on their minds. All of them had different reactions though. While Beacrox was worried, Choi Han felt a bit sad. Mary and the three children on the other hand were overwhelmed by Cale’s mother’s beauty. It was so similar to Cale’s, yet also a bit different. Gentler, the same whenever Cale smiled softly at either the children or Alberu. It was…nice to see the young noble’s mother, given that he must have loved her very much. From the picture alone, she seemed like a lovely person.
Maybe it was because of that that Cale started to wonder. If this person, Cale’s mother, had still been alive, if she hadn’t died in the novel, or even before that point…If Cale transmigrated into this world even a year earlier, when Jour Thames was still around, would the woman hate him? For taking away her son? No, she didn’t need to be alive to hate him. Maybe she had been looking out for the real Cale Henituse and then, one day, he got replaced by Kim Rok Soo out of nowhere.
This made Cale question whether the original Cale Henituse was still alive. What happened to him? Was he dead, given that Kim Rok Soo was in his body? The redhead had never wondered nor cared about things like these, and even now, he didn’t know why his thoughts turned in that kind of direction. It shouldn’t be any of his concern-
What if Ron and Beacrox found out he wasn’t their Cale?
What if they started to hate him, for taking away a child and pretending to be one instead?
They would hate him, wouldn’t they?
Alberu didn’t, but that was because he got to know Cale Henituse after Kim Rok Soo transmigrated into his back then eight year old body. But things were different with Beacrox and Ron. They had practically raised Cale for eight years before his body was overtaken by Kim Rok Soo. Despite having spent only eight years with the original Cale and twelve with this Cale, they were thinking of both of them as the same person and-
‘Imposter.’
For the first time in his entire life, Cale felt like an imposter, a fake. He had never thought about what had happened to the original Cale despite taking his body, no, his entire life over.
Realization hit him like a truck.
‘Is this because of Jour Thames’ portrait?’
Cale couldn’t help but stop in his tracks, glancing back at the vast portrait. The woman in it seemed to be looking straight at him, a gentle and kind expression on her face which he didn’t deserve. Did she not know that he wasn’t her real son? What a stupid question, Cale couldn’t help but scoff at his own thoughts. It was a mere portrait of a deceased person, there was no way it could have feelings, emotions or thoughts. And yet…
‘Why is she looking at me like that?’
Cale wanted it to stop. The way the woman’s face was painted, it was different from the first time he’d seen it just a few moments ago. Her expression seemed too soft, as if she was talking to a young child; no, to her young child. As if she was soothing him, telling him that everything was alright and that he shouldn’t worry and-
“Young master-nim?!”
Cale didn’t notice the way he stepped closer to the portrait of his body’s mother, nor how or why he pulled a curtain in front of it. It wasn’t until Beacrox placed his hand on his shoulder and called out his name that he snapped out of whatever trance he’d been in before. Confused, the redhead furrowed his brows, a deep frown on his face.
“…Yes?”
The head chef kept silent for a moment, simply looking at Cale. The twenty year old was pale, too pale, compared to usual. Despite him giving his best to appear nonchalant, Beacrox could tell that he was shaken. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. Furthermore…
‘He wasn’t replying to Raon.’
The only reason Beacrox had headed back was because of the young dragon’s panicked voice. Cale had stayed behind without anyone noticing, given that at some point, Hans had taken the two cat children from him, leading the others while enthusiastically telling different nonsensical stories.
‘He seems out of it.’
Beacrox couldn’t help but frown upon seeing Cale try to act as if nothing had happened. By the looks of it…
“Young master-nim, are you alright?”
Beacrox had never seen Cale have that kind of expression on his face. It was different from his annoyed one and also didn’t look anything like his shocked or surprised one. It was an emotion Beacrox knew and recognized, yet had never seen on his younger brother’s face. It was something that lay in between fear and helplessness, something in between panic and despair. Cale Henituse, the man who had been confident ever since the day he woke up on his mother’s funeral all these years back, even a bit arrogant, looked horrified.
Of course, Beacrox could only tell that that was the case because he’d known Cale since the day the redhead had been born. To anyone else, Cale’s stoic expression was the same as usual, and while he indeed was a bit paler than usual, it didn’t make that big of a difference given that it was Cale.
“…Why are you asking such an obvious question?”
Cale, ignoring Beacrox’ question, side stepped the tall man as he continued to follow Hans. The head butler had gotten quite far before noticing his and Beacrox’ lack of presence. Yet, before Cale could run away as he’d planned to, Beacrox held him back. The invisible Raon was sitting on the head chef’s shoulder, quietly waiting for the man to take care of the situation.
“You are paler than usual, young master-nim. If something is the matter, you should tell me and I will take care of it. It is not good to focus on different things during a battle.”
Beacrox’ deadpan expression, to anyone else, would look like the expression of someone who didn’t care. But his words, the tone in which he said them and the expression in his eyes – all of it were telling Cale that the greatsword wielder was worried.
His usual excuses such as ‘it’s nothing, I was just thinking’ or ‘I’m okay’ would be of no use, and yet he didn’t feel like talking about this mess of feelings he was currently experiencing.
“It’s just…I don’t really know.”
Deciding to go with a teeny tiny piece of the truth, Cale was obvious to what an immense impact those simple’ less worrying’ words had upon Beacrox. The head chef nodded and finally let go of Cale’s wrist, allowing the redhead to escape. He himself stayed back and looked up at the now hidden portrait of Jour Thames.
He recalled the day Count Deruth Henituse had ordered his father to pull this portrait down, it was a mere week after the late Countess’ death. He had used the excuse ‘I can’t bear to see her face’ – the same one he used on Cale in order to avoid him. Could it be that the young child of barely twenty years whom he regarded as a younger brother had forgotten the way his mother looked like? Or maybe it wasn’t that and something else Beacrox didn’t know. That younger brother of his, he was the worst when it came to his own emotions and feelings. What if he was telling the truth and truly didn’t know what was going on inside him? What if seeing his mother’s portrait caused him to feel emotions he couldn’t comprehend?
—Good Beacrox, the human seems off.
The young Raon’s voice, for a change, wasn’t cheerful. The head chef couldn’t help but pat the invisible air over his shoulder, given that the dragon was currently sitting on it.
“Please don’t worry, Raon-nim, there is one person that will be able to take care of him like this.”
Yes, indeed, even if it was a person Beacrox didn’t exactly like to see at his younger brother’s side, there was no point in arguing that the crown prince had his own ways of calming the redhead down, ways he couldn’t exactly grasp, which wasn’t a bad thing though.
Notes:
Soooooooo…
It’s been a while, I so totally know and I am so sorry! My motivation is like a cat istg, sometimes it keeps close to me, wants me to pet (use) it and other times it shows me the middle finger 😭Anyways, given that that’s the case for the time being, I decided to go on an indefinite Hiatus. I just can’t promise you guys a chapter each week anymore, tho I’ll still do my very best to update as often as I can. (Cuz pls believe me, I’m trying so hard 😭😭😭)
In any case, apologies if the format of this chapter is a bit off compared to my usual (I have absolutely no idea). I usually type on my computer, but rn I’m on vacation in Spain and only have my IPad on me, so I typed the chapter there.
(Omg it was so fucking complicated for me cuz I usually use word but on my IPad I was first using my Notes app [ikik, stupid] then I went over to use Google Docs which I downloaded in the Lobby - I’ll get to the why in a bit - then I remembered that I could just download Word but I had to register for it (the word I use on my computer is my father’s from his time in university, back then it was pay once get forever or something like that) but luckily my lil brother was gracious enough to let me use his school account and well, then I kinda managed hehe).Yes I am technically on vacation, so hopefully you’re wondering how I managed to write a chapter. Lemme explain and with explain I mean over share things.
I got sunburn 👏😂
Yayyyyy! And really bad one at that 😂😂😂 (help it hurt so much and my parents put yoghurt on it and it stunk and just ewwwwww). To my defense, I did use sunscreen, but like, seemingly it doesn’t work on me as well as it does on others 🥲
In any case, cuz of that I’ve been sitting in our hotel room the past couple days and today I decided to do something useful and write. Obviously, it wasn’t without results hehe! 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
Now to my main problem in this hotel (there are actually two): first and more importantly, there is only internet in the lobby 🥲 (dw guys, I’m surviving, I downloaded a bunch of fics and two seasons of “Simpsons”, for now I am safe). The one who’s really affected by this is my lil brother, but he’ll have to manage 😌
Second problem: the food ain’t salted, generally there is literally no spice in the food here. I am used to salted and spiced food, not to whatever the hell that is 😭😭😭 (pls as a food lover it hurts my soul to pick out a piece of meat only to find out that it ain’t salted 💔). NOT EVEN FRIES ARE SALTED AND I AM NOT LYING THEY LITERALLY GIVE OUT UNSALTED FRIES HELPPPPPPPPP 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
In any case, else vacation is pretty nice, as nice as it can be when I’m forced to spend time with my family or stay in the room 24/7 besides going out for meals or in the Lobby in the evening.
Another good thing is that in this hotel, there are many pretty faced people 😏 (just two but whatever, two counts as many in my opinion). Like one is a tall-tall guy, literally. I’m around 5’7 and he was so much taller than me and so handsome and best of all, he seemed around my age too 🥹 (I’m too fucking shy to ask for his number thooooooo 😭😭😭)
The second guy is just a pretty guy, one of the bartenders. Like guys, believe me, that man is a pretty hottie 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
In any case, this is it with the chapter and my life update for the time being. I hope I didn’t leave y’all waiting for too long, hehe ❤️
Thanks for the patience and boundless support tho! It really cheers me up when my motivation leaves me for another hoe 😭😭😭
Hope this chapter was to your liking too! This is it from me then, and until next time!
❤️😂
Chapter 66: 64. The Shield Will Not Fall (1)
Summary:
Pls don't hate me :)
Notes:
TW! I DID NOT MARK ANY PARTS IN PARTICULAR SINCE IT KIND OF IS EVERYWHERE!!!
Please be careful since this chapter contains the following triggering topics:
- Survivor's guilt/pathological guilt
- Severe PTSD
- Imposter syndrome
- hints suicidal thoughts
- past child abuse (nothing graphical, only verbally/psychologically
- could hint at depression
- severe anxiety
-graphic depiction of a panic attackSO READ WITH CARE AND STAY SAFE!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cale was frowning, so was the man on the other side of the video communication device.
“I can come ove-“
—Nice talking to you, but I gotta go now.
Alberu heaved a defeated sigh, shaking his head in frustration. When he’d gotten a call five minutes ago, he didn’t know what he expected (yes he did, and it was his beloved boyfriend calling him to complain about the Henituse County, whining about his poor slacker life and whatnot). What he certainly didn’t think to ever happen was that it wasn’t Cale calling him, but Beacrox. Naturally, Ron who had been standing right next to him when it happened was equally confused as to why his son was calling Alberu.
Yet, after Beacrox explained the strange way Cale had been behaving ever since seeing his dead mother’s portrait, well, it was self-explanatory to both Ron and Alberu. And while Ron was thinking along the same lines as his son, the crown prince was the only one who had even the slightest idea of what could be going on. Cale not being from this world and coming here after the late Countess death meant that he shouldn’t have any kind of relationship to her. And yet, for him to react that way…
Alberu did not know why his usually composed and calm boyfriend suddenly lost his cool. He wasn’t one to concern himself with the past (little did he know…) and certainly not one to dwell on someone else’s problems if it weren’t his family’s. Those thoughts made Alberu think about other possibilities. The last theory he had, the most probable one in his opinion, was that Cale felt reminded of his own mother. Alberu didn’t know much about his boyfriend’s childhood as Kim Rok Soo, but he did know that his parents died so early that Cale couldn’t remember their faces. Maybe seeing someone who looked so much like him, his body’s owner’s mother…
Alberu couldn’t know for certain if his beloved boyfriend didn’t tell him, and while it was not surprising that Cale didn’t share many things, he did come around, sharing few of his well-kept secrets during the past years. But this, this seemed to not be one of those well-kept secrets. Hell, the way Beacrox described Cale’s reaction, the redhead himself didn’t know what was going on!
Cale’s first response to unknown and unusual situations was to suppress them, his thoughts and feelings regarding the situation as well. The redhead, Alberu was more than aware, was used to this kind of behavior, but for the love of god, it was anything but healthy. Alberu worried, a lot, about Cale. He worried about his body which was weaker than a child’s, about his deteriorating health – honestly, how come Cale never gained any weight and only lost it despite eating the same as usual? –, about his excessive use of ancient powers.
He knew that Cale’s mental health wasn’t the best either, but he seemed fine, or at least acted as if he was. When he couldn’t even keep up the act-
“Fuck…Ron, let’s call Eruhaben. I think it’d be best if the two of you go over there for the time being.”
Hearing Alberu’s strained voice, the old butler standing behind him had a very odd and unusual expression on his face. His benign smile was nowhere to be found for once, replaced by a frown. His eyes were cold, the worry he felt hidden deep inside, though only those who knew him well could tell. Contrary to a few years ago, the old man didn’t worry for his grandson-like young master-nim only, but also for that scammer-like (in Ron’s opinion) boyfriend of his.
And even if the old man really, truly wanted to head over there with the ancient dragon, one of the two of them had to stay back and keep an eye on Alberu. While he was nothing like Cale, he did tended to overwork himself when the redhead wasn’t home. Furthermore, he worried too easily when it was a matter that concerned Cale, stressing him out needlessly.
That was why the old man decided that he had to stay back and take care of this troublesome boyfriend of his grandson. Eruhaben was a powerful ancient dragon, he would easily suffice in supporting Cale during a battle, given that he was akin to a hundred trained highest grade mages and genius fighters.
“…your highness, as per the young master-nim’s order, I am not permitted to leave you alone.”
Hearing Ron’s unusually serious voice, Alberu turned around. The dark rings under his eyes were something Ron chose to not comment on.
“Huh?”
Sighing, Ron repeated his words.
“The young master-nim asked me to stay with you during the time he is gone. He is very worried about you being lonely without neither him nor the children around.”
Naturally, it was bullshit, though there was also a teeny tiny seed of the truth inside Ron’s words. Cale’s exact words had been ‘Please take care of Alberu’, given that the twenty-five year old tended to forget to take care of himself from times to times, especially when his workload increased as much as this.
The way Alberu’s expression changed from confusion to bewilderment was enough for Ron to know that the young man hadn’t anticipated his boyfriend to ask such a thing of Ron. Well, in that regard, Alberu may be a bit dense too, for someone who constantly complained about how a certain someone didn’t take care of himself – though then again, the two boyfriends weren’t comparable in that aspect.
“…fine, then let’s just send Eruhaben. One thing’s certain, I won’t let Cale battle on his own without proper support when he’s in that state.”
That Alberu meant a powerful ancient dragon with ‘proper support’ seemed normal for Ron while the fact that there were already a necromancies, a talented (and overpowered) swordsmaster, another young but nonetheless extremely powerful dragon and a less powerful but nonetheless strong greatsword-wielded at the scene was completely ignored. Not to forget that Cale had several ancient powers to protect his people and himself too if necessary…
“What a wonderful idea, your highness.”
Alberu simply nodded, burying his head in his hands, thoughts wandering to a certain place that wasn’t (yet) related to his paperwork. He knew he should trust in Cale, he was someone who’d survived the apocalypse and god knows which horrifying events else. He was someone who was used to dealing with the unexpected, he’s said so himself once, didn’t he?
But god felt it wrong to leave him to deal with everything on his own. He had people around him, people willing to listen and willing to help. Alberu knew that the trauma must sit deep for Cale to blatantly ignore it or not see all the people who wanted to help him, but it didn’t mean that it was any less frustrating.
‘Everything would be so much easier if that bastard realized that other people’d go crazy over him or generally crazy if anything were to happen to him.’
Alberu himself was, naturally, in the first place of that list of people.
~
Cale did not know what was going on with him.
It was nighttime, the last chance of rest he got before the battle the next day, and usually, no matter the circumstances, he’d use it properly. And yet, for some wicked, cruel reason he found himself starring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, unable to fall asleep.
His heart was beating way too fast – a feeling he wasn’t familiar with sitting inside his stomach, making it difficult to breathe every now and then. Something was sitting at the back of his throat, yet another sensation he had never, not once, felt before. Or maybe he had and he’d just…forgotten.
Kim Rok Soo, no, Cale Henituse was someone who could not forget.
And yet, he’d forgotten.
He’d forgotten more than he cared to admit, actually. He knew there was a big chunk of his life he was missing. He couldn’t remember what happened after he left high school and after the apocalypse started. Couldn’t remember the time, the decades between his last normal day on earth and the day he was introduced to Kim Min Ah. That young woman’s face though, it too was beginning to blur. Her once sharp features turned a bit less memorable, her unique eye color had become just that – a unique eye color in name the exact color of which Cale was not able to recall, even if his life depended on it.
For god’s sake, he still recalled all the countless reports he’d written and checked over- no, not all of them. When he was still Kim Rok Soo, he’d filed a report every single day, and yet, there were years’ worth of reports missing from his mind.
His heartrate went up at the thought that he’d forgotten. Was ‘Record’ not working properly? But that couldn’t be the case. It had always been working and since it was an ability bound to him, his soul, it should work. It had worked in this world all these years, there was simply no way it would start to malfunction now – out of nowhere no less.
He felt an annoying headache coming his way, fuck, yet another migraine.
‘Just great, fucking amazing.’
The redhead covered his eyes with his arm, annoyance and anger turning into frustration which quickly transformed into desperation and pure, wild fear.
Cale may be a master in ignoring things that he didn’t understand, but this memory-loss-game had been going on for well over half a year now. At first, it was just the faces of people turning blurry, then their names slipped away from his mind too. In the end, not only those people disappeared, but entire hours, days, months and later years and decades.
As someone who could not forget, forgetting was something that scared Cale. It scared him so much that he was beyond terrified of it. He thought that getting busy would turn his attention to something else, would be enough as a distraction for both himself and whatever was going on with him. And at first, frankly, it had worked. When he’d been forced to attend the military and nobles’ meetings with Alberu, his focus had shifted from him forgetting things to the approaching war. Hell, his method of distraction had worked until just now just fine.
Was it because he saw Jour Thames’ portrait? Because being here felt just wrong that he recalled the place he was actually supposed to be? But the place he was actually supposed to be was slowly but surely slipping from his mind, away to some place Cale had no way of finding the memories of it again. The emotions he’d felt disappeared just like that with them, leaving a big gnash inside him, a gnash he had no idea how to fill.
It was just that…something was missing.
Not just something.
Everything.
Everything was missing.
It felt wrong and unfair that the clearest memory he had of his life on earth was the one where Kim Seung Jong started beating him. When he’d screamed at him that he was the one that should have died-
“Ha!”
Cale woke up, covered in cold sweat, not recalling when he’d fallen asleep and yet, for the very first time that felt like forever he clearly recalled the contents of his dream. Kim Seung Jong-
“Fuck.”
Exhaustion unlike any he’d experienced before, rising from his emotional turmoil, tugged at him, making the bed seem a million times more comfortable than it had been the night before.
“Just go back to sleep,” the exhaustion seemed to whisper in his ear, and Cale was not going to lie, he really wanted to. The three children he was certain had fallen asleep with him were nowhere to be found, making him be the only person inside the room. He could easily go back to sleep, close his eyes for just a moment so that a new dream could make him forget all about Kim Seung Jong’s yelling. He’d forgotten that even worse than the beatings he took, were the words his uncle spat every now and then when he was too drunk for him to be conscious. When he began to miss little Kim Rok Soo’s body with one of his hits or glasses, his words always hit the mark a billion times as hard as any kick to the stomach and broken rib and arm ever could.
A shudder went down Cale’s spine, a freezing hand with claws for nails wrapping around his neck – willing to choke him any second. Cold sweat was running down his forehead and he felt like he couldn’t move or breathe.
And then the door opened and it was over, as if it hadn’t ever been there before.
Reddish-brown irises met the darkest shade of brown eyes. The owner of said brown eyes furrowed his brows as he bowed down respectfully, entering the room.
“…Cale-nim, are you sick?”
Choi Han’s voice was hesitant and silent. He had closed the door behind him after entering, concern visible on his face as soon as he glanced up to look over Cale. Even if the redhead couldn’t see himself in the mirror at the moment, he knew he must look terrible. He could feel the cold sweat on his forehead and the expression that was on his face- he’d rather not think about that.
Clearing his throat, he quickly glanced away, sincerely hoping that Choi Han would keep it to himself. He wasn’t one to tell on others, Cale knew, and yet…he didn’t know at the same time. Feelings he had had his entire life, dependence on others he’d built after his life which was filled with loneliness…it was beginning to disappear.
He found himself wondering, all of a sudden, whether Choi Han was really, truly trustworthy.
Was he a good ally?
No, the answer to that question was yes. Of course Choi Han was a good ally.
But was he a good ally?
He, who had once been Kim Rok Soo, and then stolen this body–
Throwing back the blanket still covering him, Cale sat up, ignoring the urge to vomit. He’d never felt those kinds of emotions. It were emotions, feelings, he couldn’t define. It felt like they were ripping him apart on the inside, ripping through his stomach, through his lungs, through his heart- through everything there was to rip through. And then there was the feeling of those cold claws again, the hand with the claws for nails. Before, it had only gently held him by the neck, but at the moment, he felt like that very hand was stabbing him with those claws. But rather than pain, an infinite coldness made itself known, quickly wandering through every single cell in his body. There was a stabbing sensation by his heart. No, it was coming from his heart. As if the feeling of something ripping his heart apart wasn’t enough, this other sensation made him feel as if something had stabbed right through it. No, as if someone’s hand had made a hole through his chest and ripped his heart out.
As soon as Cale’s realization came all feelings but the infinite calmness disappeared. He felt…calm. He felt calmer than he’d ever felt before. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, ignoring how cold his slightly shaking fingers felt, the redhead was thankful for whatever had just happened.
Rationality was beginning to return to him now that those ugly feelings stopped messing with his mind. He glanced back at Choi Han who looked as if he was in pain. Cale’s brows furrowed and he got up from bed. His legs were weak and shaky and he felt like a newly born foal, but he forced them into sturdiness. Through determination alone, his legs stopped pretending to be jelly, working just like usual.
“Choi Han, are you in pain? I’m not sick, so no need to be concerned about me.”
Choi Han’s face visibly paled at Cale’s words, and while it was obvious to anyone why he’d pale (honestly, one look at Cale’s face was enough to say that he was not alright), Cale was convinced that it was because he’d been ‘caught’.
An ever so familiar frown made his way to his face as the redhead crossed his arms in front of his chest. It was as if he hadn’t just struggled for breath while supporting his head with both of his hand just seconds prior – he was standing there, in front of Choi Han, just like he did every single day. The same kind of expression was on his face and if one disregarded how Cale’s pale face was now practically white in color as well as the cold sweat, he seemed to be just like usual too.
But then there were his eyes-
Choi Han could not look Cale in the eyes after he glanced at them.
They were not shaking and not wavering. There was a firm look in Cale’s reddish-brown eyes. And yet…there was something infinitely wrong with his eyes. The color was the same, and yet something seemed to have changed. For some reason, Cale looked much smaller and thinner than he usually looked like. He looked so much frailer and delicate-
“You must really not be well for you to look like this. Haaa, it doesn’t matter anyways. Now that Eruhaben is here, you don’t have to participate in the battle.”
‘No, Cale-nim, it’s not me-‘
The words that were on the tip of Choi Han’s lips were not coming out. He still couldn’t face Cale, couldn’t look the man in the eyes, not when his eyes looked that calm and yet that chaotic. As if his eyes reflected the peace he sought after and yet only showed war, despair and ugliness the longer one looked into them. Cale Henituse’s reddish-brown irises had never looked so torn apart before.
“…I’m feeling fine, Cale-nim.”
In the end, the only words that escaped Choi Han’s lips were the same Cale always said to anyone asking, no matter the state he was in. But the meaning behind them was different. Choi Han was truly fine, at least physically that is.
The small, thin and frail hand that then touched his forehead out of nowhere was a surprise – yet an even bigger surprise was the temperature of that delicate hand. It was as if that hand was burning through Choi Han, and yet it wasn’t heat that came from the hand but a coldness Choi Han had never felt before. It felt colder than even a corpse-
Be it out of reflex of something else, yet Choi Han quickly grabbed Cale’s hand into his, realizing that his hand was freezing as if it had been in the freezer for hours. And yet…The moment Choi Han forced himself to look up again, he only realized that Cale’s frown had deepened.
‘Ah, if his hands are this cold, of course it must feel as if I’m burning up.’
Cale’s frowning expression turned into a flat one as he pulled his hand back, Choi Han having no choice but to let him retreat it.
“If you’re feverish, there’s no need to lie to me, Choi Han. Eruhaben-nim, even if he has a preference to use magic, can easily wield a sword and pretend to be a swordsmaster with abilities on par to yours.”
While Choi Han would have furrowed his brows before at being compared to Eruhaben, he didn’t. Rather than that, he shook his head, quickly taking Cale’s hand again.
“I don’t have a fever. It’s your hands, Cale-nim, they’re cold.”
Cale’s eyes formed to slits. He pulled back his hands once more, touching them before pressing them against his cheeks – feeling no difference in temperature. But the cold feeling inside his body and the way Choi Han seemed actually fine made him consider whether Choi Han’s words were the truth. If they were and his hands were cold – no, not only his hands, his entire body…
“Oh, you’re right. I didn’t realize, apologies. It must be the cold weather.”
He shouldn’t make them worry.
Choi Han’s eyes changed and he turned his head as if not to look at Cale. Honestly, if Cale was Choi Han, he’d rather not look at himself either. He was an imposter, a killer, a murderer, a traitor, a bad person, a trash, an emotionless bastard and someone so selfish and arrogant that he should have just died before he’d even been born.
Cale did not realize that his thoughts were irrational and biased – out of the ordinary. To him, they felt normal. He deserved to be called all of those things because it was the truth. He was an imposter for having stolen Cale Henituse’s body and place. He was a killer and murderer for all the deaths he’d brought when he was still Kim Rok Soo. He didn’t remember what had happened, but the endless reports filled with one name after the other of deceased co-workers were enough for him to know that he didn’t need to remember to know. He was a traitor for forgetting the people that were supposed to be important to him, or maybe not. He didn’t recall their names let alone their looks – which also led to him being a bad person, a trash and an emotional bastard. His selfish and arrogant persona was self-explanatory, so was the thought of him deserving to die. Right, if he deserved to die, why not go ahead and just…do it.
‘…But I can’t die yet. I promised Alberu. And what would the children do?’
But is that really the case or is that just Cale being arrogant and selfish again? Whatever the case may be…
‘Let’s decide after everything’s over.’
“Eh, Cale-nim, but are you really feeling alright?”
Startled, the redhead realized that he’d been spacing out. How unusual for him. With a raised brow, he waved his hand – behaving the very same as usual. He asked Choi Han to wait here as he walked to the bathroom and put on his Commander’s uniform so that they could discuss everything afterwards. While he used the exchange to change out of his pajamas, he’d actually prefer to not be drenched in cold sweat. With a quick shower able to finish the job, Cale finally looked at himself in the mirror, doing his best to bite back the hollow laugh building in the back of his throat.
His face…it was unrecognizable. While he saw nothing wrong with his eyes, them being their usual reddish-brown color, his skin had paled so much, it was obvious. Cale had never been a tanned man, always been quite pale even as a child. In recent years, that pale skin had turned even lighter, ending in a porcelain-snow-white. And yet, the skin color of the person looking back at him from the mirror was even paler than that. It was no wonder that Cale had asked whether he was sick if his skin had more white than skin color mixed in it.
He’d gotten thinner over these past months despite getting to slack most of the time. It was caused by a mixture of sleepless nights or a lack of appetite he managed to hide well-enough with the excuse of having eaten too many snacks in-between meals. It wasn’t true, but with no one supervising Cale (mostly because he was always in a room with Alberu and Alberu was too busy with paperwork to keep an eye on his boyfriend all the time), well, people knew he was no liar.
With a body like that, this uniform he’d worn when he was sixteen was a bit too lose on him. Besides the pants whose length had been adjusted (given that over the years, he’d grown an inch or two), nothing else had been made as his body-shape had pretty much remained the same. And now he’d suddenly gotten thinner?
Cale pulled the belt tighter around his pants, glad that they wouldn’t fall down in the middle of the battle. Adjusting his outfit every here and there, especially his jacket, he couldn’t help but nod, pleased. This suit, it managed to hide the fact it was a size too big on him. Pulling his hair back in a low ponytail, Cale took one last breath. He was about to open the door when-
-Are you trying to sacrifice yourself?
The Super Rock’s monotone voice sounded strangely flat for once inside Cale’s head. It was then that he realized that none of his powers had made a big deal of the approaching battle just yet, unlike the day before, staying uncharacteristically silent – including the crybaby. Usually, the old man would beg him to be careful and not to go overboard with the use of his ancient powers, not that Cale ever did so too much or without a damn good reason. And the only reason that the Super Rock’s voice sounded inside his head…
‘Ah.’
The Super Rock, besides being only there to balance his place, was a useless power in all but one field – it could predict danger nothing else could. The calm words of the ancient power sobered Cale up and his head cleared once again; now he fully returned to his usual self, his stupor from before forgotten. With furrowed brows and a frown on his face, he exited the bathroom, each and every step as meaningful as it could possibly get.
Choi Han immediately noticed the change in behavior. He straightened his back and forced himself to glance at Cale’s eyes once more – those reddish-brown irises had returned to the way they usually looked. Clear, focused, calm and calculative – not torn apart.
“Choi Han, where are the others?”
Cale’s voice was calm and while there was no difference between his current voice and his voice from a few moments ago…his senses could tell that there indeed was a difference. And between his voice now and his usual voice, there was something else that differentiated his usual voice and his current voice too. Choi Han, despite the way Cale looked, acted and talked like his usual self; felt that there was still something wrong with him. The picture of his eyes widening in shock, the way his hand went up in front of his mouth as if he needed to vomit before he forced himself up, the way he sat on the edge of the bed while staring at the floor – the pictures didn’t, for the love of god, leave Choi Han’s mind.
Tightening his grip around the hilt of his sword rather than his scabbard, Choi Han forced himself to answer Cale’s question. He still clearly recalled the very first conservation he had with Cale after Alberu had appointed him as his boyfriend’s guard ‘in secretive’.
It couldn’t really be called a conversation given that he’d done all the talking while Cale had only nodded his head whenever he’d looked up from the floor as he swore his alliance. No, he didn’t just swear his alliance. He swore his friendship, swore his loyalty, his endless trust and his prowess. He swore to become Cale’s sword. When he’d been done, Cale had simply waved his hand, not a single change visible in his expression. And then, with the most serious face he’d ever seen anyone have, he’d said the following: ‘You are still young, so there’s no need for you to tie yourself down to someone like me. Do whatever you want to, I don’t care. If you’re hungry, Beacrox can cook you a meal anytime.’
Choi Han had almost burst out in laughter upon being called ‘still young’. He was older than that old butler around Cale, and yet, Cale treating him like that, it felt nice. The only person he wanted to be tied down was to “someone like Cale” indeed. The moment he’d fully decided to follow this person, not just subconsciously by instinct, must have been after hearing and realizing the meaning of this reply as well.
“They’re waiting on the rooftop of the castle, as you instructed yesterday, Cale-nim.”
Lazily, Cale nodded, patting Choi Han’s shoulder as he approached the door. Glancing back at the taller swordsmaster, Cale waved at him to follow him.
“If you’re not sick, let’s go. The battle should begin soon.”
Choi Han’s eyes immediately light up – he behaved oddly similar to an actual innocent puppy in Cale’s presence. It was to the extent that Cale already began to wonder whether the contents of ‘The Birth of a Hero’ weren’t complete and utter bullshit. That side-characters such as Deruth had different personalities was kind of alright, given that they were just ‘side’-characters, yet the main cast was different from the novel too, the best examples being Ron, Beacrox and Alberu. But that the author got even the main character’s, the protagonist’s, personality wrong, the one person that was at the epitome of all events inside the book; that was simply shameful.
“Yes, Cale-nim.”
The two of them, Roan Kingdom’s Military Commander Cale Henituse (also known as Commander Young Master Silver Light) and his guardian knight Choi Han walked down the hallways to the staircase and then ascended to the rooftop of the Henituse Castle.
Most of the guards were stationed on the rooftop, and as soon as the door opened and Cale walked through it, they bowed their heads in respect. The rumors surrounding Cale in the Henituse territory seemed forgotten in the presence of the man himself – the aura surrounding him was otherworldly and definitely not an aura a trash could possess. No one dared to speak or voice their thoughts though, the air surrounding Commander Cale Henituse didn’t allow it.
The rooftop, which had just been filled with low and worried murmurs, was suddenly completely silent.
Cale’s people, Beacrox, Mary and the ancient dragon, bowed down their heads as well upon Cale’s arrival next to them. Violan Henituse and her son Basen Henituse stood a few steps away from them. Cale glanced at them in the passing, receiving two bows as well. He ignored it. As discussed, his biological father was not here, so was the young Lily Henituse.
With the scene all set, the act could finally begin. The low wind blew the few lose strands out of Cale’s hair. Then a sudden but familiar weight pressed down on his shoulder; a small smile tugged on the redhead’s lips which he quickly repressed.
-Human! Is it finally starting?
Cale gave a low hum, then turned around so that he was facing the soldiers rather than letting them see his back. The small smile was gone, replaced by an expression so cold and empty, some soldiers had to suppress a shudder.
This young man with an expression that hard and cold was, before he was Crown Prince Alberu Crossman’s lover, Roan Kingdom’s Military Commander. He was young and frail, and yet…that expression made him seem reliable. The soldiers couldn’t help but feel themselves getting drawn to Cale Henituse – subconsciously agreeing that they’d do whatever he told them to.
The twenty year old glanced around, seemingly glancing over every single soldier individually, making them shudder and automatically straighten their backs to seem more capable than they felt.
-I can feel something approaching, so be quick.
Hearing the ancient dragon’s words in his head, Cale gave a quick nod only Eruhaben would notice. He then opened his mouth, speaking in a calm and calm voice which got carried by the wind – though it was actually amplified with Eruhaben’s sound magic. Still, it appeared calm and just loud enough for it to be quiet.
“Please do not worry. The Henituse Castle which protects the kingdom from the Forest of Darkness and has done so for centuries will not fall. The shield will not fall. I, your Military Commander, promise you that.”
The words Cale spoke were few and a bit cryptic, wasn’t he known to be Young Master Silver Light with the holy Silver Shield that protected the Plaza from the magic bombs two years back. Automatically, the soldiers bowed their heads, putting their trust in this twenty year old kid who was so much younger than most of them.
‘The shield will not fall.’
That was the phrase that stuck to all of their minds. It would become the motto of this and many battles to come.
Notes:
Hi~
I'm back from vacation, didn't manage to finish this chapter in Spain, but completed it today instead! I didn't plan to write it, and honestly, I wanted it to go in another direction, but you know what, I decided that this was way better than what I've originally had in mind! I'm so glad I managed to finish it too! Hehehe!In any case, with this done, I may or may not publish another chapter before trying to publish one once a month - depends on my studies though. For those who still don't know/or forgot, the next two years are incredibly important for my "Abitur", which is like a highschool diploma, I can't exactly compare it though. In any case, all of my grades for the next two years count, so I can't afford to slack now TvT, my poor lifeeeeee...
Well, it is what it is :3
I bought the offical book translation of TCF and GUYS HELP ME WITH THE NAMES I CAN'T TAKE BENION, VICROSS, RAWOON AND ALBERT CROSSMAN SERIOUSLY
¯\_༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽_/¯
It hurts so much, especially Alberu's name TT, like leave the poor man alone, his name is ALBERU CROSSMAN of the ROAN Kingdom WAHHHHHHH!
And honestly, BENION STAN???? That gotta be a joke pls
(¬_¬)There are a lot of other changes like Amiru being called Amir or Wheelsman being called Whilsman (I only skipped over the pages and noticed these changes, maybe they're typos, which I so desperately hope for, tho I can confirm that the other names were really changed T^T)
I can't take Benion Stan serious still...In any case, I'm still overly glad I got the book. The translation at eatapplepies is still out, at least last time I checked, so I'll forever and always return to that website with the original names :3
(Alberu Crossman, seriously? Fuck, I may somehow accept Alver as some sort of nickname but ALBERT kill me now pls)Enough with my complaining, hehe. School begins on Monday, huh? Ugh, I'm so freaking nervous, but everyone says that I've got it...and it not, welp, I can always jump off some bridge :) [DON'T TAKE ME SERIOUS IT IS A JOKE GUYS A JOKE]
I really hope you've enjoyed the chaper and the mini cliffhanger at the end of it ;)
Who knows, maybe I'll manage to squeeze out another chapter, and if not, then not
(◡‿◡✿)Until next time!
<3
Chapter 67: 65. The Shield Will Not Fall (2)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Depression's been hitting hard lately so all of you are getting a piece of it :)
Notes:
Please be careful since this chapter contains the following triggering topics (I did mark the worst ones with the '[T]'; but my take on it may differ from yours, so please read with extra care!):
- Survivor's guilt/pathological guilt
- Severe PTSD
- Imposter syndrome
- contains suicidal thoughts
- past child abuse (flashback)
- hints at severe depression
- severe anxiety (graphic depiction of an anxiety attack)
- graphic depiction of a panic attackIN CASE I FORGOT SOMETHING (again), please tell me and either my beta or I will add it.
Apologies in advance, I didn't do it intentionally!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Mary.”
Cale didn’t need to say more as the young girl next to him who was actually older than him stretched out both of her hands in front of her, brows furrowed in concentration as she called upon the bones that Cale and Raon had gifted her a while back. The black hood was pulled deep into her face, covering her arms in the same manner, and yet it was inventible that the wide, black sleeves fluttered back in the wind, revealing pale hands covered in black veins. The hand of the tiny girl looked inhumane and yet even the soldiers standing closest to the girl didn’t let out a sound of discomfort. Rather than that, after countless bones flew up in the air in front of the Henituse Castle, rearranging themselves into the shapes of wyverns.
Murmurs of awe escaped the one or other soldiers as all of them clenched their weapon tighter, feeling as if the battle that was about to commence in front of them was beyond them – and to be frank, they weren't exactly wrong. With two dragons present at the scene as well as a swordsmaster and a greatsword wielder who was strong enough to be compared to an experienced swordsman of the highest level as well as a necromancer whose power probably exceeded that of Choi Han at the moment…Not to forget their own Military Commander Young Master Silver Light, yes, the battle was most likely beyond them.
There, in the faraway sky, small dots were beginning to appear in a similar manner.
‘A flying army using wyverns as their ground in the air.’
Cale couldn’t help but smile at that thought. While there was an army of about thirty wyverns approaching them, both the ancient and the baby dragon had informed him of the number at once, with another couple hundred soldiers approaching them from the ground, Cale and his allies would be more than enough to take care of everything.
Honestly, the number of bear tribe beast people on the ground was a bit more than he’d expected, but he could tell that they were all foot-soldiers. Cale, despite his recent struggles with the ability, activated ‘Record’. It worked just fine, which was something he felt infinitely grateful for. Using it to calculate all possible ways to approach this battle, the redhead reached out to grab the ancient dragon’s sleeve. Contrary to a normal knight, Eruhaben under the code name of ‘Haben’ wore a simple knights’ uniform without armor. The scabbard hanging on his hip with the sword inside was the only thing that displayed his position.
‘Haben’, who was actually an ancient dragon, raised his brow, glancing at Cale only to see that the young brat wasn’t even looking at him, instead staring down at an army that should have been too far away for a normal human to see – both on the ground and in the air.
“What is it, brat?”
Cale’s people stood a fair distance away from the other soldiers and people, which allowed Eruhaben to talk so casually to Cale. Naturally, the redhead was used to it.
“Eruhaben-nim, I know you came here to stay by my side, but I think Choi Han won’t suffice on the ground.”
Eruhaben raised his other brow as well, a silent question written all over his face along the lines of ‘what would you have done if I hadn’t come here?’ – it was a question that didn’t really require an answer, given that Eruhaben knew it too well. Cale was someone who planned everything thoroughly, forming a plan based on the worst possible outcome. He may have calculated a plan based on fewer enemies, yet even if they turned out to be more than expected, Cale had a solution.
That solution of his had no use in this battle though, getting replaced by the ancient dragon. Sighing, Eruhaben nodded his head, pulling out a long, golden sword from its old leather scabbard. It was a sword unlike any the guards had seen before. Its color wasn’t purely gold, no, it was a mixture of gold and white, but there was also blue in it. It was a sword so unique and not only in color but also in from. As a longsword, it was longer than Choi Han’s bastard sword, yet shorter than Beacrox’ greatsword, and yet the somewhat curved form reminded of a scimitar or saber, and yet the sword was much thinner and more delicate. It made the impression of being easy to break and yet, just like their twenty year old Young Master Silver Light, it gave off an aura no sword had.
The soldiers felt a bit ridiculous at the thought of a sword giving off an aura, but they could not describe what they saw in front of them in other words.
“Don’t overwork yourself, you brat, else I’ll help the punk chain you to the bed.”
There was a small smile tugging on Cale’s lips as he nodded his head. That smile, had Eruhaben looked closer, was anything but his usual smile which showed that Cale understood the ancient dragon’s words as what they were – a joke. No, the smile Cale had on his lips was more of a forced one. He knew, inside his mind, that Eruhaben didn’t mean what he said. He didn’t mean those words. No one did. He was a free man, he could do anything he wanted, whatever-
‘Keep it together for one damn battle.’
Cale’s inner voice quickly brought himself back to reality. Eruhaben had already left his side and jumped down on the battle field. Cale felt relieved that the ancient dragon didn’t pay too much attention to him for a change. Taking a deep breath, Cale did his best to focus again.
-Human, something about you feels odd. Are you cold?
The young dragon’s voice inside his mind quickly stopped Cale’s train of thoughts. Raising his brows, Cale shook his head.
“The weather is cold; it must rub off on me.”
-You’re so weak, human! Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm!
Through the invisible eight year old’s voice Cale could unmistakably hear a pout, one he’d have loved to see. Nevertheless, he nodded his head.
‘Thermal magic is always nice.’
With the only exception that it didn’t warm Cale, even after Raon had cast it. Cale felt just like before. He wasn’t exactly cold, at least not very cold. He felt the same as usual, but with now both Choi Han and Raon picking up on his unusual cold body…whatever, he didn’t have to think about any of this now, not when he had a battle to command in front of him. Using ‘Record’ once more, this time to suppress useless thoughts from rising to the surface, Cale returned to his calm and calculating state from before.
It was then that he and Choi Han made eye-contact. With a nod of his head, the swordsmaster stepped closer to the edge of the Henituse castle, waiting for his time. In the meantime, Beacrox patted Cale’s shoulder.
“Young master-nim, when this is over, I’ll cook you a big meal. Don’t think I missed you skipping dinner yesterday.”
Cale furrowed his brows, but the cook’s deadpan expression reminded the same. His eyes though, Cale could easily tell, had softened. The redhead couldn’t find it in himself to shake his head and say that he didn’t have an appetite. If he had to, he’d force the food down his throat, and be it only to make the cook a little bit happier and less worried.
“Of course.”
Cale’s nonchalant answer was the same as always, maybe it was that which allowed a small smirk to find its way to Beacrox’ lips, though only for a split second. Cale had recorded it though. With a nod of his head, Beacrox approached the edge of the castle just like Choi Han, yet rather than to remain standing like the swordsmaster, he jumped down the around forty feet distance to the ground like the ancient dragon disguised as a knight had. And just like before, the soldiers gasped in surprise, low murmurs finally erupting between them.
The battle hadn’t even begun and two of Cale’s people had already done something so unusual and surprising that the soldier’s morale was so high up, it seemed impossible. The wyverns had closed in a good chunk of distance, and yet everyone was still calm. It would soon be Cale’s and Raon’s time to act and fulfill their role in this play. Before though, Cale turned around to Mary who was standing next to him. Her brows were furrowed in concentration, but she was not struggling. He could tell because there was no sweat running down her forehead and no pressure written over her body. She stood relaxed, waiting for the battle to begin. Patting her shoulder, Cale then sat down on the floor.
He knew exactly what it must have looked like to the soldiers and his family, yet he also knew that he was about to keep up his Indestructible Shield for a long while, an hour at best and two and a half at worst. He needed to head to the Urbarr Territory’s shorelines after, to their naval base, so he needed to reserve his energy as best as he could.
‘Operation Ghost’ may be at night, but that didn’t mean that Cale would get to rest much and with his odd sleeping habit nowadays, well, he’d rather not try to wake up drenched in cold sweat again.
More murmurs from the soldiers followed, yet Cale ignored all of them, focusing on the young Raon’s voice instead. The two kittens that had been carried in Beacrox’ hands before sat down next to him, patting his tights with their tiny paws. It was cute but Cale felt incredibly ridiculous, yet ignored that too.
“Meow.”
“Meowww.”
The two kittens, On and Hong, Cale had forbidden them from participating in this battle. Of course their abilities would be overly useful for a battle on the ground in front of the castle’s gates, but he didn’t want children overstraining themselves. Raon, of course, was a different story – though he only allowed the young dragon to participate because he knew that the eight year old was incredibly powerful. Not yet on par with Eruhaben, but closing in (in a few years at least).
-Human! You’re so weak! You can’t even stand for long when you’re going to use your shield!
‘Yes, I’m weak, very weak.’
Cale nodded his head in agreement, then felt Raon’s weight disappear from his shoulder. He could see that Mary changed her stance, most likely the young dragon had settled down on her shoulder instead.
-I’ll cast the shield then! If you get tired human you have to tell me!
Cale didn’t nod, instead began to use the Indestructible Shield ancient power.
-I’m hungry!
The glutton’s words were the same as always so Cale was proud to call himself a master of ignoring her voice. The text moment, a silver string which attached Cale to the silver shield forming above him shone brightly, that is until it was so thin in comparison to the growing holy shield that covered the entire castle and more that the silver string looked like nothing. The shield, on the other hand, was all the soldiers and even the citizens could think about in the moment it appeared.
Yes, this silver shield would not break – it would not fall, just like Cale had said.
And just like this, the last preparations were made before the battle of the Henituse Castle finally commenced. The soldier’s morale, not once, went down, not at the appearance at Paerun’s Guardian Knight Clopeh Sekka and not at the revelation of the casual man who was the actual leader of this attack on their enemy’s side. When he had clashed swords with Choi Han, who had only stepped foot on the battle field after the appearance of a black-bone dragon controlled by the necromancer to fight Clopeh, and when he had almost lost before he had seemingly won…the soldiers as well as the citizens could only feel happy and glad.
And the man who allowed such feelings to overcome every watcher of the battle was sitting on the ground between two small kittens with blood running down the corners of his lips and his raised arms shaking. Every single time a soldier glanced at the Military Commander, he couldn’t help but feel bad for feeling so overjoyed by their kingdom’s obvious victory.
Naturally, Cale’s arms were only shaking because he was unused to holding them up for so long while the dark blood running down the corners of his mouth was making him feel better. Raon and the kittens, as well as all of Cale’s people, had they looked, could tell the difference. He was truly, for once, fine.
“Cough, cough!”
The same couldn’t be said for the Countess and her son though. With wide eyes the mother and son stared at the on the floor sitting youth who seemed to be struggling, close to passing out while protecting all of them from the danger beyond his shield. And when the battle ended and he was finally able to put down the shield, when all of his allies returned to the rooftop and seemed nonchalant of the blood that was still running down the corners of his mouth-
“Cale! Are you alright?! Gods, why are you bleeding so much?!”
When the golden haired guardian knight – Haben, Violan reminded herself – helped Cale up, pulling him up effortlessly while hiding a frown besides his calm expression, the Countess hurried to Cale, attempting to hug him, yet unable to do so with the tall guardian knight standing in front of her. She cleared her throat giving her best to pretend she hadn’t just attempted to hug the redheaded youth and failed.
“…I’m just fine.”
The redhead had the same expression on his face, the same look in his eyes, the same posture as always…he seemed fine just like he said, and yet the blood running down his chin-
“Ah, it’s nothing serious. Just the reaction from my ancient power.”
The redhead raised his arm to his chin, “wiping” away the blood with the black sleeve of his jacket, though he only smeared it across his chin. The ancient dragon clicked his tongue in discontent and it wasn’t until Beacrox handed him a white handkerchief that the guardian knight properly wiped away the blood, at least from Cale’s chin and neck.
“The little brat always coughs blood, as if he has an infinite amount of it stored in that tiny body of his.”
Cale rolled his eyes, yet saying nothing against ‘Haben’s’ words. The guardian knight continued to say something and at some point, Beacrox, Choi Han and Mary chimed in. All of them, they were supposed to be strangers. Besides Beacrox, none of them knew Cale as long as he had known him, and yet all of them seemed to know him so much better. The guardian knight, ‘Haben’, at some point when he was fourteen, Cale had brought him home after his vacation with the crown prince.
Ah, the crown prince, the man who was Violan’s son’s lover, boyfriend. He knew him even better than any of these people, Violan was certain. All of them felt so close. It dawned to the Countess like nothing had ever before, that she’d missed her chance. But…It was a good thing, she decided. Because if Cale had developed a motherly or even friendly relationship to her, maybe then she’d have bound him to the Henituse County, held him back from all the things he’d already achieved, from his dreams.
Still, Violan would never stop worrying about Cale, or treating him as if he was her own son. Basen seemed still in shock as he remained standing close to Cale, asking questions whether he truly, really, was alright. He was so young when his older brother had left the Estate, no, he was too young to properly remember Cale Henituse. His father, Deruth, never talked about Cale, so all he had were his mother’s tales where she explained what a fragile child Cale was, how delicate he needed to be treated and that the Henituse County couldn’t treat him the way he needed which was why he was taken in by the crown prince who would be able to treat him the most carefully out of everyone.
Now that Basen had grown up, he could tell that Cale was indeed delicate, though his reason for leaving the County must have been an argument with their father. He felt…sad.
Time flew by as their soldiers and citizens cheered – even long after Cale and his group headed inside. Tears of joy cascaded most of their faces and while Basen followed his older brother, Violan stayed behind, utterly stunned to the bone. It was only now that she looked past the Henituse castle edge that she realized how much destruction the battle beyond the shield had caused. And the shield, no, Cale had protected all of them from falling victim to those violent forces.
That was the power of Roan’s Military Commander.
~
After Cale was forced to eat a proper meal under the watchful eyes of his friends and family with Beacrox putting way too much food on his plate and Eruhaben not letting him go to take care of business until he finished it all, the redhead as well as the invisible Raon headed down to the basement of the Henituse Castle with Beacrox and Mary following behind them. As Eruhaben and Choi Han stayed behind in the kitchen (Cale didn’t question it, given that it couldn’t be anything too major besides cleaning up, given that Beacrox didn’t have the time to do it), Cale also needed to pay a visit to the Count and give a report – but a formality he’d have loved to ignore. After, he’d have to go to the Naval Base and begin ‘Operation Ghost’, then another military meeting followed until he was finally free to return to the castle. He was already looking forward to seeing Alberu in person again, getting hugged by him and simply snuggle with him on the couch while the older talked about whatever was on his mind-
-‘Would he do that if he knew that you’re a murderer and imposter?’
Cale’s entire body froze mid-step at the thought, almost causing Mary to walk into him. Confused, the necromancer tugged on his sleeve at which Cale started moving again, waving his hand in dismissal. He managed to hide his terror behind his usual calm expression – finally able to hide it well-enough for not even Raon to question his sudden stop, thinking one of his ancient powers must have said something like so many times before.
‘Alberu knows about my past. He knows. He still loves me.’
The other voice in Cale’s head which didn’t belong to either of his ancient powers stayed silent at that response, yet that silence rather than its defeat felt like it was mocking him. It stayed that way until Cale was done with his conversation with Clopeh and the instructions he gave both Mary and Beacrox.
-Human, I’ll stay behind with strong Beacrox, so wait for the both of us before moving on! Take Goldie Gramps with you when you visit that bastard Count!
Cale gave a quick nod, already planning to. There was no way he’d want to face Deruth by himself-
-‘Aren’t you bothering that old dragon too much? Anyone’d be annoyed when someone like you popped into their life and demanded the attention you do.’
Cale was already half out of the basement when the voice hit him again. This time, it hit harder than before. While there was one thing Cale could 100% be certain of – that thing being the fact that Alberu loved him – ‘at least he promised to love you’, the voice replied to the thought in that traitorous voice – but if it was to talk about someone, anyone, else…
Honestly, Cale suddenly felt like a bother, as if he was annoying everyone around him. Hell, the day he’d met Eruhaben when he’d been fourteen, Alberu had practically begged him for his help to find the earth-attribute ancient power, and after, he’d simply stayed. Why did he stay? Was it because Cale made him feel responsible for him?
-‘Of course that’s the reason, you fool. What did you think; that an ancient dragon cares about a puny human such as yourself?’
The voice was annoying.
It was annoying because it voiced the very thoughts Cale had had for such a long time, and yet he never noticed it. Never realized that such traitorous thoughts might be the truth – that everyone was staying with him out of a sense of responsibility.
The voice remained quiet, yet Cale’s thoughts began to flood his mind, wave after wave of thoughts ‘Record’ managed to suppress before Cale had ever noticed he’d had them. ‘Record’ was an amazing filter, huh? And now that filter had seemingly broken, making Cale’s head spin in a mess of pessimistic thoughts mixed with old memories which, for a change, were just that, memories and not records. It were the memories from his childhood as Kim Rok Soo.
-‘The only thing you do is take away my money! You’re a good-for-nothing!’
-‘You aren’t even worth enough to use as a betting stake because everyone knows that you are worth less than the dirt under my shoe!’
-‘No one will ever be able to love someone like you!’
[T]
-‘You are the reason your parents died! It could have been you and not them!’
Cale almost fell over the steps in front of him as those last two memories crashed into him. At the same time, an oddly familiar record began to play, one of Deruth Henituse. Ah, it was his first day when he woke up as the eight year old Cale Henituse – Cale’s biological mother’s funeral. When he’d first seen his father who’d been described as a loving father in the novel, those hateful eyes of his, that rage…right, it was all too familiar. He’d blamed Cale just like Kim Seung Jong had blamed Kim Rok Soo.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Kim Rok Soo had become Cale Henituse that very day. Then at least Cale didn’t need to experience getting looked at with such wild and mad eyes. No child deserved it, but Kim Rok Soo was no child, never had been. Right, what he was-
‘Monster! You’re a devilish monster!’
The lunch he’d just eaten threatened to come up again, and before Cale knew what came over him, he had exited the staircase, thankfully keeping himself together. Cold sweat was running down his forehead once again. If he went to see Choi Han and Eruhaben in this state, they’d surely worry and-
-‘Now would he worry or would he be disgusted by your appearance? Just like when he’d wiped your dirty blood off of you for you.’
Cale was frozen in step, breathing heavily while leaning against the wall for support.
-‘Do you know why he did that? So that you wouldn’t disgrace the royal family and Ron.’
[T]
“D-Don’t!”
Cale’s thought spilled from his tongue, uncharacteristically shaky but did so nonetheless. For a change, the voice remained quiet, stopping where it had left as if it took pity on Cale’s struggles. While the redhead would have despised any kind of pity per usual, he’d welcomed it, if it was what managed to shut up that voice.
Giving himself a short moment in which he pieced himself together again, Cale let out a deep breath, getting ready to meet with Deruth.
Alone.
The doors to Deruth Henituse’s office were the same as always, they remained unchanged. It was the same mahogany wood with the golden engravings, the same metallic door handle and the same heavy sensation when Cale finally pushed them open. He hadn’t done so many times in the past, and ye the handful he had, had burnt itself into his memory for seemingly no reason.
Cale felt unusually nervous, as if behind these doors wasn’t Deruth – a man he felt no connection to – but something, someone else. And as he finally managed to push open the doors, he was met with the sight of a man he wasn’t familiar with and yet all too familiar with at the same time.
It was a man he’d last seen so many years, decades ago, that it felt like a cruel joke to see him again. While the things he had done and said to him were burnt into his memory clearer than most memories, his appearance had become a bit blurry. No, it wasn’t quite that, it was just that Kim Seung Jong looked like your average Korean middle-aged man. Short, black hair which was a bit wavy and small, dark eyes; he was a man of average stature, not extremely lean but not too thick either, though he couldn’t be called muscular at all. He wasn’t very tall, around Cale’s height – once again, yet another average thing about him – and yet when Cale had still been Kim Rok Soo in his childhood, Kim Seung Jong had seemed like the biggest giant to have ever existed.
Cale was currently in Deruth’s office. Deruth Henituse, Cale Henituse’s biological father. He was supposed to be a character from a book and inside this book; Kim Rok Soo had become Cale Henituse. Why was Cale Henituse seeing Kim Seung Jong in front of him rather than Deruth Henituse? Why was he-
There was blood dripping down his nose. Contrary to the black blood he’d coughed before, the blood running down his nose, over his lips and dripping down on his chin was of a crimson red resembling his hair color so much, it was a bit ironical. Cale’s hair color was one of the things Alberu loved about his boyfriend, saying that he quite liked the color – yet he despised it when the color came in the form of a liquid.
[T]
“Cale? Son?”
Despite Deruth’s words clearly saying that, all that Cale was able to hear was, ‘Whatcha’ doin’ bleeding again? You’ll get the fuckin’ carpet dirty! Ya think I can afford an infinite amount of those?!’ Once more chills were beginning to form all over his body as he stared at the man who suddenly got up from his chair.
Cale’s legs were shaking. He could feel it. He could not force them to stand still, unlike in the early morning a few hours ago. He tried nonetheless – the only result being him falling to the floor, all strength leaving his body. He had no idea what he looked like, and honestly, he really didn’t want to know. In front of him, Kim Seung Jong was approaching him, most likely to give him a thorough beating for bleeding on the expensive carpet under his feet.
Kim Rok Soo didn’t remember when there had ever been a time in which such a carpet had been deployed on his uncle’s floor, but that was the least of his worries. All he could see was the man with a furious and drunk and mad expression approaching him the way he usually did, in calm, slow steps – frankly, there had never been a reason for Kim Seung Jong to approach Kim Rok Soo with quick steps. The boy was never able to run away – he had tried once and it resulted on the few scars on his back which had never seen the light of day.
“Cale, are you alright? You don’t look-“
‘Rok Soo you useless piece of shit, you little bastard fucker, what did I tell you about the carpet?! And now you sit on it, dirtying it with your filthy self?,’ seemingly through yet another filter, Deruth’s words turned into Kim Seung Jong’s.
There was absolutely no strength in Cale’s body. He didn’t even know whether he had enough strength to breathe properly and yet his arms and legs forced his body up again. He was shaking like a foal, a weak foal brought to the butcher to die. Honestly, he was a foal brought the butcher to be slaughtered, always had been.
“...the carpet, I’m sorry…”
Apologies were of no use, were never of any use – and yet, Kim Seung Jong stopped in his tracks. Cale’s eyes widened even more as he glanced down at the piece of fabric underneath both of their feet. Huh, how were his feet so big?
“What about the carpet? Is something wrong with the carpet?!”
‘You seem to never learn, Rok Soo, but you should thank the gods above that you have a teacher as nice as me, willing to give you lessons every single day without asking anything in return,’ Kim Seung Jong scoffed as he, once again, closed in on Cale. ‘And I’m so generous, letting you leech off my food, electricity, water and place.’
“…yes…generous-“
Cale’s voice was quiet, this time; he’d spoken in Korean, mind unable to wring the words out in the Western Continent’s tongue. Once again, Kim Seung Jong stopped in his approach, raising his hand. What actually was Deruth raising his hand in defense, a sign that he would no longer approach Cale, looked like the familiar sight of Kim Seung Jong raising his hand to ‘teach’ Kim Rok Soo yet another ‘lesson’ in a similar but much more brutal way than his personal tutor Simon Van Augustus had done a few years back.
And then Cale was on the floor again, breathing too fast for his own good while his heartrate was even faster. He wondered, for a split second, what the heck he was actually doing at the moment. A flicker of rationality, bypassing, screamed at him that he was inside the novel ‘The Birth of a Hero’ – a world in which Kim Seung Jong didn’t exist. That he was currently in Deruth Henituse’s office, that the man he was seeing wasn’t Kim Seung Jong but Deruth Henituse.
While not a good father or man, Deruth Henituse was still not nearly comparable to someone like Kim Seung Jong.
[T]
And yet, that flicker of rationality dispersed just as quickly as his subconscious senses had managed to assemble it. His ancient powers which were actually screaming at him went unheard and even ‘Record’ which was going wild (hence the nosebleed) to keep Cale occupied with all sorts of records as far as he didn’t continue hallucinating went unseen.
Then, the door was slammed open so quick and hard, it was the one thing that managed to snap Cale out of whatever state he was currently in.
His head snapped into the direction of the person who’d opened the door, confusion written all over his pale face. There was no cold sweat running down his forehead – which was honestly even worse than if there was. The nosebleed was not stopping and he felt hot, hotter than ever before when ‘Record’ had overheated. And when he locked eyes with him, for a split second, Cale found himself wondering whether he actually deserved all the things that had happened to him, though the answer which was supplied by his mind was obvious.
Notes:
Hi~
School's rough, life's harder and my luck's been running out since 2008 (aka the year I was born in) :3
Lol, that's my new life-motto, 'kay?
In any case, there ain't too much stuff going on rn, just school, really. But school is busy, my personal life as good as non-existent outside Saturdays and Sundays, so...yeah, you understand.
What I'm basically saying is that, for now, you're stuck at this chapter :)
I don't think it was too angsty, like it could be worse, so it ain't that dramatic.
Since I don't have much to say either, these notes are kinda short hehe, but don't worry, I'm fine and all :3, just busy, yk?Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until next time <3
Chapter 68: 66. Are You Okay? (1)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Cale's a mess, I'm not sorry :)
Notes:
Please be careful since this chapter contains the following triggering topics (I did mark the worst ones with the '[T]'; but my take on it may differ from yours, so please read with extra care!):
- Survivor's guilt/pathological guilt
- Severe PTSD
- Imposter syndrome
- Suicidal thoughts
- past child abuse (mentions of it)
- hints at severe depression
- severe anxiety (nothing descriptive I belive...tho I could be wrong so take care!)IN CASE I FORGOT SOMETHING (again), please tell me and either my beta or I will add it.
Apologies in advance, I didn't do it intentionally!
ALSO, please be careful, given that this chapter is a bit, well, personally, I think it hits differently, but in terms of triggers, I don't think it's as bad as the prior ones. Still, read with care <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
There was not much Kim Rok Soo remembered about his own biological parents. He knew that there were a lot of people who seemed to care about them, mourning their deaths exaggeratedly; it looked much like a scene coming straight out of a Soap Opera with all the crying people clothed in black.
And then there was him, Kim Rok Soo, who was seated the closest to the gravestones of his mother and father. There was one portrait standing in front of him, one of his mother and his father, he was certain, yet he couldn’t see the woman and man in the picture. He saw the sunny background, the green trees and even the people standing a few steps behind the couple, but for the love of god, he did not see his parents.
Kim Rok Soo stared at the picture of his parents for a long time, ignoring all of the people coming up to him and giving their condolences and whatnot. Occasionally, someone patted his head, words of encouragement added to the words, but that was about the extent of everything.
At some point, Kim Rok Soo glanced up from the portrait, glancing at the hunched over figure a few feet away. It was a figure so familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time; Kim Rok Soo knew exactly who it was and yet, he didn’t. Because at this point in time, Kim Rok Soo hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting his uncle, Kim Seung Jong, yet.
The first time Kim Rok Soo had laid eyes on his uncle, he had felt sorry for the man. The way he had been hunched over while sitting on the chair…it was a sorry sight. And yet, the closer he approached the man, the more the strong reek of alcohol surrounding the lone figure became. The man, flask of whiskey in hand, had then turned his head to stare at the small child stopping a few feet in front of him, flat expression on his small, childish face.
Kim Seung Jong’s eyes had flashed in anger, and yet, beyond that anger, there was an unexplainable sadness weighing him down. The child in front of him looked so much like his brother, it should have been forbidden. As if he was a copy of him, wasn’t it for those reddish-brown eyes! The woman Kim Seung Jong’s brother married, Kim Rok Soo’s mother, did not have reddish-brown eyes, and his brother didn’t have them either. The red in those mahogany brown irises seemed to scream of the child’s devilish side.
The man could not find it in him to continue to look that child in the eyes much longer, instead turned his head away and gulped down the liquor in his flask. Kim Rok Soo had never been a stupid child, but when he was still young, he’d been quite naïve. He had never seen, let alone met, an alcoholic before, not even encountered a drunk. His parents, they had kept him awfully safe these few years they spent with him.
“…e-excuse me, s-sir-“
Kim Rok Soo hated the way his voice sounded. He knew better than to try to talk to this bastard, and yet, his back then four-year old, childish self didn’t. Innocently, he tugged on Kim Seung Jong’s pants – for the first and only time, his hand had not been pushed away. Maybe his uncle had been cutting him slack, given that he had just lost his parents, or it was because he didn’t want to make a scene out in public like this. Kim Rok Soo couldn’t tell, even now, after so many years have passed.
Kim Seung Jong’s dark eyes had looked down on him, his brows furrowed as if he couldn’t decide what to think of the small child standing in front of him, tugging on his pants. In the end, he had simply left it at that, glancing away and gulping down on his bottle.
Even the young Kim Rok Soo had understood that there was no way this man wanted to talk to him, which was why he let go of the man’s pants and returned to the place he’d sat at before. It was a pillow neither too soft nor too hard on the floor in between his parents’ graves – what a funny sight to the Kim Rok Soo of today who seemed to be looking down on the scene in front of him as a third party.
“Tsk, honestly, isn’t it odd? That child didn’t even cry once, isn’t that kind of strange?”
“I know, something must be wrong with him, I pity poor Seung Jong who is stuck with that kid from now on.”
“Exactly, with a kid stuck to his side he’ll never be able to find a woman willing to marry him, his fate has been sealed!”
“Did you see how the child held on to his pants before? If I were him, I’d have immediately pushed that kid away. No, I wouldn’t have taken him in at all, even if society did shut me down!”
“Naturally, that child is so scary and spooky.”
Kim Rok Soo, as a third party, could hear low whispers and mumbles he hadn’t heard as a kid. They made his heart race before it returned to normal again, or at least he thought it did. Right, he was used to people talking like this about him. This was normal, it didn’t matter. It didn’t hurt him, he didn’t care.
And yet, for some reason, it still made his heartrate go up. He felt oddly short of breath, almost as if he was drowning-
He was drowning.
He was no longer inside that large room where the funeral of his parents had been held all these years ago. No, rather than that, he was inside a large, black place. The sound of sirens, of waves, of nothing and yet of everything went in one ear and out the other. He swallowed something salty, something that made him cough so badly, and yet he knew he couldn’t. If he did cough he would die-
Die?
Since when had he cared about living?
Since when did he try to hang on to life?
He deserved to die, didn’t he?
He was the reason his parents died, the reason his uncle had become this bitter mess of debt and misery. It was only right that the man decided to get rid of him, even if it was by the means of throwing him into the ocean despite Kim Rok Soo never learning to swim. As long as his death made his uncle’s life even a bit easier-
Hands grabbed him; they were so big, big enough to grab him like some pet animal. But it wasn’t the case, he realized with a bit of bitterness, after he was dragged to the surface of the black mass that had been somewhat calming. Animals wouldn’t have been thrown somewhere to drown, at least not like he had been.
He could breathe again, and he could cough without drowning. The person with these big hands was holding on to him carefully, almost as if their life depended on rescuing Kim Rok Soo.
He was dragged back to the shore, police, paramedics and people waited for him. But Kim Rok Soo didn’t care for any of them as he let his eyes wander around; looking for the one person even his seven year old self knew wasn’t there…
With the exception that he did make eye-contact with a person.
It was a very strange person who must have been a foreigner. He was so much taller than most of the other people in the crowd, his long, golden hair almost reaching past his hip. He also wore very strange clothes, something Kim Rok Soo had seen in those historical dramas, though even that didn’t exactly match the foreigner’s style. His face was pale and youthful, arrogant but caring. And then there were his eyes-
His eyes were golden and unlike the eyes of any person Kim Rok Soo had ever seen before. His eyes, they seemed inhumane, like liquid gold had been poured inside his irises and was now constantly moving around the slit-like pupil. That strange reptilian-like pupil which was unlike anything Kim Rok Soo had seen before could only come from a foreigner.
And then, all of a sudden, out of seemingly nowhere, the beach got silent. The crowd of people disappeared, so did the sirens and loud murmurs coming from them. Then Kim Rok Soo didn’t feel cold and wet anymore, didn’t feel anyone holding him up; didn’t see the sand nor hear the soft waves of the ocean gently greeting the shore.
And then he wasn’t little, seven year old Kim Rok Soo anymore but an entirely different person.
He felt like throwing up.
He was sitting on top of a soft carpet. It was too soft, but it was too fancy too. Kim Rok Soo was not good with fancy things, be it furniture or precious individuals, he’d destroy them all. He was a person that didn’t deserve anything fancy anyways, so why bother with it? The way his nose bled on the carpet, ruining it in the process, was proof enough, no?
Kim Rok Soo-
Ah, right, he wasn’t Kim Rok Soo anymore, hadn’t been him in over twelve years. He was Cale now, wasn’t he? Cale Henituse? The guy from that trashy novel he’d read because of Choi Jung Soo’s recommendation?
Wait…who was Choi Jung Soo?
It was a simple name that was swirling around in Cale’s head. He had no particular picture of a face to it, nor did he recall who that guy was. Was he someone close? No, had he been someone close? Cale didn’t think so.
Before the redhead’s mind could wander off again, a hand grabbed his shoulder, gently but firm, as if to keep his consciousness from fading in and out as it had done a couple moments ago. That large hand-
It was the same, Cale noted. The same hand that had grabbed him and rescued him from drowning in the ocean. He looked up, making eye contact with the foreigner from the beach-
Wait, who was that guy? He seemed familiar, and the way he was staring at him, unable to hide his worry, was he someone he, as Cale, was close to? But he wasn’t close to anyone, neither as Kim Rok Soo nor as Cale Henituse. What on earth was going on?
The foreigner was saying something, Cale then noted as he let his eyes wander down from the beautiful man’s face to his moving lips. The muscles in his neck were tense; his words seemed urgent and important. He was sweating too, but his hand was strangely cold.
“…-ok at me, Cale, focus on me, you hear me?”
The silence Cale had been hearing before got replaced by an unusually calm and firm, deep voice. It was the voice of someone who was telling themselves not to worry while focusing on calming down someone who they thought needed it much more than them. And his voice was familiar, it sounded like something Cale had heard a million if not billion times before. It sounded like the voice of a father-
Father?
Cale stared at the beautiful foreigner, at his long, elven ears, at his gorgeous features, at the way he carried himself despite the crouching position he took in order to be face-to-face with him…
“…Eruhaben-nim?”
Cale couldn’t help but frown upon hearing his own voice. It sounded as if someone had taken out his vocal chords rubbed them on a cheese-grater. And as if that wasn’t enough yet, his voice was so quiet, so seemingly uncertain; Cale would have loved to go back to that drowning sensation that was still present in his mind and actually drown.
“…Yes, it is I, child.”
Cale could not, for the love of god, recall the last time Eruhaben had called him that. For some reason, ‘Record’ didn’t jump into action either, which reminded the redhead of the nosebleed he’d either forgotten or deliberately pushed back. Most likely, ‘Record’ had gone haywire just now, resulting in him overheating and the nosebleed. Though it didn’t actually explain the strange and unusual lack of memories. Whatever, he could deal with this later anyways. For now…
“Huh? Where are we?”
Cale couldn’t help but notice the somewhat unfamiliar office surrounding him. Well, it wasn’t actually unfamiliar, given that he knew exactly whose carpet he was ‘destroying’ with his dirty blood.
Eruhaben furrowed his brows, doing his best to not let his obvious worry show. He gently reached up to touch Cale’s forehead, which was clearly hot, given the displeased expression on the ancient dragon’s face. Cale was about to ask more questions, mostly about how his plans were coming along, whether everyone had gotten ready to move yet, but found himself unable to do so due to him being pulled into a tight hug seemingly out of nowhere.
“Absolutely shameless! What is my child doing, worrying an old dragon in his late years before his death such as myself? If I hadn’t been so worried, I’d have thoroughly punished you!”
Naturally, as oblivious as the redhead was, he didn’t follow the ancient dragon’s words. Slowly putting his arms around the ancient dragon’s body, the one person that came the closest to a father-figure next to Ron, he accepted the hug nonetheless. For some reason, he felt sleepy all of a sudden.
He still needed to take care of the war, the operation ghost.
He had planned to make a statement in front of the nobles – a power move to show off his superiority and high position so he wouldn’t be faced with too much opposition in the future. And he did promise to call someone. Someone very important…ah, right, there was this guy whom Cale loved. Alberu. Right, Cale needed to call Alberu and-
“I’m tired.”
The words were out of his mouth before Cale could think about it. In the end, his brain was not functioning properly either way, given that he didn’t even think of the consequences his words could possibly bring with them. Laying his head on the ancient dragon’s shoulder, Cale allowed himself a single moment of rest.
He felt tired and done. He didn’t want to do anything but sleep. And here, with Eruhaben present, he felt like he didn’t need to force himself to stay awake.
The ancient dragon replied something soft, Cale was certain he did, but he didn’t exactly hear, probably because he didn’t particularly listen and was already halfway drifting off to sleep. But it didn’t really matter.
He was then lifted up, just like a child. It felt comforting. Eruhaben was warm.
His words were even warmer, the way he gently stroke through his hair with his long fingers.
Cale fell asleep before he realized.
~
“Team Leader Kim.”
Kim Rok Soo had never gotten used to being called Team Leader Kim no matter how often people called him that, until the end, he had not managed to get rid of that traitorous feeling that a title such as this did not actually belong to him.
The people who called him were supposed to say ‘Team Leader XXX.
It was because the position of Team Leader belonged to but one person in Kim Rok Soo’s opinion.
The man prided himself in being strategic; seeing things others missed easily, and yet, his mind had never once rationalized those thoughts of his.
Now that he was no longer part of Korea, no longer involved with the company and hence the apocalypse, he thought he had gotten over it. He was supposed to get over it, or at least pretend to get over it. He’d usually just stuff those kinds of thoughts away; shove them in a box which he buried some place in his mind he’d make sure he wouldn’t touch again.
But the fact that he was reminded of it again was more than enough proof for Kim Rok Soo that that method had failed. Wait, he wasn’t Kim Rok Soo anymore, no, he was Cale Henituse now. And even as Cale Henituse, he didn’t manage to get over stuff that was a lifetime away.
The redhead did not know what was currently going on. He was surrounded by people, no, not just people. He knew that those guys sitting around him, talking to or about him, were more than just some strangers, but for the love of god, he could not look at them properly, could not hear their voices, could not tell who they were at all.
He felt sick and disgusted by himself.
Clearly, these people knew him, willing to be close to him even after knowing him, and yet he couldn’t even tell who they were.
‘Record’ was failing him again, he realized, bitterness and anger mixing in the mess of confusion reigning in his mind. Kim Rok Soo did not know when ‘Record’ had started failing him, or rather than failing him, working against him. It had always been the one ability he could count on, the one ability that had constantly rescued his and his people’s asses-
Not always.
No, it hadn’t done so at all times. There was a time where ‘Record’ had caused the death of his people. Cale furrowed his brows upon that thought.
‘It has caused the death of my people?’
Information came and went however it’d like inside Cale’s mind. Some snippets were clearer than most, others were so blurry, Cale wasn’t too sure whether it could be counted as a snipped of information inside his mind at all. Names of acquaintances, friends and family, they came and went.
Some, such as ‘Lee Soo Hyuk’ and ‘Choi Jung Soo’ lingered behind, leaving a bad taste on Cale’s tongue. But that wasn’t all. His stomach turned, his heart beat faster and the feeling in his hands and legs disappeared, numbed, for a bit. He felt too cold and too hot at the same time, and there was this anxiousness that he didn’t manage to shake off no matter how hard he tried.
And then the names were gone again, and Cale just felt empty.
As if it weren't just two simple names of people he couldn’t even remember, but two parts of his soul that had been forcefully ripped out.
His mind was too loud.
At the same time though, it was too silent.
Cale could hear every thought, every snippet of a memory; they were yelling, whispering, crying, singing and laughing inside his mind, all at once and yet he didn’t even manage to catch a thing they were trying to tell him, to make him remember.
Before long, Cale gave up trying to understand what was going on. He had stopped paying attention to anything and everything. It was then that his mind was silenced, all of this thoughts returning to wherever they came from.
The redhead looked up. He noticed that he was lying on a bed, a very large but not unfamiliar bed with dark grey sheets that smelled of apple pies and freshly baked cookies but also a sweet smell that definitely didn’t belong to a sweet delicacy. It was a smell Cale was more than familiar with. It wasn’t just sweet, but also fresh, but not spicy like mint. It smelled like fresh grapes and walnuts.
Cale turned his head, quickly noticing that he was not really using an actual pillow but rather a certain someone’s more than comfortable chest. It was also only then that he realized that his boyfriend had slung his arm around his waist, holding him tightly but not uncomfortably, almost as if Cale was a porcelain figure that could break if he was touched the wrong way. And yet, Alberu held him as if his life depended on it.
He seemed tired, with those dark circles under his eyes. He was still in his human disguise, making it appear worse than if he’d been in his normal dark elf appearance. His eyes were closed and he was sleeping, but Cale could tell by his boyfriend’s furrowed brows that it was no peaceful slumber he was engulfed in. He was wearing a completely black suit contrary to his usual white-golden one, which was a bit strange. Even stranger was that he hadn’t taken it off before climbing into bed.
Cale gently turned around, so that he was lying on his stomach. He didn’t question why he was in the palace rather than the Henituse Estate, neither did he question past events. He had a feeling that if he were to think about those thing, he wouldn’t be able to come back to this quiet, somewhat peaceful moment.
His boyfriend was, no questions asked, a looker. He was beyond handsome with those sharp facial features, those full, light rose lips and those long, black lashes. It was a face that would manage to change Cale’s opinion on certain things, had done that more than once, even. A slight smile appeared on Cale’s lips as he used his right hand to gently caress Alberu’s cheek. He didn’t remember when the last time was where he’d done that.
In the past months before he’d traveled to Rain City with Choi Han, Beacrox and the children, the air between Alberu and him had been…tense. Right, it was because Cale chose to take on the role of Commander and somewhat forced Alberu to agree with it and hand that position to him. It was wrong, he’d known that even before he’d asked Alberu, oh well, told Alberu. But things had also calmed, some days. Still, it was as if something was weighing down the air between the two of them, waiting to be said.
Lost in thoughts, Cale didn’t notice how Alberu slowly opened his eyes, blankly staring at his boyfriend whose hand was now gently stroking his hair. It was quite soft, and the movement of combing through his boyfriend’s hair with his hand was a calming one for Cale. It wasn’t until the quarter dark elf’s grip around Cale’s waist tightened that the redhead looked down and locked eyes with his boyfriend.
Sometimes, eyes said more than words ever could, just like a picture spoke louder than a million words. There was a reason behind the saying ‘Eyes were the window to a person’s soul’.
The silence between the two of them was not heavy, but it wasn’t exactly relaxed either. It was more than obvious that something that had been left unsaid for the past couple months couldn’t be left unsaid anymore.
But neither of the two wanted to break the silence.
Alberu didn’t want to pressure Cale and Cale didn’t know where to start explaining.
Whether he even had something to explain.
He himself didn’t know what was going on at the moment. All he knew was that one morning that he’d woken up after he was roughly done with all the preparations for the war, ‘Record’ had decided to do something. What that something was, hell, Cale didn’t even know. It made him forget things, recall memories before forgetting anything but the emotion he’d felt in them. Those emotions…sometimes, they were too much.
And then there was this constant feeling that something was about to go completely wrong. And that other feeling that something was breaking.
‘No, it already broke.’
How on earth was Cale, who had absolutely no experience with talking about himself or his emotions; who couldn’t even recognize them properly, supposed to explain all of that to Alberu?
That one morning, he’d woken up and suddenly forgotten this one thing he still couldn’t remember? That some days, things weren't bad at all, that he was the same as usual, and others, he was just a mess? A mess filled with emotions of the past he couldn’t, for the love of god, recognize? Those feelings of utter despair, as if he’d watched a person he’d burn the world to a crisp for die?
That he felt like an imposter in Cale Henituse’s body – after all these years where he’d felt absolutely nothing?
That he felt like a burden to the people around him because he was just so weak and troublesome and so utterly disappointing?
Was he supposed to burden Alberu Crossman, his beloved boyfriend who was already buried in loads of paperwork because of the war and the kingdom with his childish problems? Or his memories of his childhood as Kim Rok Soo with his abusive uncle Kim Seung Jong?
Alberu was already busy enough.
Cale knew that his boyfriend wouldn’t think that way – he wanted to know. Hell, he knew that there was something, and Cale would definitely tell him, someday. Not everything, he would leave out the worse things Kim Seung Jong did, but he’d tell him. But not today, not during a time of war.
And if Cale didn’t immediately tell Alberu everything, why should he start talking about anything at all?
He could just suck it up, couldn’t he?
Like he always did?
He didn’t want to worry Alberu, to be a burden to him, to-
“Stop.”
Before Cale could continue to ride that train of thoughts, Alberu’s calm voice guided him back to the present. The crown prince’s voice was still a bit hoarse from his sleep, but it was so incredibly gentle and soft-
“Whatever you’re thinking of, don’t. You don’t have to say anything; you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. Just…don’t think about whatever you were just thinking about.”
Cale should have been suspicious. Alberu didn’t usually let him off the hook this easily. But Cale wasn’t his usual self at the moment. He was tired and exhausted, and if Alberu really wouldn’t pressure him for an explanation which would surely exhaust him even more, why should he question it at the moment?
“But I have a question, and I want an honest answer, okay?”
Cale should have been a bit more careful, a bit more attentive too. Yet, the redhead simply nodded, not truly listening to Alberu’s words. The crown prince simply sighed, pulling Cale closer. He gently placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead, letting out a deep sigh.
“Are you okay?”
Notes:
Hi!
Life's been throwing shit at me recently (including a fucking cold I've had for a couple days now, shitty thoughts, and the fact that one of my best friends has been in France [for school reasons] the whole week so I couldnt see her nor chat with her much) and I guess along with an incredibly fucked up mental and physical situation, my motivation's been returning in the form of 'you throw shit at me, I throw it at everyone else' :)
So I apologize for whatever the fuck this chapter is. Just know that I poured all of my frustration into it.
School's...going, somehow. It's neither the best, nor the worst, but it's not something from the middle either. It's just...there? It's easy and difficult at the same time, I can do it and yet I can't do it at the same time. I'm getting stuck on every so little problem in subjects I've never had trouble with and I still don't really have trouble with those subjects to tell the truth. It's just...whenever I sit there, in school, trying to solve it, I suddenly can't. When I do it on my own, I sometimes can, sometimes can't. It's...ye, it's complicated, alright?
I'm a bit of a mess these days, didn't get to write too much, but oh well, today I guess my entire situation caused a new kind of motivation for me :)
But I'm sure it's just temporary, okay? So please really, don't worry! I'm fine, right? And if I'm not too fine right now, I will be someday, sometime in the future, okay? It's okay to have bad days, and if the duration of mine is a little over that of a day, that's fine too.
It's gonna be fine somehow, it always will be :)
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if not, I'm sorry that I didn't manage to write something that you could enjoy, just know that this arc we're at right now ain't the fluffiest ;)
Then, until next time guys
<3[ALSO WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THAT I COULD WRITE IN CURSIVEEEEEE ON AO3 TOO! IT'S NOT EVEN A SKIN; IT'S RICH TEXT OMG I DIDN'T KNOW! I GOTTA CHANGE ALL OF THE CHAPTERS SO THAT MY CURSIVE WORDS WILL BE VISIBLE AS CURSIVE WORDS OMGGGGGGG BUT WHY AM I TOO LAZY]
:)
Chapter 69: 67. Are You Okay? (2)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
It's not very angstyyyy relaxxx :) [At least I think so]
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
There had been a period of time in Kim Rok Soo’s life where he’d been undeniably happy, ecstatic even. That period of time had been the best twenty-three hours of his life. It had been the first time he’d gone down to check his private mail and received two letters – one was a paycheck from the bank, stating that his parents had left him a significant amount of money (for whatever reason the bank didn’t send it earlier), the other was a letter of acceptance from a college Kim Rok Soo had been interested in.
Kim Rok Soo, who’d always been faced with hardships and absolutely no luck during his back then nineteen years of living, he’d been ecstatic and undeniably happy. And he was allowed to be happy for almost an entire day.
One hour before his birthday, the monster apocalypse hit, and all money and college acceptance letters became useless. It was a sick twist of fate, so unfair and cruel, something like this could only happen to Kim Rok Soo. The only thing he’d used the money he’d received on was a cheap instant noodles package since he didn’t want to spend it lavishly. Had he known what the world was about to come to, he’d have visited a gourmet restaurant and ordered the most expensive of meals.
~
Are you okay?
Alberu Crossman had seen his boyfriend’s face twist in a lot of ways apart from either his usual frown or his stoic face that didn’t reveal the slightest of emotions. He’d seen Cale get mad, sad and peaceful – including all emotions in-between. He’d seen his despaired expression, his hopeless face which he’d love to forget, given that it provided additional material for his usual nightmares apart from the thought of Cale dying or getting seriously injured. He’d also seen the redhead turn into a blushing mess just because the two of them got a bit more intimate with each other.
But that kind of expression that was on Cale’s face at the moment, that one he had never seen before. It made him want to take back his question, and yet, at the same time, he couldn’t. A question such as ‘are you okay’ shouldn’t be that difficult to answer.
Either you are okay, or you aren’t.
“…Why are you asking?”
After a few moments which felt like eternity to Alberu, Cale’s reply came. It was delivered with a tone colder than Norland’s climate at the peak of the winter season and an expression that Alberu, for the first time since he’d truly gotten to know Cale, couldn’t read. There was something in Cale’s eyes though, something that managed to make Alberu look away.
The blonde cleared his throat, wrapping his arms around Cale’s thin waist. Immediately, he frowned again. Cale had always been quite skinny, unhealthily skinny, but at the moment, he hit a new low. Alberu had noticed before, when Cale’s usual clothes looked a bit big on him, but neither back then nor at the moment did he dare to speak up and voice his concerns.
Alberu was selfish, yes.
But his love for Cale even surpassed that selfishness which didn’t want him to get hurt or suffer – which automatically happened whenever he noticed that something was wrong with Cale.
So, for now, he had no other choice but to keep his worries to himself. Rather than change the topic, he needed to at least get Cale to talk. He cleared his throat.
“Why wouldn’t I? Can’t I ask how my boyfriend’s doing after he comes home in a passed out state and wakes up while looking like utter shit?”
Most of Alberu’s words were sarcastic, he was trying to sound funny and tough, but even to his own ears, they sounded forced. Forced and worried. If even he heard it-
“…I see.”
-Cale did not notice.
The redhead looked down, unable to see the shocked expression that made its way to Alberu’s pretty face. He turned his head away as if to avoid eye contact – and not just eye contact but to prevent Alberu from looking at his face properly. No questions asked, he appeared to have taken his boyfriend’s words to heart, turning away as if to…
“Ey, look at me when I’m talking to you. I deserve to take a look at my pretty boyfriend’s face now that I don’t see you around as often. If I may remind you, after granting you a position I didn’t want to hand to you.”
Alberu’s (more or less pleading threat) words had immediate impact as Cale quickly turned his head around, as if he was afraid of defying Alberu something like that, yet with painful accuracy he still managed to avoid eye-contact. Sighing, Alberu tightened his grip on Cale’s waist a bit, enough to make Cale glance at him but not enough to hurt him.
“…What?”
Alberu clicked his tongue while crying on the inside. What was he supposed to do?
On one hand, he could easily tell Cale all of his own worries, that he was beyond desperate to get the redhead to open up so that he could process all the things that had happened in his life (because it was beyond obvious that there were a lot of topics he needed to let out sometime contrary to gobbling all of them up to no ends).
But on the other hand, he didn’t want to. Forcing Cale to open up was the same thing as forcing a man with just one arm to hold three full grocery bags with his single hand, heavy things included. Cale was bound to panic…
And if Cale panicked-
The consequences of that were obvious.
Right now, rather than having participated in Operation Ghost, Cale had been asleep for three entire days. And instead of it being a peaceful and relaxing ‘rest’, he’d been restless even in his sleep.
Alberu still clearly remembered Eruhaben’s beyond terrified face when he’d returned with Cale shortly before going back to the others and support them in Cale’s stead. The only thing he’d said was that something had happened to Cale and that he hadn’t been himself. And if one was to trust Deruth’s words too, Cale had acted as if he’d been hallucinating, a prisoner of his own mind.
If that was Cale in a frenzy-
“Don’t you dare deprive me of what little I do see of him. In any case, I just wanted to check up on you since you were out for so long, which is rather unusual for you. Were you that tired?”
Cale stayed silent for a short moment, before shrugging.
“I guess. I got reminded of…something unpleasant, but don’t worry about it since I’m fine now.”
It was a lie.
Cale was anything but fine now.
Alberu could read his boyfriend like an open book – usually that is. That is why, now, at this very moment, when he wasn’t able to do so, he knew that something was wrong, incredibly wrong even. But if that’s what’d help Cale process everything…
Alberu could easily push back his own desire for answers, at least for the moment. When Cale was in a shitty state such as this, there was no need to press further.
“Alright, if you want to talk about it, I’m always all-ears for you, love.”
Even as those words left his mouth, Alberu couldn’t help but laugh at their ridiculousness. And what if the only thing he’d come to realize was that Cale would quite literally rather die than talk about whatever was troubling him, he could still try.
“…Sure.”
Cale’s quiet voice sounded tired and defeated, his slightly slumped shoulders indicated his current state as well. And while there was nothing Alberu would have loved to do more than to tell Cale to go back to sleep again, he couldn’t. It was because he didn’t know what awaited the redhead in his sleep. While sleep had once been a peaceful activity, Alberu didn’t want to risk Cale’s current mental state overwriting that tranquil picture of Cale’s favorite activity. Neither in Cale’s, nor his own mind.
“Alright, then, want to listen to the report of Operation Ghost?”
Cale’s expression immediately changed and his reddish-brown eyes returned to something Alberu was familiar with. A frown (Alberu had never felt more relieved to see such a frown on Cale’s pretty face) replaced the blank expression and finally, the haunted aura surrounding Cale fully dispersed.
Ah.
It was then that Alberu had another thought, one that sounded as absurd as it was possible with Cale.
He was someone who avoided work and only did something if it was absolutely necessary. He was the kind of guy who always spoke about that slacker life of his, a lazy guy through and through. And someone like that, not all too long ago, asked for a position that’s knee-deep in paperwork and strategic work.
Alberu hadn’t understood before, but at this moment, now that he actually saw the change in Cale’s expression-
He’s asked for the position to escape his mind.
Yes, Cale Henituse asked for the position of Military Commander to escape whatever things have been haunting him from his past because he did not want to deal with it. And Alberu, even if he didn’t know at that time, had unconsciously helped Cale – in the worst way possible.
But now that he looked at Cale…
Maybe it was for the better.
Right, Alberu Crossman was an undeniably selfish man. And while he, at some point, started to put all of Cale’s needs before his own, he still didn’t want Cale to get hurt not only for Cale’s sake, but also his own. And if for now, at this moment, pretending that nothing was wrong was easier for Cale…
“How did it go? Did the others manage to do it according to plan?”
Alberu tried his best to let out an unbothered and carefree chuckle. He leaned in and gave Cale a gentle kiss on the forehead, one the redhead simply received.
“Of course, though they did find something unexpected. But it’d be easier if you were to take a look at it yourself.”
Cale nodded and attempted to get up and out of bed – something Alberu prevented him from doing by holding on to his waist, his grip firm yet gentle. Cale raised his brow in question but stayed silent, waiting for Alberu to speak his mind or do whatever he wanted to do – which ended up being yet another kiss, this time on Cale’s nose.
“…What-“
“Tsk, now my boyfriend doesn’t even permit me to enjoy the little moments, huh?”
Alberu got up before Cale could and picked up one of the documents from his desk, handing it to Cale as soon as the latter got up from bed as well.
“Here, Eruhaben-nim wrote it with Raon, so it should be enough to cover the entire operation in detail.”
Cale nodded, half-listening to Alberu while mainly focusing on the document in his hands. For a moment, he thought about using ‘Record’ again, given that it was second nature for him, yet didn’t do so in the end. It was too risky, given that he had no idea whether something bad might happen again.
“Alright, then today’s-“
“You have around two more weeks to prepare for whatever you want to do in the Gorge of Death.”
As usual, Alberu could immediately tell what Cale was up to – something that would usually feel so natural and right, yet only left a bitter aftertaste in the crown prince’s mouth. He quickly cleared his throat, as if to suppress that thought again.
“Is that so? Then I have more time than I expected.”
Alberu nodded, even though he didn’t fully listen to Cale’s words now, his thoughts caught up on the future. He positioned himself right behind Cale, his arms finding their way down to Cale’s waist and wrapping themselves around it. The crown prince then proceeded to put his chin on top of his boyfriend’s head, something the redhead either didn’t notice or mind.
“…in any case, I should have a couple spare days for the moment.”
Alberu only hummed, still lost in thoughts. Finally, Cale seemed to notice his partner’s mental absence. He sighed, putting the document down on Alberu’s work table. He then turned around in his boyfriend’s arms and the taller let him, resulting in the two of them being face-to-face with each other.
There were countless words in between the two of them that were left unsaid, some of which shouldn’t have been kept back. There were also countless words that the couple desperately needed to tell each other but didn’t, and countless words that they wanted to tell each other but didn’t.
Words, those are a funny thing. People say that pictures say more than countless words, others say that between people who know each other very well, words wouldn’t and shouldn’t be needed.
Personally, anyone who knows even the slightest of meaning behind words would disagree. Certainly, there are a lot of times were it’s so much better to just keep quiet and not say anything, and yet, there are so many more times were you simply need to spit out whatever it is that you want to say, even if it’s something you deem to be absolutely unimportant.
Words, they are so much more than just letters formed together with meaning behind it. Words are a person’s strongest weapon, a person’s way through life.
Now what do you think will happen to those who don’t use their strongest and only weapon?
There was a knock on the door and Cale turned back around, walking to the door. Alberu simply let him go. The redhead glanced back at Alberu and behind him; the crown prince could see dark raven hair. So it was Choi Han, huh?
“…I’ll be right back.”
And with those few words, Cale left the room.
Suddenly, Alberu felt a bit strange.
Hollow and ready to burst at the same time.
“I’m sorry.”
His words only came out in a whisper.
~
The Gorge of Death, it was an incredibly deep and wide gorge. After all, there was a reason behind it being one of the five forbidden regions. Doing his best not to shiver in the cold wind, Rosalyn looked up at the dark sky with the countless stars. For a moment, she wondered whether she should start counting them, yet decided against it in the end. Tearing her eyes away from the night sky, Rosalyn did her best to secretly glance at the one person that was the center of attention.
She noticed how most of the soldiers, when they got the chance to, stared at the person that was basically standing at the most dangerous place a person could possibly stand at, right at the edge of the gorge. Naturally, most soldiers were incredibly concerned and worried; after all, that pretty person that seemed so sickly and fragile was the person that was supposed to lead them through the battle in a few days.
But Rosalyn didn’t think that there was a need to worry. While Eruhaben wasn’t with them for this battle, for whatever reason the ancient dragon decided not to come, there was still this tiny somebody who was always glued to Cale’s side.
-Human, don’t stand too close to the edge. You’re making those people worry.
Cale only hummed, yet didn’t take a step back, staring at the other side of the Gorge of Death. Truth to be told, now that he didn’t continuously use ‘Record’, he didn’t pay as much attention to his surroundings as he used to do. Then again, even if he had been using ‘Record’, as lost as he was in his thoughts, he probably wouldn’t have noticed anyways.
-Tsk, cookie prince was right, lemon gramps or goldie gramps should have come with us.
Once again, Raon was left with a mindless reply. And while the dragon felt annoyed, he could easily tell that something seemed off with his human. So much, that it scared him. The young Raon was a very smart and bright child for his age. As he was a dragon, that much was a given. Still, even Eruhaben was impressed at the young dragon’s growth rate. Despite being eight years old already and still not going through his first growth phase, Raon was more than just incredibly powerful. Having spent most of his time with Cale also had an influence on how he grew up.
That was why, someone like Raon, who’d learnt to listen and observe before taking action, could tell that while something was going on with his human, that something shouldn’t be taken lightly. It wasn’t that often that Cale spaced out like this these days.
Actually, compared to before, when he didn’t space out at all, at least not like this, that had been alright. But now, whenever Cale did space out like this…it just felt as if his existence was fleeting. As if he was about to go somewhere.
As if he was about to leave.
Raon, who usually knew better than to think like that, couldn’t help but feel this way whenever Cale’s eyes stared off in the distance without really looking at anything in particular.
Then the redhead took a step forward and he was less than a forth of an inch away from the edge. Truth to be told, he’d have taken a step further. He’d have done it, yes. Not because he actually wanted to, no, but rather because right now, he wasn’t thinking straight. Hadn’t it been for Raon’s head pushing him back, softly yet firmly, Cale would have taken more than just a step further.
-Human, what are you doing?
Raon was unusually calm. His voice wasn’t shivering unlike usual. Finally, Cale snapped out of whatever daze he’d been in before, frowning as he looked at the young dragon – or at least the place he expected the young Raon to be at. Patting his head, Cale let out a deep breath.
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t thinking straight. Nothing happened because you were here.”
While Cale’s words in combination with his gentle pats would have calmed Raon down per usual, he couldn’t help but recall the words Eruhaben had entrusted him in secret about Cale’s actual wellbeing.
‘He is not well, child. He is not well at all.’
Raon, who always trusted Cale’s words before anyone else’s, couldn’t do so anymore. After observing him for the past week and a half, which he spent with Alberu before coming here a few hours ago, Raon had come to the conclusion to trust in the ancient dragon’s words rather than his guardian’s this one time.
-Human, I’m tired.
Hearing Raon’s words, Cale looked up at the sky, a frown settling on his stoic face. Right, it was already a bit late and Raon should have gone to sleep by now.
“Sure, let’s go to the tent, Raon.”
As Cale turned around, utterly oblivious to the gawking eyes on him, he walked with the same grace as always. Some soldiers were taken off guard by his beauty; after all, Cale’s beauty was much different compared to anyone else’s. He was a man, and while he wasn’t small, he wasn’t exactly tall either. His extremely slim shoulders and narrow waist as well as sharp yet pale expression created a feeble and utterly vulnerable picture.
No wonder the crown prince fell for a face like that.
Choi Han, who’d just come back from meeting with Lock, raised his brows in question at Rosalyn. The highest grade mage, who belonged to the group of soldiers that stared at Cale while he walked back to his tent, cleared her throat.
“It’s his aura, I suppose.”
Choi Han frowned, yet did not say anything else as he glared at the few soldiers that happened to look his way on accident.
Inside the tent, Raon quickly turned off his invisibility magic and lay down on the bed. While the bed inside a tent such as this was anything but comfortable compared to what the young dragon was used to, he was fine since his human didn’t seem to mind it either. The young dragon closed his eyes and waited for his human to lie down next to him, yet Cale didn’t do so. Even after a few minutes passed, nothing happened.
Opening his right eye, Roan noticed that Cale was sitting at the desk and looking through the documents he’d brought along once more, probably information about their enemies. While Raon would have left it at that per usual, the young dragon couldn’t hold back this time.
“Human, you’re acting strange these days.”
Upon hearing Raon’s words, Cale put the paper sheets down carefully, turning around slowly, his brows furrowed in question. Raon opened his left eye as well, carefully looking for even the subtlest of change in his guardian’s expression. After all, besides Alberu, he was the one who knew Cale best.
“…What are you talking about, Raon?”
Raon, who knew about his human’s habit of being utterly oblivious to the obvious despite being so damn smart, tilted his head a bit.
“Human, are you sick?”
Cale’s frown deepened. Not in shock, but rather in confusion. Raon couldn’t tell whether he was confused as to how the young dragon found out or confused because he wasn’t actually sick. Well, it didn’t really matter. While Cale was not a liar, there was one person he couldn’t even twist the truth with. That person was naturally the young Raon.
“I’m not sick, don’t worry.”
Raon hummed, but it was obvious that the young dragon didn’t believe his human. It actually wasn’t just because of Eruhaben’s words. He’s seen how careful Alberu was with Cale nowadays, how careful Ron had treated Cale before he, Beacrox and the two cat siblings went off to the Eastern Continent due to some business Cale had over there, or rather to manage his bandit gang.
“Human, if you’re not sick, what is it that’s bothering you so much?”
Obviously taken off guard, Cale remained silent for a while. The moment Raon thought even he couldn’t get a reply out of Cale, the redhead let out a defeated sigh. He got up and sat down right next to Raon, gently patting his scaled back.
“Are you worried, Raon?”
This time, Raon stayed silent. It was because there was no need to answer a question as oblivious as this. Truth to be told, Raon had been incredibly overprotective of Cale ever since his guardian had gotten hurt for the first time, the day they made Bud Illis the Mercenaries King and Cale fell through the ceiling of a few stories. Raon’s guardian was not someone who was careless, but he was someone who was utterly selfless at times. To the point where it wasn’t comprehensible anymore.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Raon.”
There was a very gentle smile on Cale’s lips, now that Raon looked up at him. It was a smile the young dragon hadn’t seen on his guardian’s lips for…a while now. Ah, he didn’t even realize how much he missed being smiled at like that. He continued to stay silent, knowing that Cale wasn’t finished just yet.
“It’s an adult’s job to be worried about a child, not the other way around.”
At this, Raon finally pouted.
“But human, why can’t I be worried about you too?”
Cale let out a low chuckle as he shook his head.
“You can. But you shouldn’t worry too much Raon, not so much that it starts bothering you to this extent.”
The young dragon huffed, yet stayed silent for a moment. Seeing that his human didn’t say anything else either.
“But human, what is bothering you so much? Aren’t you also just a kid for goldie gramps and lemon gramps?”
Cale’s smile got a bit smaller and he scoffed a bit, obviously amused. But his amusement seemed a bit sad to the young Raon.
“I’m not a child, Raon. So enjoy the privilege of being a child as much as you can.”
For some reason, Raon thought that his human’s words sounded biter. Almost as if he was speaking of experience. But then again, his human’s childhood wasn’t one of the best out there.
“Human, you never told me how you found me.”
Deciding to drop the topic because even the young Raon could tell that if he was to continue it would cause more harm than good, the young dragon used his opportunity to ask more questions he’d wanted an answer to for quite some time now.
Cale’s smile immediately softened a bit and his pats got a bit gentler again.
“I picked you up, of course.”
Curiously, Raon looked up at Cale.
“Picked me up?”
“Mn, picked you up.”
While any ‘normal’ dragon would have been utterly furious at the term Cale was using, Raon thought that it was fitting. He didn’t even know why he thought that way himself.
“Picked me up from where?”
Cale’s smile got a bit wider.
“From some bad guys.”
At this, Raon’s smile widened too.
“So you picked me up while you were looting some bad guys?”
Cale couldn’t help but chuckle, yet nodded nonetheless since it was the truth in the end. To Raon, for some reason even he himself couldn’t fully understand, Cale’s answer to his question was more than enough. No, it was actually incredibly interesting and fitting. He preferred being picked up during a loot by Cale rather than anything else. Maybe it was because the story was so Cale-ish.
“Human, do you like me more than the cookie prince? I won’t tell him if you say yes.”
Chuckling, Cale nodded his head, gently patting the suddenly sleepy Raon’s head- Cale himself was incredibly tired too, seemingly out of nowhere. Suppressing his yawn, he took one last glance at the desk with the documents. Against his own plans, he’d used ‘Record’ to memorize everything, so it shouldn’t be an issue if he were to go to sleep now. He’d been busy these last couple days, even before he came here a few hours ago.
Of course, it should be fine for him to close his eyes, just for a bit. To go to sleep, just for a bit. He felt incredibly peaceful and tranquil at the moment, something he hadn’t felt in weeks actually. Maybe it was part of the effect Raon’s questions had left on him.
Leaning back against the soft pillow, Cale finally closed his eyes, confident that in case something happened, his people would notify him in time. Not to forget that Raon was here as well. Even if he shouldn’t wake up in time, the young dragon would make sure that he would.
The slight smile that was on Cale’s lips as he thought of that was incredibly precious and rare.
He sincerely hoped that today, he wouldn’t have a nightmare, even if it was just today.
Surprisingly enough, he also didn’t have a nightmare. It was the last three peaceful hours of sleep he’d be getting in a long while.
Notes:
Hiiiiii guyssss, guess who's back (not)?
I just found some lose time on my hands and thought, heyyy, lets update this, cuy finally my motivation hittttt me :D
(I actually dont have anytime, it is currently thursday, no wait, its already friday and almost 1am and I have school tomorrow and have to get up at 6am and yeah, I'm utterly fucked.)Anyways, quick life update:
1. I am not dead (yet)
2. School's shit, I hate my life, I hate every single day I need to attend classes that dont even interest me
3. A lot of really embarrassing stuff happened, so I'm just gonna start with naming a few like an argument I had with one of my teachers (in front of the class), my backpack getting stuck on a gum and being really sticky (that one was disgusting af guys, I had to wash my backpack and went to school with one of my mother's bags which I still use from time to time cuz daymn, that shit is hella comfortable) and getting rejected by my crush before I could even confess (which was like, super embarassing guys...I promise I'm not ugly, like fr, but he didnt even look at me when I tried to talk to him, which, in my definition, is equal to a rejection, so yeah...)
Oi, talk about ao3 author curse, I became a cat owner for a day before my kitten had to go (because my mother and brother have a cat allergy) TvT
my despair be hitting another dimension.
That shit hurts guys, like I wanted a cat since ever since I could remember, but yeah, it is what it is ig.Ahhh, and lastly, apparently, I'm good at writing poems :D
In any case, this should be it from my sleep deprived mind. Pardon any grammar mistakes in this, I wrote this while falling half asleep, staying half awake cuz daymn, sleep aint ever coming easy to me (ye, I'm internally crying rn)
I have absolutely no idea when the next update will be tho. Just know that i havent abandoned this yet and also dont plan to do so anytime soon. Ik that this chapter is a bit short, but a longer one is (hopefully) going to come soon.
Until then, stay safe! Don't get sick and hopefully enjoy this stuff for the time being lolll.
See ya next time then <3
Chapter 70: Christmas Special Chapter (Part 1: Angst)
Summary:
KRS childhood memory :)
Notes:
Hellooooo everyone, I wish y'all a Merry Christmas haha!
This year, I've been a bit busy with school, hence didn't manage to get as far with this fic as I would have liked to, so for Christmas, you're getting two special chapters this year, both longer than last years!
This one, is a bit more angsty, for all my angst lovers out there haha.
It may seem unfinished, but that effect is intended, so dw about it!
Disclaimer: This is not something you HAVE TO read, and it's not relevant to the story in any way. Just a small angsty treat for those who enjoy it. If you prefer fluff, I also uploaded a flully special chapter for Christmas, so don't worry about it haha!
Triggering topics in this chapters are: Child neglect, Child abuse, Bullying (mentions of blood and vomiting in the end)
Then, have fun with this lollll <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kim Rok Soo had never liked the winter season.
“…and that is how you analyze poems. Don’t forget to determine the meter and the general structure first before going into detail…”
The monotone voice of the Korean teacher blended in with the background as Kim Rok Soo solely focused on what was going on outside this dull classroom. Usually, paying attention in class was something he always did; rarely did he allow his thoughts to wander off to someplace else. Whenever he did, he never ended up in a good place anyways.
Sometimes, it was difficult to pay attention to class and push back everything else that was going on in his life which, honestly, wasn’t much. Shouldn’t be much.
“…and add stylistic devices in your essays to…”
‘It’s snowing.’
The Korean teacher’s words were almost inaudible now. Looking out the window, Kim Rok Soo realized that it was beginning to snow. Since it was winter, snow was mandatory, no? Still, for the snow to come at a time like this…Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but feel like even the world itself was making a fool out of him.
It was late December, three days before Christmas and the last day of school before winter break. So far, it hadn’t snowed once in Seoul. Even in the outskirts, it had snowed, but not in the big metropole.
Kim Rok Soo did not like the snow.
No, that wasn’t exactly true.
The only thing about winter that Kim Rok Soo somehow didn’t entirely detest was the snow. Something about the process of H2O particles falling from the sky and freezing into snowflakes because the temperature was below 0°C, the freezing point of water, was a bit interesting. When he’d been a bit younger, Kim Rok Soo thought that it looked magical. And even now, if he was to be completely honest with himself (which he naturally wasn’t), he still thought that way.
Furthermore, snow had a pretty white color. Its white snowflakes that covered the earth hid everything, the dirt, the trash, underneath a layer of pure white innocence. That was perhaps the most magical thing about snow, the way it covered everything up regardless of what it was.
Just like his uncle Kim Seung Jong.
That was why Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but detest the snow.
Bam.
The loud sound of something being dropped managed to snap Kim Rok Soo out of his ‘daydreams’. The boy turned around, immediately locking eyes with his Korean teacher. Her name was Han Yi Song, if Kim Rok Soo remembered correctly. He never really payed attention to names, since he usually never conversed with anyone. And since his uncle also never showed up to teacher-parents meetings, he also never really needed to. After all, no teacher invited his uncle anymore.
In the end, the teachers also didn’t pay attention to Kim Rok Soo. At some point, they just stopped. So Kim Rok Soo really didn’t need to pay attention to a teacher’s name.
“Rok Soo, what are you doing looking out the window? Is my class that boring?”
Honestly, yes, this class was that boring.
Kim Rok Soo did not voice his honest thoughts. Instead, he simply shrugged, careful not to accidentally meet the older woman’s eyes. Han Yi Song was a woman in her mid-forties. Her somewhat round and curvy figure showed that she was already past her prime and spoke stories of her life as a mother of three (if the three picture frames on her work desk in the teacher’s lounge weren't enough). While she wasn’t exactly strict, she wasn’t all too kind either. But the students liked her because she was an empathic person.
Han Yi Song sighed, picking up the little book from her podium. Ah, so that was the thing responsible for that sound. Kim Rok Soo kept observing her pale hands opening the book, her long fingers going through the old pages.
“If that is the case, you are free to go anytime. If you’re just here for attendance, I will mark you as present and be done with it.”
Few students snickered. Strike that, all the other students besides few snickered, unable to hide those vicious gazes. They were having fun, obviously. How could they not? After all, it was Kim Rok Soo, the punch bag, who was arguing with Mrs. Han, one of the best Korean teachers in this middle school.
“If you don’t reply to me, how am I supposed to know what you want to do?”
Kim Rok Soo did not want to speak openly, and after a few seconds, Han Yi Song seemed to notice. The woman let out a deep sigh, closing her book again. She hadn’t noticed how she opened it. Going through a book was one of her habits.
“Alright, then don’t reply. If you continue to sit here, refrain from looking out the window and pay attention in class. If I catch you looking out again, you’ll be in serious trouble. Also, I want to see you after class.”
Korean was the last subject before winter break, so Kim Rok Soo didn’t actually mind staying a bit longer. He nodded, then kept his eyes on his notes, careful to pretend to pay attention, careful not to look out the window, careful to think of absolutely nothing at all. Staying after class was probably one of the best things that could have happened. Maybe he could avoid his daily after school beating this way. And if he was extremely lucky, Mrs. Han would scold him for a really long while, tasking him with some cleaning job which would delay the time he’d get “home”.
Could that place really be called a home though-?
Kim Rok Soo immediately broke off that train of thoughts and instead scribbled down some western alphabet letters that he learnt in his English class before. While he didn’t exactly know how to combine those letters, his sharp memory allowed him to recall every single one of the twenty six letters.
He was bored and wanted to continue to look out the window and watch the snow cover the school yard. It was a bit ironical, how it covered the tracks of dried blood the cleaning crew decided to overlook. Naturally, no one actually saw those dark stains as dried blood, just stains. Kim Rok Soo knew better.
But with the snow covering everything, one couldn’t even tell that there was supposed to be a stain there, be it a normal stain of a dark stain of dried blood no one cared to clean up. The innocent white of the snow probably looked magical with its slightly shimmering glint. Since the sun was going down, it must reflect beautifully in the snow’s surface too.
Kim Rok Soo glanced out the window for a split second before focusing his attention back on his notes, not that he was actually paying attention to the actual lesson. He’d always been someone with incredibly quick perception and even quicker memory, so even that short peak at the school yard was enough for Kim Rok Soo to tell that it was exactly as he’d imagined.
It was snowing heavily, which was why the entire ground was already covered in that innocent white layer of innocence.
Kim Rok Soo thought that it was hypocritical.
Once more, Kim Rok Soo was caught in his daydreams. He looked up at Han Si Young who simply shook her head, then continued to hand out a paper sheet with a poem on it, probably the one she wanted the students to work on.
“We still have fifteen minutes remaining, and I want you to analyze this poem in the meantime. During winter break, you have to write the interpretation of it. Begin.”
Kim Rok Soo let out a sigh as he picked up the sheet.
He wasn’t the biggest fan of poems. To him, there were way too many metaphors in them. Why was it that every single poet spoke through pictures and never said what he actually meant? For someone like him, who interpreted a bit too much in simple things, poems could quite literally have thousands of meanings. And the one Han Yi Song handed out didn’t appear to be much different:
A warm touch,
Maybe even that is too much.
A sweet lullaby,
Which is a charming lie.
A welcoming embrace,
It hasn’t even left a single trace.
And a loving kiss,
Wait, something appears to be amiss.
I remember,
My dear defender.
A time back then,
When I had all of my time to spend.
So please remain by my side,
And let my foolishness slide.
You are all that I have left,
After my own Misstep.
Kim Rok Soo decided that it wouldn’t be worth it to analyze the poem after he didn’t even understand what it was about. He was not familiar with the concept of a “warm touch”, a “sweet lullaby”, a “welcoming embrace” let alone a “loving kiss”. Looking around the classroom, he noticed that the other students were scribbling down their thoughts about the meaning of this particular poem.
Korean class had never been his strong suit anyways.
The minutes passed by quietly but quickly and before long, he was the only student remaining in the classroom, standing in front of Han Yi Song’s teacher’s desk like some teacher’s pet. How laughable, since he was anything but a teacher’s pet.
Han Yi Song was taking her time packing her bag. When her desk was completely empty, she finally looked up at Kim Rok Soo, only to notice that the boy wasn’t looking at her. Rather than that, he seemed to prefer the sight of his worn shoes. Han Yi Song paid it no mind. She cleared her throat, deciding that despite everything, Kim Rok Soo seemed like a shy kid.
“Rok Soo, I already noticed during past lessons, but you never seem to pay attention to my class. Since your grades are decent, I never gave it much thought, but if you continue like this, you will get in serious trouble one day. You see, not every teacher is as understanding, so if they see a student doing something else during class, they can get annoyed fairly easy.”
Kim Rok Soo scoffed on the inside. He was fairly familiar with those kinds of teachers. He didn’t remember when it was, but he’d had a teacher who used to call for him after the lesson. Sometimes, he slapped Kim Rok Soo for the boy’s display of disrespect, actively insulting his parents for failing to raise him into a proper part of society. Hm, now that Kim Rok Soo thought about it, he had it really good these days, since none of his teachers resumed to beatings, though the one or other surely did slap him every now and there if he was especially lost in thought. Most ignored him though.
Perhaps they realized that there was no one Kim Rok Soo could talk to if they did mistreat him? Kim Rok Soo didn’t know and honestly, he didn’t care that much either.
“You make it really difficult not to give up on you, child. If you keep silent, people tend to believe that you are ignoring them.”
Kim Rok Soo gave a weak nod, but seeing that Han Si Yong had her hands crossed in front of her chest, the boy knew that he didn’t get around actually answering her.
“Yes, ma’am, I understand.”
Sighing a sigh of relief, Han Si Young nodded her head.
“Good, very good. Don’t forget this. Teachers are people of authority. Most are of an older generation, so seeing a quiet child such as yourself is unusual for them and they generally don’t know how to deal with situations like these. Then, Rok Soo, you are free to go home. Enjoy your winter break.”
Kim Rok Soo bowed down formally, as he’d gotten used to during his time attending school, then waited until Han Yi Song left the classroom to exit as well. It was a respectful act that showed his manners; at least that’s how he understood it by watching others do it.
When Kim Rok Soo finally exited himself, his mind filled with thoughts of what he was supposed to do now in order to avoid going home, two taller boys stepped in his way. And when Kim Rok Soo looked up, noticing their shadow, he couldn’t help but frown.
Kim Rok Soo had never liked the winter season.
~
During winter, the temperature was incredibly cool, especially in Seoul. One might say, ‘hey, Seoul is a big city, it shouldn’t be that cold’, but the average temperature during winter was below 0°C. This year though, it was exceptionally cold, especially during evening.
The snow still hadn’t stopped, even hours after it had started. The magical snowflakes weren't as visible anymore, since it was pretty dark at this late hour. Occasionally, while bypassing a street light, Kim Rok Soo got to admire the snowflakes again. His admiration turned to utter disgust when he followed single snowflake’s descent to the ground.
His gaze naturally got caught by the red dots in the snow. Those red dots, they shouldn’t be visible with this pure white innocence covering up everything, even the mold besides the trash cans. Then again, if he waited for a bit, those red dots would be covered up as well.
Still, it was a (albeit temporary) disturbance in the white pureness of the snow. While Kim Rok Soo thought that it was hypocritical, this disturbance freaked him out more than he cared to admit. He quickly glanced away from the ground and continued onward on his way “home”.
Walking was difficult right now. Yesterday, he still recalled clearly, how he’d dropped the empty beer can. Kim Seung Jong generously only targeted his feet when he ‘punished’ little Kim Rok Soo. That was part of the reason for Kim Rok Soo’s leg pain. The other half was supplied by the beating he just experienced, from two school bullies that had targeted him. Well actually, they didn’t just target him for the first time, but whatever. Still, if Kim Rok Soo was honest, their beating wasn’t comparable to Kim Seung Jong’s, which was a good thing. After all, if it had been Kim Seung Jong, he wouldn’t be able to walk right now.
Stopping in his steps, Kim Rok Soo took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. Even if he was still able to walk, that didn’t exactly mean that it didn’t hurt at all. Yes, Kim Rok Soo’s pain tolerance was a bit higher than a normal person’s due to Kim Seung Jong, still, especially during winter, where his immune system decided to go on strikes from time to time, even the smallest of injuries could cause immense pain for him.
Kim Rok Soo had never liked the winter season.
Taking one last deep breath, the young child continued onward on his way back through the darkest of alleys which were filled with homeless drunkards or drug addicts few of whom attempted to speak to the boy, though most of them just ignored him. Perhaps it was because most of them knew him.
‘The poor unfortunate boy who lived with Kim Seung Jong.’
Well, perhaps others knew him better under the title of ‘Kim Seung Jong’s punching bag’; you chose which to go by.
The streets, or slums, whichever, both is practically the same given that the apartments in this part of town were little better than the streets, the only difference being one provides you with a proper roof over your head (though that’s not always the case), were a cruel place. Here, you have no chance of getting up. If you end up in this place, you are the scum of society. Congratulations, you’ve ended up at the very bottom.
Actually, Kim Rok Soo, well, Kim Seung Jong, had been lucky, given that his apartment wasn’t just a “real” apartment with a working door and proper roof, but also had a kitchen and working bathroom. It was just one room, but that room was quite big, like a living room. It even had enough space for an old television and a couch! Hell, it even had a small storage room, which was used as Kim Rok Soo’s “room”. Well, it was big enough for the boy to sleep in there, albeit only in a curled up position. It was…great.
Kim Rok Soo honestly thought that he didn’t have it that bad. And what if his uncle was a bit abusive? Compared to other orphans who didn’t even know what their remaining family looked like, at least he had someone who provided him with shelter, food and drink. He didn’t have to look out for himself, unlike these people out here.
He had a place to return to, someone to take care of him. To the little and oblivious Kim Rok Soo of this time, he honestly believed that his uncle spoke the truth when he voiced all of this. Because frankly, it appeared to be the truth. Kim Rok Soo did not live on the streets and he also didn’t need to eat garbage from a trash can. And what if he wasn’t allowed to eat whenever he was hungry and just got a meal once a day? It was a meal.
The little Kim Rok Soo, with his thirteen years of age, believed that his life wasn’t that bad. It could always get worse. In the future, it also got worse, but that’s a story for another time.
Walking up the stairs to the apartment was especially difficult, but somehow, it was a miracle, Kim Rok Soo managed to do it. He fell over twice, but he didn’t slip entirely, managing to catch himself by grabbing the stairs before he went tumbling down again.
The door, just like usual, was open. Whenever Kim Seung Jong was home, it was open. Kim Rok Soo gulped down, taking a deep breath. He adjusted his old and rotten backpack. Kim Seung Jong got it for him when he attended school for the first time. It was a few years back, when he started middle school, since he didn’t go to school before then. The Kim Rok Soo from that time had adored the gift. It was the first and only time Kim Seung Jong had gotten Kim Rok Soo anything.
The thirteen year old Kim Rok Soo still appreciated the gift. It was a nice and durable backpack. Maybe it was because of it that Kim Rok Soo thought that things could and would get better someday. He was a fool for thinking that way.
Opening the door by pressing down the door handle, Kim Rok Soo entered the small apartment. Immediately, he was hit by the reek of alcohol and cigarette smoke. If there was one thing he knew, it was that his uncle did not smoke. Kim Seung Jong always drunk himself to oblivion. Frankly, while he somehow found money for alcohol (from his ass crack), there was no universe in which he managed to afford cigarettes, hence he stuck to booze.
That was why it was so odd right now. Since Kim Seung Jong didn’t smoke, there must be someone with him, right? But Kim Seung Jong had never brought anyone here. As far as Kim Rok Soo knew (or thought), his gambling addict of an uncle had no friends. Hell, that man didn’t have a job and didn’t have a social life either. The only thing he did was gamble. He got up, drunk some booze, went out to gamble, came back, beat Kim Rok Soo if he was in a bad mood, then drank himself to sleep before he got up to repeat the process. For god’s sake, he even sent Kim Rok Soo to the store and didn’t go there himself; god knew why that Won Ying Su, the convenience store owner, allowed his employees to sell alcohol to such a young child.
So there was no way that Kim Seung Jong had a friend over.
Kim Rok Soo swallowed hard as he silently closed the door behind him and quickly took off his shoes. The old carpet was partly ripped apart due to old age and because its prior owner had been a mad dog lover. It also stunk, partly of old animal excreta (the old simple animal piss) and booze. Kim Rok Soo didn’t remember how many glasses that Kim Seung Jong had thrown at him (some missing him, some hitting him) ended up spilling its alcoholic contents on this carpet.
Nevertheless, the old, worn off red color mixed with the classic yellowish-blueish flowers embroidered in it, made the carpet appear like it had been expensive before. If Kim Rok Soo was to be honest, he thought that the carpet and he had a lot of similarities. Both had been abandoned, and then picked up by Kim Seung Jong.
While the carpet had no relation to that man, Kim Rok Soo was Kim Seung Jong’s nephew.
“Oi Rok Soo! You little-! If ya’re home, say somethin’, tsk!”
Getting yelled at by his uncle, Kim Rok Soo was immediately broken out of his thought process. Strangely enough, he was getting lost in thought an awful lot today. Glancing up from the target, Kim Rok Soo was met with his drunk uncle sitting beside a tall man with bleached hair. While his uncle was in his late forties, that man couldn’t be older than thirty. He had a youthful pale skin and sharp features. To be frank, the man looked quite handsome. And yet, with the lit up cigarette in his mouth and those strange clothes that reminded Kim Rok Soo of the drug addicts outside, he didn’t leave the best of impressions on Kim Rok Soo.
“You little-!”
Before Kim Rok Soo fully realized what was happening, the glass that had been in Kim Seung Jong’s hands a second ago had been flung at him, and for some reason, it hit him directly in the head. Kim Rok Soo did not know that the glass hit him, given that he didn’t exactly feel the impact. Yes, he heard the shattering sound, and yes, he was knocked over, enough for him to fall to his knees, but for some reason, he didn’t exactly feel the pain. Even as the blood poured down his forehead, he didn’t fully understand what had happened.
The strange man laughed, shaking his head in obvious amusement.
“Seung Jong, you haven’t exaggerated, it’s truly fun watching this.”
Ah, so that man was a sadist, huh?
Kim Rok Soo quickly averted his gaze, careful that he didn’t get caught. Glancing at his uncle had been a taboo for a very long time, so glancing at this man probably wasn’t the best of things to do either.
“…I’m sorry uncle; I was a bit surprised to see someone else home.”
The words scratched against Kim Rok Soo’s throat for an unexplainable reason. The little child decided not to care for the reason as he kept his head bowed low to avoid eye contact. The stranger chuckled as he continued to praise Kim Seung Jong for having such a “well behaved nephew”. Technically, it was the truth. After all, Kim Seung Jong had “raised” Kim Rok Soo to obey the rules he made.
“Why’re ya home this late, eh?”
Ignoring the stranger’s praise, Kim Seung Jong’s voice sounded dissatisfied. Obviously, he’d expected Kim Rok Soo to be home earlier – which was strange, really. Usually, Kim Seung Jong didn’t care for his nephew’s location, hell, there was a time where Kim Rok Soo didn’t come home for an entire week and the only thing he received when he came back was a brutal beating which “made up for those he missed during the week”.
“…The teacher wanted to talk to me, so I apologize for being improper and late.”
Another thing Kim Seung Jong had taught Kim Rok Soo was that even if he wasn’t entirely in the wrong, he had to keep his head bent down and apologize for everything, no matter what.
Kim Seung Jong clicked his tongue, but it was the kind of tongue click that made it clear that he was satisfied with Kim Rok Soo’s answer. It meant as much as ‘You can get up now, I’m done with you for now’.
So, Kim Rok Soo got up. While it may sound like a plea or permission, it wasn’t. It was yet another order. And orders, Kim Seung Jong had taught him “well”, he needed to obey.
“Rok Soo, this guy here is Helmut. Remember his name and to serve him soju. You’ll see him here more often. Now go and buy some beer and food.”
Kim Rok Soo nodded and bowed his head. He made sure to remember Helmut. Then he put down his bag and took the little money his uncle had put aside for him to buy the “groceries”. His jacket, if the thin sweater he was wearing could be called that, was too thin and didn’t protect him from the cold outside. It was still snowing, and now, with each step, Kim Rok Soo was leaving red footprints which disturbed the peaceful picture of the pure white’s innocence.
Kim Rok Soo had never liked the winter season.
~
As it turned out, Helmut was someone who was oddly similar and yet different to Kim Seung Jong. From that day on, he’d become a regular guest in Kim Seung Jong’s house, though he never spent the night. Sometimes, he was home when Kim Seung Jong wasn’t. Those were the times he revealed his true colors.
Helmut was not a nice person. If one was to ask Kim Seung Jong, he’d put him aside as a softie, since he never hit anyone. If one was to ask Kim Rok Soo, he’d simply not reply. It was because Helmut was not a softie. He was a perverted man with a kink for beating children in private when no one was watching. His beatings were even comparable to Kim Seung Jong’s, though Kim Rok Soo would say that his beatings were even worse.
Because no one besides him and Helmut knew about them.
Helmut’s beatings were rare and unpredictable. Whenever Kim Seung Jong wasn’t home and Helmut came over, Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but be wary. Because he didn’t know when he was going to get beaten and when things were alright. Contrary to Kim Seung Jong, Helmut didn’t beat him when he was in a bad mood. He beat him whenever he felt like it.
It was what made him so scary.
And yet, Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but feel like Helmut wasn’t as bad as his uncle. The young child did not know why he was thinking that way.
One day, about a week after it had started, Helmut came over once again. Kim Seung Jong wasn’t home; instead, he had gone to the gambling hall. Contrary to usual, Kim Rok Soo could practically feel that something was off.
In Helmut’s hands, there was a proper meal. It wasn’t a cheap one either, Kim Rok Soo could tell.
Sitting down on the couch, Helmut put the bucket with chicken wings on the table, a strange smirk on his lips as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and observed Kim Rok Soo. The thirteen year old, just like with Kim Seung Jong, didn’t dare to meet Helmut’s eyes. After a while of silence, a loud sigh was heard.
“Sit down, kid.”
Kim Rok Soo had no other choice but to listen. While he continued to feel incredibly wary, he couldn’t help the feeling that for now, he wouldn’t get beaten.
“Now look at me.”
While it was difficult, Kim Rok Soo once again did as he was told. It was a bit strange, when he looked at Helmut, he couldn’t help but feel honestly scared. It was as if not a person but the devil incarnate was sitting in front of him. There was a sick twisted expression on the man’s face, one Kim Rok Soo had never seen anyone have before or after, for that matter.
“Do you know what day today is?”
Kim Rok Soo thought for a while. He glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall, then replied to Helmut.
“The twenty-forth December, sir.”
Helmut nodded, now crossing his legs as well.
“Yes, the twenty-forth December. Do you know what that day means?”
Kim Rok Soo did not know for sure, but wasn’t Christmas supposed to be at the end of December? Maybe today was Christmas? The little boy didn’t know at all. Hell, he didn’t even fully know what Christmas was; he’d only heard other people talk about it. Deciding to go for the safer option, Kim Rok Soo shook his head.
Helmut let out a devilish laugh which gave Kim Rok Soo the chills after.
“Right, you poor fella, today’s Christmas.”
Helmut uncrossed his legs and arms and grabbed the bucket of chicken to put it right in front of Kim Rok Soo. Something about this man seemed eerie, yet Kim Rok Soo had no other choice but to remain seated and listen to the man’s words.
“At Christmas, children usually get to eat something nice and get gifts from their parents. You unlucky fella don’t get the chance to, and since I’m so generous, I brought you good food. Now eat while listening to what I say.”
Kim Rok Soo was still wary, but when he looked at the chicken bucket, he decided to bury that wariness for now. He’d never had chicken before, at least he didn’t remember. His other meals were cheap instant ramen or other small foods that one shouldn’t continuously feed to their children. Seeing Kim Rok Soo get so excited as he picked up a chicken piece and gently nudged on it, Helmut leaned back again.
“After today, I won’t come anymore. I’m sure you’re super relieved and all, since there’s just one guy beatin’ you from now on, but of course I still have a few departure mixed Christmas gifts for you.”
A strange feeling made its way to Kim Rok Soo’s stomach, yet the boy chose that it could be overshadowed by the tender but spicy yet incredibly yummy chicken. He’d never had something like this before. And the food was hot. It wasn’t just lukewarm, it was hot and it warmed him up from the inside.
“You’re a very bad kid, you know?”
Focusing on the chicken, Helmut’s words were like background music. But background music was the one thing that permanently stayed in a person’s mind.
“You know that you deserve much worse than what your uncle is actually doing to you?”
Kim Rok Soo’s hands were shaking ever so slightly upon listening to Helmut’s words. The incredible taste of the chicken suddenly tasted a bit bland and the little boy began to feel like throwing up.
“You know, my parents knew your parents. You know what they told me?”
Kim Rok Soo continued to stuff himself with chicken even after it started to lose its taste. He felt too full now, but for some reason, he couldn’t stop. His eyes were focused on the full bucket of chicken.
“You poor fella are the reason that they died. Ya know, you’re also the reason your uncle’s like this now, since he had to take a murderer like you in, the murderer of his sibling no less.”
Helmut’s smile got a bit crueler upon seeing the ashen face of the young and sickly child. The way Kim Rok Soo’s body started to shake ever so slightly before had now turned into actual trembling.
“Welp, that’s it with my goodbye, you poor kiddo. Just know that you do deserve everything that happens to you, since you are a child so ungrateful, you murdered your parents and forced your uncle, whose brother you murdered, to take you in and take care of you.”
Kim Rok Soo had never seen Helmut, or whatever his actual name was, after that. He’d also lost all interest in trying out “new foods” after he didn’t manage to keep the chicken down and threw up for hours to come. He didn’t even stop as Kim Seung Jong came back, receiving an irritated gaze. For once, his uncle ignored him though.
Kim Rok Soo had never liked the winter season. And after this, he liked it even less.
Notes:
Hello againnnnnn!
I really hope you enjoyed this special chapter, since I know that I had quite a lot of fun writing it, lollll. My beta reader (thank you wifey, ilytm) told me that it may seem as if Helmut is grooming KRS, and I want to say that this was not intended. He is just supposed to psychologically abuse him, traumatize him, NOTHING else, so apologies if it came over that way!
I also want to thank everyone of you for staying with me for such a long time, waiting for each update so patiently! Thank you so much for understanding! I'm trying to get better, to balance school with writing and to get my motivation back, sometimes things are easier, sometimes a bit harder, but I'm working on it!
I wish y'all a Merry Christmas, may everyone get what he or she or they wants for Christmas! (And lots of love, hugs and kisses from loved ones and me as well!)
Have a relaxing and unique holidays (where your kitchen doesn't burn to the ground haha [yes, it happened at my place a couple years ago DURING Christmas])Sending lots of love and good wishes!
See ya at New Year's at the latest!
<3
Beta readee here!
First and foremost, The lovely and wonderful poem you see in this chapter was written by my wonderful wifey who writes the best poems with the best meanings ove ever read :]Next, in my defense , I thought Krs was getting groomed due to a few things, but the reason I thought that way was because my go to angst is usually that 😅 and my Wifey's is a lot more angsty in a different way .
I want to thank all of you for following my loves story and Supporting all the way through it. This story gave my wifey motivation and purpose to continue till she met me. Someone I feel like she allows to carry some of her burdens (something I feel very grateful for❤️)
There is still a lot planned for this story and I hope you guys continue to support her through it to see it's end with me (ㆁωㆁ)
I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year (if I don't make a new note before) \(๑╹◡╹๑)ﾉ
Chapter 71: Christmas Special Chapter (Part 2: Fluff)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Just a wholesome Christmas Special <3
Notes:
Hiiiiii everyone, those who wanted to skip the angst chapter and those who read it and everyone in general (I am so bad with greetings omg someone come and shoot me)
ANYWAYSSSSSSS, welcome back to another (rare) update of this massive fic I planned to end at 250k words at the beginning...yeah, we see how well that worked out.
I wish y'all a Merry Christmas!
After the long wait, you deserve a fluffy Christmas Special, and since I've updated so rarely, here I am with two special chaps this year, both longer than last year's! (Dw, I had immense fun writing, it just ended up being longer unintentionally)
Enjoy this chapter hehehe!
<3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Get this inside. Over here, a bit further-“
“If it’s that easy to move this thing around why don’t you do this yourself, huh?!”
Annoyance was dripping from Beacrox’ voice as the silent cook who was unusually expressive voiced his anger. Truth to be told though, anyone who was carrying around a 440Ibs, 13ft tree for a prolonged time (that time being almost two hours now) was allowed to be annoyed, even if it was someone as strong as Beacrox. And if that person was getting bossed around by his dongsaeng’s lover whom one didn’t even like-
“I would, really, but you see, at the moment I can’t.”
Holding up his left hand which was surrounded by a white cast, courtesy of his beloved boyfriend who did everything and more when his loved ones got hurt (even if it wasn’t fully necessary, like this time), Alberu smirked.
Knowing that with Alberu’s little injury, a burn he got after he tried to assist Beacrox in his kitchen (the cook would honestly disagree, given that the man was more of a hindrance than help), the cast wasn’t even necessary, Beacrox rolled his eyes. If it were on him, he’d just throw this big pine tree away, but then again, he couldn’t.
Because this big ass pine tree was something that would make Cale smile, at least if he were to trust Alberu Crossman’s words, which, sadly, he did.
“Just a little bit more to the right, really, you almost got it.”
Ignoring the slight pain in his muscles and the expanding vocabulary in terms of insults and slurs (to call the now Emperor), Beacrox lifted the tree and placed it a little bit to his right.
“Actually, this is the perfect spot. Put it down.”
With a grunt, Beacrox put it down on the spot he swore he’d almost put it down at three times before. That Emperor sure was a sadist, ugh; he didn’t even do anything to him (so far that it!) besides occasionally voicing his dislike of his relationship with Cale. Nothing he’d need to carry a tree like this for anyways.
“Tsk, now what?”
Alberu smiled as he walked up to the tree.
“Well, now we wait for the others. Though you’ll need to prepare the Christmas meal. Do you remember-“
“Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, beef wellington, roasted vegetables, a variety of salads, a-“
“Alright, alright, I got it, you still remember. Do you need any-“
Before Alberu could even finish with ‘help’, he stopped. The glare Beacrox sent his way was the scariest he’d seen in a while, honestly. Even scarier than Ron’s.
“I’ll let you know once I’m done, your majesty.”
While his words were formal, the tone of his voice was utterly disrespectful. Alberu had an accepting smile on his lips as he watched the head chef move to the kitchen. Well, it was alright, as long as the two of them behaved properly in front of Cale.
“Haaa, my poor life. You better cherish me for the rest of your at least 300 year long life, Cale~”
Looking at the vast tree in front of him, reaching only few inches below the ceiling. Right now, the tree was just a normal tree that was brought inside for nothing. Still, the very tree made him smile a bit, especially after he recalled his boyfriend’s words.
Cale rarely talked about his life as Kim Rok Soo on earth. If he ever did, he kept things short, his words vague, his true feeling hidden. Alberu still clearly recalled the one time he didn’t…it wasn’t a pleasant memory, but one he cherished nonetheless.
Still, despite all the pain earth had caused his beloved, Alberu still clearly recalled Cale talk about one holiday that was supposed to be a happy one but of course wasn’t to him, courtesy of his uncle and that other guy he’d brought home once.
Christmas.
Christmas, a holiday that began on the evening of the 24th December and continued on for the next two days. Usually, Cale told him that during that time, the world looked the most beautiful. Even if he disliked the holiday itself and he couldn’t fully get himself to really like it, Cale admitted to Alberu that he enjoyed how everything looked during Christmas season.
Now, Alberu also knew why Cale didn’t like Christmas. He’s always been alone, always been mistreated especially on and around Christmas. But the past should be in the past, and the trauma surrounding Cale at all times, the very least he could do was to allow Cale to see the beauty of Christmas not only in shopping malls but also to feel it.
And while Alberu himself was utterly clueless about the season, with Choi Han’s “Christmas-Crash-Course” he’d at least learnt the basics of the holiday and its actual meaning. Honestly, if one disregarded its religious meaning, it was a holiday Alberu should bring into the Roan Empire as well.
“We’re here with the decorations!”
It was Rosalyn’s loud voice that managed to get Alberu’s attention. The tall quarter dark elf smiled softly as he waved at the red haired highest grade mage, the current owner of the Magic Tower and one of the strongest mages out there, the strongest even if one disregarded Henry. In her hands, she held a box filled with Christmas tree decorations, glass ornaments, tinsels, lots of garlands, string lights and a big tree topper. Behind her, Ron, Raon, Choi Han, Lock, Witira, the Whales and (to Alberu’s dismay) the Vampire Duke Fredo, carried other boxes filled with different ornaments.
“Hey cookie prince, can I decorate the tree? Pleaseeee?”
“I wanna put on the topper!”
Raon and Hong’s excited yells made Alberu chuckle while the mature On let out a resigned sigh. Jumping down from Ron’s shoulder, the silver kitten approached Alberu, while Hong remained seated on Choi Han’s.
“Of course, go ahead you two. I’m certain the young master-nim would appreciate the sight quite a bit.”
The soft smile on the old man’s lips was a bit too kind, but the smaller one he cast at Alberu seemed just that much more genuine. It was a silent token of gratitude.
“When is Eruhaben going to return with Cale-nim?”
Putting down the box with Christmas tree decorations and ignoring how Raon picked it up with magic right after, Choi Han stepped close to Alberu, glancing at his hand. With raised brows, he pointed at it.
“Ask Cale about it, in his opinion, such a small healable burn deserves a cast.”
Choi Han snorted, but he too smiled, knowing Cale a tad too well.
“As for your question, Eruhaben said at seven, meaning we still have three hours until then. So you better all get ready.”
Nodding, Rosalyn helped Raon and the children with the tree decorations while the others either walked back to dress themselves or remained here to wait for the result. While Choi Han walked away, Ron stepped closer to Alberu, his benign smile unchanging. Bowing down to pick up On, his smile got wider.
“I assume you still want me to put on that red-white suit with that ridiculous hat and strange bear?”
Alberu’s calm smile was answer enough. Ron let out a resigned sigh, already aware that it was his fate even before he asked.
“Haaa, this old man, what wouldn’t he do for that grandson of his, tsk.”
Alberu nodded his head, completely understanding the way Ron was feeling. After all, he knew it too well. If that redheaded boyfriend of his looked at him with that innocent, pouting expression while asking for all of his money, his clothes (he’d gladly give those to him at any day at any time anyways) and his soul, he’d be doomed if he didn’t give it to him.
“I’ll leave the children to you, your majesty. I’ll see how to help my son in the kitchen.”
Glancing down at the cast (well, fake cast), Ron couldn’t help but chuckle. For some reason, Alberu felt really ridiculous, even if this very cast rescued his ass from helping Beacrox out.
“Sure, it’s not like I’m a bad parent to them, you know?”
Ron did not reply, but that strange smile on his lips made Alberu scoff.
“I’m really not a bad parent! Hey, Ron, the kids love me! Raon, On, Hong, help me out a little bit-“
“Oi cookie prince, you’re not my parent, the human is! You’re the cookie prince, the human’s money and home!”
Alberu couldn’t help but scoff once more, looking at Ron’s slightly shaking back. He knew that the shaking was caused by the old man’s insuppressible laughter, which both annoyed and frustrated him. Well, at the very least he was a good *******…
“Don’t be sad, cookie prince, you are still a reliable adult whom we trust~”
For some reason, On’s (hopefully) well-meant words only frustrated Alberu even more. Staying silent now while watching how Raon and Hong decorated the vast tree with magic, Alberu couldn’t help the warm feeling inside his chest. While he couldn’t be too certain, he hoped that the sight in front of him right now was the sight Cale got to see back on earth every year at least once. Because if that was the case, he understood while, despite everything, Cale couldn’t bring himself to hate this holiday.
“I’m turning on the lights now!”
Casting light magic on the string lights, the gorgeous tree got even brighter as the different colored lights shone brightly in its green needles, making the tree appear otherworldly, without a doubt.
“Woah!”
“…This looks so cool!”
Obviously, he wasn’t the only one who was in awe. Exchanging glances with the silver kitten, Alberu could tell that even she was as impressed as her two younger brothers.
“I bet Cale will really like it.”
On smiled as she nodded at Alberu’s words. Indeed, it would be strange if Cale wouldn’t like the sight of the Christmas tree in front of them, not with how unique and magical it appeared.
“Of course the human will like it! Just you wait until I tell him that I decorated it!”
“Hey, I helped too!”
While Alberu’s smile softened, On simply shook her head.
“You two are stupid, it doesn’t matter who helped or who did it, Cale-nya should just enjoy the sight of this tree because he finds it beautiful, not because he knows that you worked hard on it!”
Knowing that their sister was right Hong and Raon kept their heads low in shame, yet didn’t say anything else. Sighing, Alberu patted the silver cat’s head gently.
“Come on, let’s get ready now, or do you want to go and steal some of Beacrox’ food first?”
Seemingly contemplating it for a split second, the three siblings quickly ran towards the kitchen, leaving Alberu behind by himself. Well, Alberu couldn’t exactly hold it against those three anyways.
Looking at the big Christmas tree in front of him one more time, Alberu couldn’t help but nod his head in approval. That sight would hopefully impress his *******, and if not, then there was still the food and, in the morning, the presents. At the very least, Alberu was more than sure of it, Cale would appreciate the presents. No, not just appreciate; he would be all over the presents actually.
And, at the very least, he knew that the redhead would also appreciate the good food Beacrox was currently preparing. He also wouldn’t exactly mind the extra time he’d get to spend with his family and friends. Just thinking about how hard Cale would try to keep up that stoic expression of his while ending up failing, no matter what, with that soft smile ending up on his lips…
Yeah, anything would be worth it for that.
~
“Eruhaben-nim, with all due respect, this is ridiculous.”
Holding on to Eruhaben’s large and warm hand, Cale was guided by the ancient dragon. With the blindfold he couldn’t see his surroundings, let alone where he was stepping. Eruhaben, who didn’t fully know why Cale was to be blindfolded (given that he knew of the plan but didn’t fully understand how things worked), simply complied with the Emperor’s request.
“I suppose you need to endure this, you little brat.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Cale stopped protesting and quietly followed the ancient dragon.
“Careful, here are a few step-“
Tripping over said steps, it was only for Eruhaben’s quick reflexes that the redhead didn’t fall over. The ancient dragon scoffed, yet held on to the barely twenty-two year old redhead, doing his best to ignore how light he was despite eating properly these days.
“Perhaps the warning would have been a bit more useful had it come a bit earlier.”
Eruhaben rolled his eyes, but the moment he saw that scarce mischievous smile on the redhead’s lips, he couldn’t help but sigh.
“Right, of course.”
“Heh.”
Cale’s low chuckle was more than enough for Eruhaben to hear. Even as he opened the doors to the Royal Palace, he couldn’t help but dwell on that rare chuckle, even more so than on the otherworldly magical tree in front of them. Still, the sight wasn’t unimpressive, quite nice to look at even. It would bring Cale joy, other than Eruhaben.
“Alright, we’re here, I’ll take off the blindfold now.”
Nodding at the Emperor, who was standing underneath the tree, Eruhaben put Cale down, taking off the blindfold ever so gently.
And at first, nothing happened.
Cale opened and closed his eyes a couple of times, the sudden light too foreign for his eyes that had gotten used to the darkness. But as soon as he’d gotten used to the light, the first thing he noticed weren't his friends or family, no, it was the golden, shining star that was just a few inches below the ceiling, on top of a dark green fin that was decorated just like a Christmas tree from earth. Upon closer look, Cale realized, perhaps it was more than just decorated just like a Christmas tree, perhaps that tree in front of him was supposed to be a Christmas tree.
Cale couldn’t tell whether it were just a couple of seconds or a few minutes, but after a while, he was finally able to tear his eyes from the tree in front of him, gazing down at the people standing below. The first he noticed was the person his eyes remained on the longest and returned to after he’d seen every person standing there, probably waiting for him.
Alberu Crossman, his *******, Cale knew that he was the one behind all of this. Alberu was the only person he’d ever talked to about his life as Kim Rok Soo, the only one he confided in when talking about the sad but also not so sad stuff.
While looking at the tree, then at his lover, Cale couldn’t help but have conflicted feelings about this matter. He’d never liked Christmas, but the tree was gorgeous, so much better than any tree he’d seen back on earth. And then there was his family, standing there, waiting for him, those expectant eyes on him, but even more so than those expectant eyes, there was Alberu’s understanding gaze, almost as if he was saying ‘If you don’t want this and if this is too much, you can leave’.
And maybe that’s exactly the reason why he didn’t leave.
Because behind that understanding gaze, was that hopeful look, so small, it was almost invisible as if it wasn’t there at all. And Cale just knew that the reason that Alberu kept that hopeful look hidden was him, for his sake, so that he wouldn’t feel pressured to stay. A small smile that was a tad too gentle, a tad too fragile, made its way to Cale’s lips. And while most thought it was because he genuinely liked their Christmas surprise, Alberu alone knew the truth behind such an expression on Cale’s delicate features.
That was why he knew to appreciate such a gentle expression while the younger still had it on his face. He smiled as well, a small grateful smile anyone but Cale would have easily missed. It was a silent conversation, one that didn’t require any actual words to be spoken.
“Ho, look at this, you little brat.”
Alberu gave a slight nod in Eruhaben’s direction, after which Cale turned to face the ancient dragon, a calmer smile replacing the one he’d just had.
“Sure it wasn’t prepared for you, Eruhaben-nim?”
The silent stare he received as a reply was answer enough, making Cale laugh once more. The redhead had absolutely no idea why he suddenly felt like laughing or smiling so much, he just did. Clearing his throat, he gave his best to return to his stoic expression, which also worked just fine, though the small smile on his lips was ever so present.
“Of course you disrespectful brat, as if anyone would ever do something like this for me.”
Coming over, the other members of Cale’s big family quickly surrounded him, with Alberu and the children stopping only inches in front of him. And while the children were busy yelling who did what and how much they tried to make this perfect, the redhead held his lover’s gaze.
The soft smile on Alberu’s lips grew bigger and it wasn’t soon that he stepped even closer, his hands automatically wrapping around the redhead’s thin waist.
“Cookie prince! Stop trying to take the human for yourself!”
“It’s not fair, nya!”
“Not fair at all, nya!”
Smirking, Alberu still didn’t let go of Cale, only pulling him even closer than before, their faces just inches away from each other as the taller of the two leaned in closer, his smirk turning into a wide, boyish grin as he noticed how his lover’s cheeks turned red ever so slightly.
“Cookie prince!”
“Let go of Cale-nya!”
While the two boys continued their protest, the silver kitten simply shook her head and let the ancient dragon pick her up. The two of them exchanged a single glance, then shook their heads, resigned to their fates.
Beacrox grunted in displeasure, Rosalyn blushed and respectfully looked away (she didn’t actually want to look away, but still did to appear respectful in front of a certain blue haired Whale Tribe Queen), while the others either didn’t look or fully stared, already used to Alberu’s shameless behavior.
“Lemme take a good look at you, I didn’t see you for almost six entire hours~”
What might sound utterly ridiculous and was said in an even more ridiculous voice was actually fully meant by Alberu, and while those who didn’t know the couple as well such as Whales also thought that, those who knew simply sighed.
“Did you take a proper look at me now?”
Alberu shook his head, closing his eyes as he buried his face deep in his lover’s nape.
“Gimme one more minute, then I can let you go.”
Alberu’s voice was barely above a whisper, only loud enough for Cale to hear. The redhead let out a defeated sigh as he patted his *******’* back, ignoring the children’s loud yells of protest. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, Cale also missed Alberu. He’d never expected to be a touchy person, but with Alberu, he seemingly was.
“Tsk, that’s why I don’t like you, cookie prince. You’re always trying to take the human away.”
Smiling ever so slightly, Cale stretched out one of his hands to pat the young, ten year old dragon, who didn’t look like a dragon. While he wasn’t as tall as Cale, his height surpassed the height of a usual ten year old, as dragons tended to be older than their actual age.
“No one’s trying to take me away, Raon, and you know it.”
Once again, the ten year old pouted as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“That’s why you sleep in his bed every night and not with us.”
Cale almost chuckled, yet did his best to stay serious while trying (and failing) to ignore Alberu’s mumbles of ‘I’ve met you first anyways, so you’re mine. I told you at *** ******* and all’.
“Raon, you’re mature now, you can’t keep sleeping with me all the time.”
The young dragon pouted, yet shook his head to point at Alberu with his chin.
“Sure, but that guy’s even older than I am and you’re still sleeping with him.”
Too amused to explain everything to Raon, Cale simply nodded as he patted Alberu’s back with his other hand.
“But that just means that you’re much more mature than him, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Of course, but-“
“Enough, enough, Raon, stop with this complaining. Those two are *******, let’s not dwell on such things for now.”
Rolling his eyes, Raon finally stayed quiet after Eruhaben’s soft and gentle lecture. Still, Alberu’s victorious smirk as he finally let go of Cale was annoying to see. Especially after he leaned down to kiss Cale again.
“Hey, where’s Ron?”
Now that Cale was calmer, he turned to look at Alberu, yet as the older didn’t reply and he looked at the children, then the others, and no one did, he furrowed his brows. Could it be that Ron didn’t make it or was busy with- ?
“Ho, ho, ho, everyone, wouldn’t you like to come and eat at last?”
Looking up at the staircase, Cale received his answer. Upstairs, there, clothed in a red Santa Clause’s suit with a white beard that was so much longer than his actual beard, stood Ron, his ever so benign smile on his lips. And that old man, now that he wasn’t wearing his usual black suit, looked utterly ridiculous. No, he looked more than ridiculous. That old man who didn’t look the least bit like Santa Clause yet still fulfilled that role (probably because of Alberu’s request, though Cale didn’t recall telling his boyfriend about a certain Santa Clause)…
Cale burst out in loud laughter, because, what else could he have done when met with a sight such as that?
“What are you laughing at, huh? Isn’t that exactly what that guy, S-something Clausel looks like? Old man with white beard in a red suit with that strange hat on top?”
Choi Han, who was the only one who understood why Cale laughed, simply nodded his head.
“Well, he does look like that, but at the same time, he’s…well, fat.”
Alberu raised his brows while everyone else had small smiles on their faces, enlightened by the scene in front of them.
“Appreciate Ron’s work, dear instructor-nim.”
“Pfft!”
Cale burst out in laughter the moment he somewhat got himself under control, holding his stomach due to the pain his laughter caused him.
Ron, who was upstairs and got the best view quickly took out his video recording device to film these happy times in front of him. He still clearly recalled the times of war when no one, especially not Cale, could laugh that freely. It was better to cherish these few moments, no?
“Oh god, this is hilarious.”
When Cale finally managed to get himself under control, he turned his head to look at Alberu, getting on his tippy toes to make himself taller and place a soft kiss on Alberu’s cheek.
“Gotta love this, honestly.”
Alberu nodded, pulling Cale closer to him by the redhead’s slim waist (which was very grab-able, if one was being honest).
“A thank you would have sufficed, you know?”
Giving his lover the look, Cale pulled the quarter dark elf to follow him. Said quarter dark elf actually stayed quiet for once, as if there was an unspoken agreement between the two of them.
Walking up the stairs to Ron, Cale looked around the castle. The Christmas decoration hanging around, these lights and wreath and garlands looked so similar to those of the malls from earth, and yet they looked so much warmer, so much more like Christmas than any decoration Cale had ever laid eyes on. It was a bit ridiculous, honestly, that the Christmas decorations from a world that didn’t know of Christmas looked more like Christmas than the decorations from earth, but for some reason, that was actually the case.
And when the redhead was guided to the dining room (or pulled forward by the young Raon), he couldn’t help but stop in his steps, looking around the vast room. It was…
Cale was speechless.
The walls were decorated with garlands and lights, just like the entire castle, and above some places, there hung mistletoes (including Alberu and Cale’s seats, but the redhead failed to notice it properly). And then there was the carpet, that was of a pure white color just like the snow outside. It wasn’t their usual carpet and most likely Alberu’s doing, but its softness and color made Cale look at it. No, the redhead stared at the carpet, even longer than he had at the Christmas tree.
When he was finally able to tear his eyes away, he glanced at the fireplace that was always light up during winter, though he noticed that it was burning even more than usual, its crimson-orange color so much more vivid compared to other days. Above it, there hung stockings, four to be precise. One for each of the children, and one for…him.
He’d never really had a stocking.
Forget that, during his childhood, he didn’t even know what a stocking was. It wasn’t until he entered the company and everyone had gotten somewhat used to the monster apocalypse that he found out that something like that existed during Christmas.
Cale’s chest was unusually tight, but it was different compared to the past. He didn’t think that this sudden tightness of his chest was that bad of a thing for once. It was a strangely unpleasant yet pleasant feeling that bloomed there, one he still didn’t quite recognize, at least not immediately. It wasn’t until Alberu’s soft whisper that he realized what it was.
“Are you that enchanted by this sight?”
Enchanted.
That’s right, that was the most fitting word to describe Cale’s current feelings. The redhead couldn’t help but nod, his eyes still on the four stockings. He didn’t even notice how his friends and family sat down at the big table, quietly conversing with each other, respectfully keeping their distance.
“Human! Hanging up those socks was Choi Han’s idea, but it was my idea to add the names! Noona even helped lemon gramps embroider them!”
Broken out from his trance, Cale couldn’t help but chuckle. These days, crouching down resulted in him being much shorter than the ten year old dragon, yet Cale did so nonetheless. Holding on to the ten year old’s hands; he allowed the stoic expression to fade, letting his honest feelings show on his face, something he’d never done with anyone other than Alberu before.
“Thanks, Raon, you did very well.”
Raon stayed silent for a short moment, then leaned in to hug his human tightly, though it wouldn’t be enough to hurt the frail man.
“You’re so stupid, human!”
Cale knew very well that that was the young dragon’s way of telling him ‘I love you’; hence he just patted the child’s back, looking up at Alberu a bit sheepishly. His lover simply shook his head, unable to hide the knowing smile on his lips.
“Young master-nim, will you come to the table? Else the food might get a bit cold and we wouldn’t want that, would we?”
The moment Cale got up again, the old butler Ron who was more like a grandfather put his hand on the former Commander’s shoulder.
“Sure, thank you, Ron.”
The benignly smiling man simply nodded his head and accompanied Cale and the children to the table, sitting down diagonally from Alberu, seeing how the two seats next to Cale were taken by the Emperor and the young, ten year old dragon.
The Christmas meal passed quickly, and before Cale could blink, he was lying in his shared bed with Alberu, the older gently hugging him. It was odd, how Alberu, who could fight Choi Han and last for fifteen minutes, if not longer, always held him this tenderly, as if he was as gentle as glass (again).
The couple lay there in silence; Cale looked out the window, noticing how snowflakes were descending from the sky. Ah, so it was snowing. How…magical.
Cale, even as Kim Rok Soo, had liked the snow.
No, that wasn’t exactly true.
Even as Kim Rok Soo, Cale had a conflicted relationship with snow. It was a beautiful thing, no questions there, but for some reason, the pure white color of the snow that would always remain that innocent if no one was to step on it or touch it was a bit hypocritical. At least the young (or not so young) Kim Rok Soo had thought that.
Because the snow hid the ugly things underneath.
Whenever it snowed, the snow covered everything, making the world appear perfect, pure and utterly beautiful.
But as soon as someone stepped on it, the ugliness underneath was revealed.
Kim Rok Soo hated that.
If he was to be honest with himself, he hated that the snow couldn’t cover the ugliness of the world forever. He hated that it only snowed in winter, that it only made the world look beautiful in winter. That it disappeared after and that he had to wait a full year to see it snow again.
Yes, because even back then, Kim Rok Soo who was now Cale couldn’t help but love the snow. And because it had been difficult for the young Kim Rok Soo to love anything, he needed to find fault in it.
Perhaps it was because of those thoughts that Cale broke the silence.
“I really like it when it snows.”
Alberu, who’d kept his eyes closed but wasn’t quite asleep yet quickly payed attention to his lover’s words. Seeing Cale sit up, the quarter dark elf looked up at his *******’* head, only to notice that Cale wasn’t even looking at him. Rather than at him, the redhead’s gaze was focused on the window.
“Yeah?”
“Mn.”
Hearing his lover’s soft hum at his question, Alberu sat up as well, quickly putting his arms around Cale’s thin waist. With the redhead wearing his lover’s shirt that was way too big on him, Alberu couldn’t help but appreciate how things ended up in the end, despite all those hassles.
“What do you like about the snow?”
Cale stayed silent for a while, contemplating Alberu’s question. With Cale, Alberu already knew that most of the time, patience was key, and, as expected, after a few moments, the redhead finally turned around, now facing Alberu.
There was less than an inch between their faces, but rather than kissing Cale immediately, the quarter dark elf anticipated his reply.
“The snow has a pretty color.”
As strange as Cale’s reply may have sounded to anyone else, Alberu immediately understood the true meaning behind those words. A soft smile appeared on his lips and he pulled Cale even closer than before, not hesitating to kiss his troublemaker softly. It was anything but a wild kiss fueled by lust, and rather than that simply conveyed the practically infinite love between the two of them.
It was the perfect kiss to end such a wonderful Christmas Eve.
Notes:
Andddddd helloooo once more!
I'm making wayyyyyy to many notes on a day like this, but whatever. How are y'all and what did you wish for for Christmas? Whatever it is, I hope you get it and so much more! I wish you a happy holiday season, may you have the best meals of your lives with or without your families! Lots of love, hugs and good wishes from me (yet againnnnn gosh if it's annoying I apologize!)
Anywayssssssss, I'll keep the life update for the normal chapter hahaha, since it's Christmas, I couldn't leave y'all hanging with just two special chapters that dont really have anything to do with the story, so look who's prepared another surprise :D
Alright, alright, I'mma stop now.
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!
See ya at New Year's at the latest!
(Oh ye, I hope that you liked this chapter, this dumbass brain of mine forgot to add that lol)
<3
Chapter 72: 68. Not right now! (1)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
The battle at the Gorge of Death begins...
Notes:
Nothing really triggering, just a lil bit of blood coughing, the usual stuff with Cale :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“What the fuck is this thing?!”
Staring at the opened envelope on his desk, then at the letter lying next to it before he focused his attention on the ex-priestess of the God of Death’s church, the excommunicated priestess Cage, crown prince Alberu Crossman couldn’t help but feel waved of dread come over him. It was to the extent that he even resumed to swearing in front of a person he had absolutely no relationship with.
For him to lose his composure to this extent…Alberu couldn’t help it as he buried his face in his hands for a few seconds before he looked up at Cage again, doing his best to keep up the anger. Because if that anger was to disappear, all that would be left was despair and fear – two things neither he nor anyone else had time for at such a dire time.
“Who the hell are you to come in with such a fucked up letter-“
“Your Highness, with all due respect, I have absolutely no idea of the letter’s contents. The God of Death merely told me to hand it over to you, and that it was important because it is about young master Cale, so-“
“The letter is about the young master-nim?”
The benignly smiling butler who’s been standing passively by the crown prince’s side so far quickly took part in the conversation. His smile got a tad wider, yet his eyes were getting that much colder, making it obvious (at least to Alberu) that the old man was in no mood to joke around. And in all honesty, he wasn’t either.
Not right now especially.
“Miss Cage, are you aware of the consequences of your doing?”
As Ron glanced down at the letter, the old man noticed that the crown prince’s grip on that single piece of paper was so tight; his fingers were white and shaking. Perhaps though that shaking was also caused by the chaos of emotions he was currently experiencing.
“Your Highness, please, I am just trying to help! Tay-, I mean the heir to the Stan March has asked me to deliver this to you since it was about young master Cale, so I did, even if I originally planned to ignore that pitiful god’s sobbing.”
Not paying Cage insulting a god any mind, Alberu waved his hand.
“How can you just bring over some bullshit letter like this without even knowing its contents? Are you willing to take responsibility for this?”
Cage swallowed hard. While she may have joked about it on any other day, something in the crown prince’s icy voice didn’t let her. It was as if he would take that letter opener and stab her with it if she made the wrong move at any given time. The chills that ran down her spine made it clear that that was indeed the case.
“If this old man may, would your Highness allow him to inquire about the letter’s contents?”
Surprisingly enough it was the very old man who’d been staring daggers at her seconds before that came to her rescue. Still, Cage knew she wasn’t out of the lion’s den just yet. She cleared her throat as quietly as possible, masking her own curiosity about what could have possibly caused the crown prince to become like this.
Said crown prince finally let go of the letter and looked up at the old man. The two of them locked eyes and for a moment, everything was silent. Then, as if the God of Death’s top secret letter was a joke (which it truthfully was, let’s be honest), Alberu blurted out its contents.
“It says that Cale will die in three days.”
Cage didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry – this could only be a joke, right? Such a cruel joke, and to prank someone like Alberu, whose love for Cale Henituse was immeasurable, the God of Death must have lost it at last. That God had always been mad, Cage knew by the amounts of sobbing coming from him, but for something like this to happen because of that madness…
“…Did he call?”
Contrary to Cale’s expectations in which Alberu and Ron decided to ignore the letter, the old butler asked a serious questions. Almost immediately, Alberu disregarded the letter, seemingly throwing it carelessly on his desk. Both Ron and Cage noticed though just how carefully the twenty-five year old actually placed it there; almost as if he was afraid that destroying such a letter would shorten Cale’s time even more- if its contents could be taken serious.
Pulling out his communication orb from one of his drawers, Alberu shook his head. Whenever Cale called through the young dragon, the orb would light up in a crimson red, and if Alberu missed any calls from him, the orb would turn pink. But the orb was just yellow, indicating that he’d missed a few calls from Rosalyn – something that could wait, given the current situation. After all, Rosalyn was with Cale, and Cale was, well, he was Cale.
And in the worst case scenario, if something was indeed wrong with him and even he didn’t call, Raon, who was always with him and had access to his communication device, he would call. Alberu knew that.
“He didn’t.”
Despite this knowledge, Alberu felt uneasy. No, strike that, he felt more than a bit uneasy. Something was wrong, something had to be wrong.
But Cale didn’t call.
Raon didn’t call either.
What if, in the absurd scenario, neither of the two of them could call and-
“Where is Eruhaben-nim at the moment?”
It was as if the old man knew what he was thinking when Ron spoke out those simple words. Hell, they shouldn’t even be that comforting, and yet, for some reason, they were. How ridiculous how the simple mentioning of the ancient dragon’s name had such a strong soothing effect on the quarter dark elf.
But that soothing effect was quickly replaced by rising dread.
“Miss Cage, if you’d please leave. You see, today, his Highness is quite busy.”
Ron’s benign smile was cold and the moment Cage allowed her eyes to wander from Alberu to the old butler, immediate regret overcame her. She swallowed the lump in her throat, the uneasy and fear, and simply nodded before excusing herself. The very moment the door fell closed behind the excommunicated priestess…
“He’s not picking up the call.”
…Alberu quickly ripped off his disguising necklace, casting his magic on the communication device without avail. There was no reply from Eruhaben. It was different compared to all the other times, since the ancient dragon always took the call, even if it was to say ‘I’m busy, I’ll call back later’.
There had never been a time when he didn’t reply.
“Something appears to be wrong.”
Alberu blankly stared at his video communication orb, then let his gaze wander to the letter on his desk.
‘Cale Henituse will die in 71 hours.’
It was a note so clear, Alberu was going crazy. Especially since a few minutes ago, it has been 72 hours and not 71. Something big was happening; both Alberu and Ron could feel it in their bones.
“Your Highness, perhaps calling in for support would be appropriate in such a situation where we can’t leave the palace for the time being.”
The old man then put his hand on the crown prince’s shoulder. It was something that was supposed to be comforting, but it just made it so obvious that this situation was out of their control.
“Alright, I’ll start calling our allies, then.”
The small smile that was on Ron’s lips looked reliable.
“Yes, I’m certain they’d jump at the opportunity to help.”
Today, the first time in years, Alberu called everyone he could think of who was trustable enough. And as a certain individual whose strength was comparable to the ancient dragon’s picked up and replied, Alberu felt a bit relieved. A bit safer.
~
Wooo. Wooo.
Cale had plenty of unpleasant experiences waking up. In a world that had been hit with a monster apocalypse, that much was a given. Waking up to the sound of loud horns like right now, was nothing special. Waking up next to a corpse because the person died during the night, silently either starving or bleeding to death, wasn’t something unusual either. What was unusual though was Cale’s reaction to such a sight.
No, forget that, the sight in front of Cale Henituse right now was nothing if compared to a starved child’s corpse; it shouldn’t even be something if compared to a corpse in general.
It was just a sick child, his young, eight year old body shaking with sweat running down his forehead while he kept his eyes closed, trapped in his sleep. Such a sight was worlds away from those who were at or past death’s door, and yet, to Cale, that sight in front of him was enough to make him lose composure.
Cale Henituse, some might say that he was the opposite of an emotional person. Those who knew him would stay quiet. Indeed, Cale Henituse may come off as the opposite of an emotional person with that stoic expression of his, but he was far from that. Perhaps he was someone who felt his emotions the most, hence had learnt to suppress them at a young age.
Cale’s emotions hadn’t been stable for the past few months, no, for the past two years actually, so when that stoic mask of his finally broke and a face of pure terror replaced it-
“Cale-ni-“
Choi Han, who entered the tent without knocking before, stopped in the middle of his words and came to a stop, staring at the twenty year old in front of him. The expression that was on Cale Henituse’s face was the same as usual, at the moment. But the swordsmaster recalled the split second that had not been the case.
The split second Cale Henituse looked like the most helpless person there could be, the most pitiful child, the one who’s experienced the most despair without anyone to realize. That expression burned itself into Choi Han’s mind, even though he shouldn’t have seen it as clearly. And what if he had superhuman senses?
Cale, who didn’t even realize that Choi Han had come in at first, cleared his throat, not realizing that his stoic expression had slipped before, even if it was for the shortest amount of time.
“Mn, Choi Han, bring Miss Rosalyn.”
Choi Han did not move, despite his mind telling him to. Cale’s voice, it was so calm, so tranquil, it was the very same as usual, and yet-
Why did it sound so lonely?
So silent, almost as if not a single soul was listening to it.
As if not a single soul had ever listened to it.
“Choi Han?”
Cale’s questioning voice ripped through Choi Han’s thoughts, and for some reason, Choi Han swore that rather than the twenty-year old man, he saw a child so young and clueless, so innocent and pure-
“Bring Rosalyn.”
Cale’s firm voice left no room for questions, no room for discussion, no room for any disobedience. And when Choi Han finally managed to move, it was then that he looked down and noticed the bundled up Raon, obviously sick and unconscious. And Choi Han moved, even if it was just his legs that walked towards the redheaded woman who was standing a few feet away from the cliff Cale had stood at the day before.
He ignored the countless soldiers that were preparing for battle, ignored Rosalyn’s questions as he dragged her to Cale’s tent, then stood in front of the entrance, guarding it with his life. Choi Han did not remember the last time he’d clung to the hilt of his sword this hard. For some reason, Cale not behaving like his usual self despite him being his usual self was…confusing and shocking.
Inside the tent, Rosalyn had none of those mixed feelings as she didn’t notice any change in the redhead’s expression or usual behavior. Instead, her attention was on the bundled up young dragon.
“Young master Cale-“
“Please connect the video communication device.”
Cale’s monotone voice that was the same as usual even in such a shocking situation calmed Rosalyn down for some reason. She nodded her head, then quickly took out her communication device.
“Shall I call his Highness or-“
“Please connect it here.”
Rosalyn frowned at the coordinated Cale handed to her, but did as she was told nonetheless – without success. Frowning, Rosalyn attempted to do it again, yet Cale stopped her.
“Call his Highness.”
Rosalyn nodded yet again, her brows furrowed with concentration as she cast the same spell with different coordinates, trying but failing to connect it to Alberu Crossman. With both spells failed, Rosalyn looked up at the redhead in front of him, despite Cale only being two good inches taller.
“Young mas-“
“No matter, call Lock.”
Rosalyn watched as Cale picked up the bundled up Raon, hiding his face and body parts in the white blanket. His arms were shaking and while most would mistake that as fear or panic, Rosalyn knew that Cale was just that weak.
“Change of plans. Miss Rosalyn, please come along.”
Rosalyn nodded her head, silently following behind the redhead. The person whose back was actually really small, appeared very tall and reliable. Ignoring all the soldier’s greetings and only acknowledging few with a nod (well, Rosalyn acknowledged them), the two Commanders arrived next to a smaller soldier’s tent. In front of it stood Lock. Choi Han, who’d quietly followed the two Commanders, quickly stepped closer to Cale.
“Cale-nim, what are you-?”
“Lock, come here.”
Ignoring Choi Han, Cale called Lock forward, and immediately, the young teenage boy stepped forward, bowing his head ever so slightly in respect.
“Yes, Cale-nim?”
“Hold on to this tightly.”
Without saying anything else, Cale handed Raon to Lock, his usual stoic expression on his face without change. Lock received the young dragon a bit clumsily, yet, as soon as he realized who the bundle was, his grip around him tightened.
“You will hold on to this, keep anyone from seeing him. And stay close to me.”
Lock was about to say something, ask a question most likely, yet Cale’s unchanging expression did not allow him to do that.
“Just hold on to him and do nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Nodding, Lock agreed. His grip around the unconscious Raon tightened further, though it wouldn’t be enough to hurt the young dragon. And while Lock was focusing on holding on to Raon, Rosalyn and Choi Han stared at Cale, both frowning as the redhead pulled out a few things from his spatial bag.
“Here, use these.”
Handing over a couple necklaces that were made with highest grade magic stones to Rosalyn, the redhead let out a deep sigh.
“Things have gotten a bit difficult, but it shouldn’t matter. Choi Han, you and Gashan will do as we’ve discussed, don’t worry about anything.”
Almost immediately, both Rosalyn and Choi Han jolted in protest.
“No, Cale-nim, what are you talking about?!”
“Young master Cale, with all due respect, without Raon-nim protecting the backline how is that going to work?”
A strange smile appeared on Cale’s face. That smile, while it seemed reliable to Rosalyn, gave Choi Han the chills. To him, it appeared sad and lonely.
Was Cale Henituse a lonely person though?
He had lots of people surrounding him, most if not all would be willing to kill and die for him. There was the scary butler head chef duo, Ron Molan and his son Beacrox Molan. Choi Han knew that they’ve been with Cale all his life. With how much they cared for him and loved him, Cale shouldn’t be lonely. Then there was the ancient dragon, who was practically like a father to Cale, always taking care of him, seemingly for a very long time even. And not to forget the children as well as Cale Henituse’s boyfriend, Alberu Crossman.
Cale should not be lonely.
With those many people around him, there was no way he was.
But for some reason, Choi Han couldn’t help but think that he still was.
“…oi Han, are you listening?”
Broken out of his thoughts, Choi Han looked at the partly angered, partly fearful expression of the highest grade mage. Confused, he glanced at Cale and Lock. While one appeared as nonchalant as always, the other seemed equally desperate. Just what did he miss?
“You can’t seriously be okay with this? Choi Han!”
Before Choi Han could inquire about what had been discussed, Cale waved his hands.
“Enough of this. Without Raon, we don’t have a lot of fire power and since we can’t reach anyone, this is the only choice we have.”
For some reason, it sounded like Cale would use his ancient powers. But he promised Alberu that he wouldn’t?
“Young master Cale-“
“Miss Rosalyn, right now, we do not have the time to discuss this. The battle is about to begin. Frankly speaking, we don’t have any time right now. The plan remains unchanged for your parts. Lock.”
On command, the young wolf boy followed behind Cale. Bowing his head to both Rosalyn and Choi Han, in both apology and respect, Lock caught up to Cale. It was strange, how he wasn’t able to look at him properly, focusing his gaze on his back only.
Left behind, Choi Han and Rosalyn exchanged worried glances.
“I’ll try to reach his Highness again.”
Choi Han nodded, then sprinted after Cale as well. Be it this new plan or the original one, in both he needed to stay by Cale’s side, and be it just during the first few minutes.
On the opposite side of the cliff was nothing and no one, making some soldiers murmur as to why the war alarm has gone off. Unease, anxiety and fear were passing through the ranks but with then, relief also spread. None of these people wanted to go to battle. Few had been present during the battle at the Henituse Castle, hence only those knew that with the redheaded Commander, they’d be safe. Most of the soldiers didn’t know of Cale’s strength, didn’t know much about him at all.
All they knew was his name, his age, that he was close to the crown prince and hence got promoted to the position of Military Commander. All they saw when looking at the redhead was a foolish twenty year old kid who didn’t even have the slightest of ideas about war, let alone a single battle. His weak stature and small frame didn’t help as the soldiers stared at his back, at least tried to, given that it was hard to look at Cale with the wolf boy Lock standing right behind him and with Choi Han and Rosalyn standing to his right and left.
“Young master Cale…why is nothing happening?”
Rosalyn’s voice was sharp as she looked at the other side of the Gorge of Death, the side the enemies were supposed to come from. The magic alarms had been set up by her and Raon, and they would only wake them up in case the enemy crossed a certain boundary – a boundary which wouldn’t make them visible immediately, but shortly after, like right now at this very moment. But there was no enemy on the other side of the Gorge of Death. There was nothing at all, if she was being honest.
Naturally, Rosalyn wasn’t the only one thinking this way. Choi Han was gripping his sword tightly, glaring at the emptiness opposite from him. As he’d participated at the second official battle, the marine battle that Cale dubbed “Operation Ghost”, he was more than aware of how sneaky Arm could be, and as long as Arm’s members participated in this war, nothing would go as easily as it had been planned. Still, this was more than just a bit unusual-
The very moment Choi Han thought that, he saw someone approach the cliff. It was a single man, no, a single dwarf. He was holding something big in his hands, putting it on his back, almost as if he was putting on some clothes. And then, the dwarf jumped off the cliff.
“Huh?”
The soldiers were more than stunned. Did one of their enemy soldiers just commit suicide right before the start of the battle? Could it be that he got scared after seeing how many there were of them and chose such a cowardly death over being killed in battle-?
“Choi Han, bring Gashan-“
Before Cale could finish his sentence, the tiger shaman already stepped forward, coming in between him and Rosalyn.
“I am already here, Cale-nim.”
The redhead gave a simple nod, then gave a simple wave of his hand, ignoring how more dwarves were stepping forward, putting on those backpacks and then jumping off the cliff. Rather than that, Cale put his attention on the sky.
“Has Mary arrived yet?”
Both Choi Han and the Tiger Shaman looked around to look for the short hooded necromancer girl, yet they didn’t see her anywhere close.
“Not yet, Cale-nim.”
The redhead gave a short nod of acceptance, his attention still focused on the sky. He should focus on the battle, but before it would fully start, the redhead couldn’t help but glance at the cloudy sky. It was almost as if even the sky knew what would happen on a day like this.
“Miss Rosalyn.”
The redhead needn’t say more as the highest grade mage immediately understood. With a small nod, she called the quarter dark elf Tasha who was supposed to be with Mary, asking about their whereabouts. While that was happening, Tiger Shaman Gashan called upon his crows to fill the cloudy sky. Seemingly out of nowhere, a seemingly black cloud appeared in the sky, only for it to split up into countless black dots.
“We are ready, Cale-nim.”
The Commander nodded, then put his hand on Choi Han’s shoulder. It was a habit he had ever since he became Team Leader 1 in Lee Soo Hyuk’s stead, not that he still recalled that. All he knew was that it was a habit of his to prepare his teammates before going on a field mission, even if it wasn’t that difficult. Today, this battle may have become just a teeny bit more difficult than he’d initially expected, which was why his grip was a bit tighter than usual.
“You remember the plan. If things get difficult, come back.”
Unable to see Choi Han’s helpless smile, the redhead then nodded at his own words. Unleashing his sword at last, Choi Han too jumped off the cliff, resulting in the shocked yelps of some of the soldiers. Immediately, crows descended from the sky, becoming steps for Choi Han to walk on thin air.
And when the swordsmaster appeared again, seemingly walking and jumping through the sky, the soldiers couldn’t help but stare at him, but not longer than at the very man who made this possible; their Commander Cale Henituse. Such an absurd strategy of war, while their enemies were killing themselves, to send their strongest member into the sky where a swordsmaster wouldn’t be able to do much anyways- such a foolish strategy could only be made by an inexperienced child.
The gazes focused on their second Commander’s back, their runaway crown princess Rosalyn, only to realize that she was standing next to Cale, silently watching the scene. Almost as if she approved of it, no, not just approved, as if she agreed with Cale Henituse’s senseless strategy of sending their strongest member into the sky. Just how ridiculous was that?
But before the soldiers could continue to dwell on that, another shocking thing happened. Tall men with strange clothes that were definitely not armor stepped forward. No, they didn’t just step forward; they ran forward like wild animals, jumping off the cliff as if this wasn’t a battle but some sort of summer holiday pool with the Gorge of Death being the pool. Was this why it was called the Gorge of Death? Everyone committed suicide?
Soon after that thought crossed the soldier’s minds, they noticed how these strange tall men too ascended in the sky, using the crows as stepping stools for their way up. The way these men were moving was by no means humane. Hell, even the swordsmaster Choi Han’s way of movement was more humane than theirs, and even he looked more like an animal than human. No, these tall and muscularly built men moved like wild cats, like tigers to be more precise. They moved as if they wouldn’t fall, and most shocking of it all, some laughed.
They laughed as if they were mad.
The soldiers couldn’t help but feel fear overcome them as they realized that their co-soldiers, their allies and partners, may have lost a screw or two.
Cale didn’t pay any attention to the soldier’s shock as he focused on the other side of the gorge, silently listening to Rosalyn’s updates on Mary’s whereabouts. Apparently, something had happened which required the necromancer’s immediate assistance, delaying her arrival at the battle. But it was fine as long as she came.
It wasn’t soon, then the “real” enemy soldiers appeared on the other side of the Gorge of Death, the flags of the three Northern Kingdoms raised high above their heads. Some soldiers wore Arm’s uniform, signalizing that they were part of the White Star’s secret organization. And then, there was something in front of them.
“It’s time.”
It was so ridiculous and seemingly impossible, but in front of the enemy soldiers, the very dwarves that had jumped down into the Gorge of Death before ascended with wings that were keeping them in the air. They were flying because of the wings on their backpacks.
Their enemies were flying.
The foot soldiers, completely oblivious to the fact that the strong swordsmaster Choi Han was in the air as well, even if he wasn’t exactly flying, with a couple other strong seeming people, couldn’t help but worry. No, they didn’t just worry; as they were more than just convinced that this was the end. There was a common saying in the Roan Kingdom that originated from a man who fought a dragon and lost an arm and a leg, thankfully not his life.
A foe in the air is a foe out of reach.
The foot soldiers couldn’t help the despair and helplessness than washed over them. They didn’t exactly know why, but they tore their eyes away from the skies and focused on the four people standing at the edge of the cliff, their two commanders, the Tiger Shaman Gashan and a young teenager who was close to the Tiger Shaman’s height. They didn’t even know why their gazes were drawn there, but as they clenched their weapons tightly, they waited.
They expected a useless order for them to come, yet nothing happened for a while. And then…
“Begin.”
The man who stood closest to the edge of the cliff, so close even that even those standing next to him felt a bit uneasy about it, stretched out his hand. His stoic, nonchalant expression appeared to be to be the same as usual. When Choi Han glanced back, that very expression managed to reassure him that despite this plan being improvised, everything should work out. It was like that because Cale Henituse was here.
The very moment Choi Han began running forward, crossing over to the enemy side of the Gorge of Death, a thin silver shield appeared above the soldier’s heads, beginning right in front of Commander Cale Henituse. There was a thin silver threat connecting him to the silver shield above their hands with those wide white wings.
That shield, the few soldiers that had been present during the battle at the Henituse Castle immediately knew that for this battle, they would be safe. They would survive, they would get to live. For this battle, things would turn out just fine.
It was a bit strange, how even those who hadn’t been present during the first battle against the Northern Alliance felt reassured and safe underneath that see-through layer of protection. It was almost as if someone was standing next to them, protecting them from all sides at once. And this feeling, they felt as if nothing would be able to break that shield.
And at first, they were right.
The battle began and Choi Han, together with the Tiger Tribe members went out to bring down the dwarves. Yet with the Bear Tribe members that suddenly put on those flying backpacks as well only to join the air-battle, things had gotten a bit tricky. Using the bears as a distraction, the dwarves quickly crossed over the Gorge of Death. It were just few that managed to reach Commander Cale Henituse’s shield, but even a single one would have been enough.
The four dwarves that hadn’t been caught by Roan and Breck’s air force, pulled out strange looking orbs, then threw them at the silver shield protecting the soldiers. Some flinched back the moment a loud ‘thud’ sounded through the gorge, others remained frozen to their spot as their eyes were glued to the unbroken shield above them.
The dwarves’ orbs did not manage to shatter the shield, let alone leave a single mark in it. It was just like a young child trying to break a window with his soft hand – useless.
“Cough!”
Thankfully, the sounds of the battle above managed to overtone the coughing of Cale as he couldn’t help but lean forward. Wiping off the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, the redhead’s frown deepened a bit. Strangely enough, the impact had hurt much less than he’d expected.
-The shield will not break, Cale! I’ve gotten much stronger!
Hearing the glutton’s voice in his head, while annoying, was also a bit comforting. Since the crybaby healed him the moment he got hurt, Cale couldn’t exactly complain. He was just down here casting the shield (without Raon’s help, this time) while the others were doing all the hard work of battle. Honestly, how could he dare complain anyways?
And for a while, this proceeded just as planned. Choi Han and the Tiger Tribe members managed to take down most of the flying bears and dwarves, and with Gashan controlling the crows, the fleeing dwarves were taken care of as well.
But they must have missed few, given the sudden appearance of a bridge which would allow the soldiers to cross over the gorge.
“Young master Cale!”
Rosalyn, who’s walked over to the mage brigade, quickly hurried back to Cale. The redheaded Commander looked terrible, now that Rosalyn noticed the stark contrast between his pale face and the blood dripping down the corner from his mouth. Clenching her fists, she did her best to stay professional.
“Miss Rosalyn, good timing, please contact the Whale Tribe.”
Mary, who’d arrived at some point during the battle and started supporting Choi Han, turned around to look at Cale in question. Since she didn’t meet the Whale Tribe yet, she was a bit confused. Rosalyn though nodded her head, relief washing over her. If it was the future Whale Queen Miss Witira, then things should work out.
And work out things did, for the next half an hour – not any further.
All of a sudden, there was a rumbling going through the Gorge of Death, the source of which was the enemy side. It was after Paerun’s soldiers refused to continue this battle much longer, betraying the Northern Alliance as they quickly crossed over the bridge and began fighting for the Roan and Breck Kingdoms.
Cale, who was good at calculating everything with his Record, felt a bit helpless as he watched a new variable step forward on the battle field. His outfit was different from all other Arm members, given that he wore simple clothes, but something about his presence made it clear that he probably held one of the higher ranks of the organization.
The way Witira looked back, staring right at him, her brows furrowed in concentration despite the underlying fear-
‘This is going to be a bit harder than I thought.’
Cale decided that today wasn’t the day he could survive without using ‘Record’. Even if it was to run amok again, as long as it lasted for this one battle, long enough to ensure everyone’s survival from that thing…then things should turn out okay.
For some reason, activating ‘Record’ was a bit harder than usual.
Notes:
Helloooo lovely people,
as mentioned, I also prepared the usual update chapter for y'all (in case the special chaps don't cut it or smth along those lines)
So yeah, here y'all go!
As this is a normal chapter, a quick life update is due, no? (Feel free to skip over this, ugh, must be quite boring istg): So yeah, almost a forth of my remaining school life is over and all that's left is one and a half years, then I'm done-done. Exams that should stress me out are alright I guess (?) though I have the feeling that I'm so totally failing like all of my subjects besides maybe English...Yeah, not the best feeling.
Anyways, but things are a bit better now, else I wouldnt be able to write! So dw about me and just enjoy this special holiday!
I hope u liked this chapter as usual!
Then, see you next update!
<3
Chapter 73: 69. Not right now! (2)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Cale goes 'f me and you' mode :3
Notes:
OKAY SMALL DISCLAIMER: It's been so long since I've read/reread tcf, and I don't remember the fight of the Gorge of Death in detail at all! Like, don't expect any of this chapter to be canon, I quite literally just freestyled the fuck out of everything (like I do in all of my class tests).
So yeah, good luck, I did my best ;)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Fuck.”
Subconsciously, Cale had let out his honest thoughts, gaining the attention of the people that were standing closest to him. Lock, who was right behind him staring down at the ground, just like Cale instructed, couldn’t help but shake in both fear but also anger. It was because he saw how hard the redheaded Commander that was more than just a head shorter than him was clenching his fists, so hard that he even drew blood – not that anyone else would notice, with how much he’d coughed so far.
Witira and Rosalyn, who’d returned to his side, simply stared at the redheaded commander with disbelieving expressions. While Lock could only see the commander’s back, those two strong women could see the kind of expression he had on his face. For once, there was a smile on Cale’s face, but the ups of Cale’s lips couldn’t exactly be described as a smile. No, rather than a smile, the two beauties thought that that expression on Cale’s face seemed to make fun of the redhead. As if he was laughing about their situation – their hopeless situation.
While Witira was too occupied with that terrifying smile, after all, she’d never seen Cale in a state such as this before, Rosalyn decided to push her thoughts and worry back, concentrating on Cale’s calculating eyes. She could see the gears in his head turning, and, before long, his eyes widened ever so slightly and he finally stopped smiling like that.
“Miss Witira, whales need water to go berserk, no?”
Cale’s quiet voice was calm and firm – reliable. It mirrored the redhead’s behavior now that he’d seemingly found a solution to their current dilemma. Looking up at the new variable, a dragon half-blood that had been calling him ‘little brother’ until discovering the covered Raon in Lock’s arms mere seconds ago, Cale couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. Nostalgic and utterly ridiculous – as if he’d repeat some horrible, horrible mistake he’d once made in the past.
As expected, Witira was confused. She glanced at Rosalyn, and the highest grade mage glanced back in an equally confused state. Right now, she looked no better than Cale, requiring immense strength just so she would still remain standing and not to fall over. Blood was still flooding down her chin out of her nostrils and the corners of her mouth. All the highest grade magic stones Cale had given to her were broken and all that remained was so little mana, even a beginner mage of the lowest level and no talent would beat her in the state she was in right now. Her mage brigade, led by the disguised dark elf Tasha, looked no different, actually.
There was no way they could create a body of water – and most certainly not one that was big enough for Witira and the, for once, silent Archie to go berserk and fight at their full strength against the dragon half-blood.
“Young Master Cale-“
“Will a body of water as big as the wall of fire suffice?”
Rosalyn’s face fell as she watched Cale fish out an unfamiliar necklace. The redhead’s hand was shaking so much, but she couldn’t tell whether it was out of exhaustion or something else. With how calm he appeared, perhaps it was truly just his exhaustion showing.
“Young master Cale what are you-“
While Witira was too startled to reply properly for once, Archie quickly stepped in.
“Yeah, it should suffice.”
For once calm, the killer whale couldn’t shake off the feeling that no matter what was about to happen, Cale would handle it all. And handle it all Cale did. He nodded, then turned his head to look at Witira, smiling gently.
“Miss Witira, we’ll be counting on you to take care of the dragon half-blood for the time being. Please make sure not to get hurt and prioritize your own safety over victory.”
For some reason, the future whale tribe queen felt a bit uneasy. Despite her gut telling her to ask for more information, her rationality convinced her not to do so. Right now, this situation was beyond dire. The tiger tribe members and Choi Han were still in the sky, fighting off the remaining of the flying bears, the ones that Mary couldn’t fully control due to her capacity being full, and the enemy soldiers were still constantly crossing over the bridge. They had already made more losses than Cale accounted for in each of his strategies. With Gashan helping out with the crows while standing next to Mary, needing to focus on controlling the crows so that his people and the swordsmaster still had something to step on in the air, the only remaining strong people were Witira and Archie.
Rosalyn and the mage brigade needed to recover at least some of their strengths, since they hadn’t even fully began with the second phase of the plan, at least judging by the covered up wagons on the other side of the Gorge of Death.
So, Witira nodded. She pulled out her whip, then waited for Cale’s orders – an order that didn’t need to be said out loud as he stretched out his hand, his brows furrowed in concentration.
It might be a bit dangerous to use all of it, so two thirds of the remaining water should suffice.
And just like that, a wall equally large and wide as the wall of fire made by the ancient dragon Eruhaben appeared right next to it. No, perhaps it was a bit taller and wider, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the wall of water was more than the Whales needed to go berserk for at least fifteen minutes. So they did, quickly jumping off the cliff and entering the water.
The berserk transformation of the whales was so much different when compared to the other beast people tribes Cale had met so far. For example, they didn’t turn into large whales and only covered their entire bodies with a thin layer of water. But the amount of power they gave off all of a sudden was enough for Cale to know that it had worked. There was a reason why the whale beast tribe was called the strongest of all beast tribes if one didn’t take dragons into account. And Witira, she was the strongest member of the whales, for centuries to come even. The moment she stood up on the surface of the water, Archie equally ready as her to fight a dragon half-blood, Cale could tell that this strategy would work out for a while.
Which was why he desperately needed to contact someone, anyone at this point.
“Miss Rosalyn, how much strength do you have left?”
The highest grade mage smiled weakly as she shook her head, immediately knowing what the redhead was getting at. She could see the gears in his head turning, then he appeared to have come up with a solution. A strangely resolved look was in his eyes as he kept up his usual stoic expression.
“Try to contact anyone. Anyone who picks up, tell them to come over. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Pulling out another necklace with highest grade magic stones, Rosalyn almost laughed at the sight. She nodded her head, then leaned on Cale. Even if she just got supplied with more mana, she wouldn’t be able to remain standing.
“Alright, young master Cale. This might not work, but I’ll do my best.”
Cale nodded. After using ‘Record’, he’d seen the worst possible outcome already – and found a strategy to prevent it. Calling possible allies was just one of his hopes not to carry out the plan he’d come up with last minute. If the thing he was thinking of was true – that they had been cut off from their allies – then at the very least, he wouldn’t have to think twice any longer.
After a few minutes, his worries were confirmed, as none of his usual allies picked up. Letting out a deep sigh, Cale couldn’t help but feel a bit funny. He turned around to take a look at Lock, doing his best to tune out the battle going on behind him. He glanced at the way the teen was shaking, then let out a sigh. He turned around and took a look at Rosalyn, noticing her trembling body and her difficulty standing.
This was his cue, then. He crouched down, then picked her up – running (or doing his best to try to run) to where Mary and Gashan, as well as the mage brigade, were positioned. It was a fairly short distance, but for someone like Cale, who found it difficult to hold his children for a short amount of time, this feat was almost impossible.
Adrenaline seemed to be an unstoppable drug though.
Rosalyn, despite her initial shock, decided to focus on the more important things as one of the mages walked over to support her. Once again, Cale handed out highest grade magic stone necklaces to each of the mages in the mage brigade, giving Rosalyn and Tasha each two instead of one. The frown on his face was his usual, calming them somewhat down despite the surreal battle going on behind them.
“Miss Rosalyn, you see these wagons? The moment the enemy decides to bring them over to our side, destroy them. I have a bad feeling about them.”
Both Rosalyn and Tasha nodded this time, glancing at Cale and the wolf boy following behind him, clenching to the bundle of blankets. The redhead then glanced over at Mary and Gashan, both were clearly busy with the battle, but in case something went wrong – meaning he’d be too busy entering the battle himself to coordinate his people – he needed them to know how to act.
“Mary, Gashan, continue doing exactly what you’re doing. Support the air force until all flying enemies are taken down. When you’re finished, bring the tiger tribe members down to help destroy the artificial bridge connecting our sides. Mary, you take Choi Han and the black bone dragon to the battle against the dragon half-blood.”
Everyone nodded, already used to Cale giving clear instructions, though something did sound off. Tasha, who could tell just by glancing at Cale, furrowed her brows.
“Young master Cale, are you still unable to reach the palace?”
Cale glanced up at the aunt of his boyfriend, nodding his head. Before Tasha could reply though, he explained his own hypothesis about their dilemma.
“The enemies may have set up a communication-preventing artifact, since we weren't able to reach any other allies either. It must have happened recently, since we were still able to reach the Whale Tribe and Miss Mary in the beginning.”
Tasha let out a gasp in surprise, her eyes widening in shock. Now that she thought back to it, it was indeed unusual for her nephew to ignore her attempts at reaching him, so Cale’s explanation of the current situation was making more than just a bit of sense. But that would mean that they would have to fight this battle by themselves – without proper support.
It was ridiculous to say that, given that the individuals present were extremely powerful beyond imagination, but without some of Cale’s party’s key members such as either of his guardians, something felt a bit off.
Furthermore, Tasha knew that the redheaded boy in front of her could turn into a powerhouse too. To what extent, she did not know, but based on her nephew’s words, Cale’s power was more than just destructive. But as destructive as it may be, it was equally self-destructive, resulting in immense pain Cale had promised his boyfriend to avoid.
Her gut feeling was telling her that the redhead in front of her had made a resolve to break that promise. It wouldn’t be the first time. And with how everything looked at the moment; Tasha couldn’t bring herself to say anything to prevent Cale from doing what he planned to do.
Letting out a deep sigh, Cale brushed back his hair, turning around to face Lock. He didn’t know whether it was safer for him to remain here with Mary and Gashan or to tag along with him, but the way the young boy was staring at the ground- Cale couldn’t bring himself to leave him behind, especially since he’s explicitly told him to follow him for the entire duration of this battle and to simply focus on his back rather than on anything else such as his inability to go berserk for the time being.
That was why when Cale faced the taller Lock, one glance exchange between the two of them sufficed for the boy to know that he was supposed to stick by Cale’s side.
It wasn’t soon, then the flying enemies have been taken down and the tiger tribe members were sent to support the foot soldiers defend their side of the gorge while Choi Han, ignoring the urge to go back to Cale, flew up to the large wall of water that was slowly gobbling up the wall of fire made by the ancient dragon, already familiar with Cale’s Dominating Water ancient power. One glance at both Archie and Witira was enough to know that they were in dire need of support, making it impossible for him to think of anything other than the battle at hand.
And then, around half an hour later – much longer than Cale had expected the water wall to hold for – a large explosion happened, shortly after which Choi Han returned with the Whale Tribe members on the large bone dragon. His expression was bitter as he stared at Cale, obviously he didn’t want to admit to his failure at fighting the dragon half blood.
Yet, before he could even open his mouth to say anything, there was a low pat on his shoulder.
That was all he felt before he watched how Cale stepped forward, returning to the very position he’d been standing at a day before, so close to the cliff, it felt a bit eerie. He knew that with his inhumane senses, Choi Han would be able to hear anything he’d say, no matter how quietly his voice was to be. That was why he didn’t even turn around as he gave the last order to Choi Han for the time being.
“Choi Han, continue to fight the dragon half-blood with Mary’s help for the time being. I’ll help.”
Because he was not Choi Han and didn’t possess human surpassing senses, there was no way he’d hear Choi Han’s reply, or see the swordsmaster’s suddenly grim and a bit helpless expression. Nevertheless, both he and Mary couldn’t help but obey the orders they were given, one in advance, the other just now. Nodding at each other, Archie helped Witira to get down from the black bone dragon while Mary lifted it up in the air once more, Choi Han holding on to the bones on its neck. It was a similar sight to the battle at the Henituse castle, but also very different. Perhaps it was because the scales of the battles were different.
Taking a deep breath, Cale decided to say one last thing to Lock, just in case something was to go extremely wrong with the plan he was thinking of at the moment. That was why the redhead also turned around, ignoring the pressure coming from above him, from the enraged dragon half-blood who had decided to put his life on the line to defeat these puny humans who’d dared to injure and inflict pain on him.
Choi Han would only manage to hold him off for that long.
“Lock, stay close to me and don’t do anything besides protecting Raon and staring at my back. Nothing else.”
Cale turned around before he could see Lock’s resolved expression or hear the silent ‘yes’ that left the boy’s lips. For the moment, that wasn’t important to the redhead anyways. All he cared about right now was to minimalize the casualties. By using ‘Record’, the number of fallen or injured soldiers had exceeded a hundred by now, steadily rising.
He didn’t have the strength to be responsible for some family dad’s death. He most certainly found no joy in writing an apology letter to the family, informing them of their father’s, brother’s, son’s, uncle’s or friend’s death either. Didn’t want to be at fault for some child to grow up with one of its parents gone.
That was why, now that he’d firmed his resolve, he stopped ignoring the question that the Super Rock had been asking him for a while now. The first time the ancient power asked him, Cale had decided to ignore it for eternity. Now, he was glad that it was constantly repeating itself for once.
- Are you willing to sacrifice yourself?
It was a question that the Super Rock had asked during the entire battle now, one that Cale had desperately ignored. Now, he was beginning to get ready to answer. His body was shaking in fear and exhaustion as he watched Choi Han land blow after blow on the slowing dragon half-blood. With ‘Record’ activated though, Cale could quickly notice a subtle change in the dragon half-blood’s movement pattern though. That was why, instead of focusing on the task he resolved himself to do, he turned around, his eyes widened as he looked for both Gashan, Mary and Rosalyn and yelled out an order so loud, even the soldiers were able to hear. It was something he’d often done when he led field missions of combined teams, a useful skill he’d picked up over the year so to say. That way, everyone was able to hear his order.
“Tell Choi Han to get down, now! Cast a shield! And get behind me, now!”
He could feel a shaking hand grab on to his sleeve tightly, but Cale was too busy to console a scared child at the moment. The lives of his people, Roan’s soldiers and his children and family lay on his shoulders.
Cale Henituse.
He was the Military Commander of the Roan Kingdom.
A Military Commander had a lot of tasks, for example, he was responsible for coming up with a successful battle strategy. It was his job to coordinate his soldiers, to bark orders and, most importantly, to keep everyone safe. To make it possible that the battle is won with the lowest casualty rate possible.
That was why, at this moment, Cale decided to fuck it all.
God fucking damn it.
Cale couldn’t help but cuss on the inside as he watched the mage brigade cast layers over layers of shields, resulting in most mages experiencing nose bleeds or coughing up blood as well, some even falling down to the ground, still keeping up the shields though. Rosalyn looked the worst out of everyone, with blood flooding out every hole of her face, her eyes, her nose, her mouth and even her ears. The sight was horrifying, but Cale chose not to dwell on it for too long. As long as she was breathing, things were fine. As long as she was still breathing, she could be healed.
So, Cale let his gaze wander to Mary and Gashan, that had quickly heeded his order and hurried behind him, still keeping a small distance, but they were close enough that they wouldn’t be in immediate danger, as long as he was still standing here. Turning back around, ignoring the whimpering and the low pleas of the wolf boy behind him to stop, Cale watched how the bone dragon almost crashed in the ground with the speed it was going, Choi Han sprinting towards him. As he stopped right by his side, Cale didn’t waste a second as he pushed the swordsmaster behind him as well, ignoring all the things he was saying.
No, that wasn’t actually true. Cale couldn’t ignore something he couldn’t hear in the first place. There was a loud silence and the only thing he was able to hear was the calm voice of the former owner of the Super Rock ancient power.
- Are you willing to sacrifice yourself?
Cale Henituse was Roan’s Military Commander. He was the one responsible for the entire battle. He was the one who was responsible for the soldiers. He was the one that had to make sure that those who were still alive remained alive and made it home to their waiting families. He was the one whose job it was to ensure that the children of Roan and Breck could grow up with both of their parents.
But before all of that, he was the person that had told his family to be here. He was the one who had the most experience in battle and an adequate battle strategy out of everyone present. He was the one with the analytic skills – means to ensure his people’s safety. He was the responsible adult.
He was Raon’s and Lock’s guardian.
He was the person Mary had decided to put her trust in.
He was Rosalyn’s friend.
He was Gashan’s landlord, the man who brought the tiger shaman here.
He was also Choi Han’s family, taken the guy in and hence also his guardian in some way.
He was responsible for all of these people. He needed to ensure that all of them too made it home. That all of them didn’t regret being here and listening to him. No, they should regret it, but not at the cost of their lives.
That was why now, when the Super Rock asked his usual question again, Cale tuned out the world around him, his only focus was on the dragon half-blood that was beginning to go berserk. He could feel Lock’s grip on his sleeve tightening while there was another hand – Choi Han’s – gripping his other writs tightly, but not so hard that it hurt. Neither of them stepped forward though, remaining behind his back as he’d instructed them.
- Are you willing to sacrifice yourself?
“Yeah.”
It was a simple reply that left Cale’s mouth, confusing both Lock and Choi Han who were standing directly behind him. But that didn’t matter. What did was that Cale was able to hear their deep breathing, Raon’s heavy breathing. He was also able to smell the blood in the air, its reek unmistakable even to those who were unfamiliar with it.
Cale needed to maybe sacrifice himself for once in order to protect those he wanted to protect.
This might hurt a bit.
The Super Rock, as if it was hard of hearing, repeated its question once more, this time though, something was different; as if the previous owner was a bit more hesitant to ask. For someone who spewed that question around as much as it did, such reluctance was a bit funny, hadn’t Cale been amidst a crisis.
- Are you willing to sacrifice yourself?
Cale almost snorted, hadn’t his nose been bleeding so much now that he also used the Indestructible Shield ancient power to shield all of the mage’s shields to buy some more time.
“Yes.”
- I will make sure you won’t get hurt. I will protect you.
There was a shift in tone once more, this time, the former owner of the earth attribute ancient power sounded a bit bitter in Cale’s opinion, almost as if that old voice of his was weighed down by countless regrets caused by missteps from his past. But Cale did not care for any of that. All he cared about was the access to this ancient power that he needed to protect his people. He did not give a fuck about the cost – or the mumblings of some dumb rock.
- My friends always sacrificed themselves. They always fought in the front lines, so that no one would get hurt. I always failed to protect them. Had to watch all of them die – sacrificing themselves so that someone like me could survive.
The Super Rock ancient power seemed to ignore Cale’s thoughts as it went on with its ramblings. Lock’s grip on his sleeve tightened as he tugged on it, while Choi Han’s hand around his wrist also tried to pull him back lightly, without any success. Cale ignored both of their actions, being left with no choice but to listen to the former owner’s speech if he wanted to use this power to protect his people.
- You, who are willing to sacrifice yourself to protect those you love and cherish, I will stand in front of you like you stand in front of them and protect you.
There was a short break in which the former owner of the Super Rock hesitated, but for once, Cale didn’t mind. He observed the sky, watched how the now almost fully berserk dragon half-blood had started to form thunderbolts in order to attack his people and soldiers under his command.
- This is my last selfish request. I will protect you.
Suddenly, Cale felt a bit stronger, and he stopped shaking. The ground underneath his feet started to rumble, and Cale’s stoic expression turned to a small frown. He’d have smiled if the situation hadn’t been this important. He didn’t know how or why, but for some reason, his body knew exactly what needed to be done.
Tucking away both of his hands, one each from Lock and Choi Han, both of whom were left with no choice but to let go, Cale raised them in front of him the moment the dragon half-blood had truly transformed and commanded his thunderstorms to hit the shield barrier consisting of twenty-four shields behind Cale’s silver shield. It were twelve thunderbolts, all of equal strength, contrary to the shields, but that made no difference right now.
Cale looked up and he knew that he’d made eye-contact with the dragon half-blood based on his smug and extremely satisfied expression.
Then his silver shield was broken through – resulting in the panicked cries of all soldiers and even his family members. The thunderbolts didn’t even struggle against any of the other shields either, piercing through them as if there was no shield at all (contrary to Cale’s silver shield, against which all twelve of those thunderbolts had struggles a few seconds).
- I’m so sorry Cale!
The glutton’s loud and shrill voice sounded in Cale’s head but he paid it no attention as he observed the thunderbolts, casting his Indestructible shield once more, though this time, he focused on the area those twelve thunderbolts sped towards him. At the same time…
Rumble.
The earth began to shake as he used the Super Rock ancient power to its full extent. This was different compared to the time he’d helped out former Vampire Duke Fredo van Ejellan (and current King of the Endable Kingdom, Fredo van Ejellan) and tested the full power of the Fire of Destruction ancient power. Not only needed he to go all out here, he needed to go beyond the limits.
Needed to go beyond the grey zone and enter a dangerous territory.
Because everything else would cause someone, no, everyone, to get hurt or even die. And Cale was responsible for such an outcome not to happen. Then there were suddenly twelve stone spears that had come from the earth. Slowly, they ascended, following Cale’s will, and flew full force at each of those thunderbolts, before they even had the chance to each Cale’s silver shield – the final layer of protection between them and his people and soldiers.
Kaboom!
There was a loud explosion and all of a sudden, behind the silver shield, there was nothing but smoke. Neither the stone spears nor the thunder bolts had survived the collision.
Something that had looked and felt like slow motion had happened within less than five seconds for everyone else, resulting on everyone staring at the blood spewing commander.
A twenty year old kid.
“Choi Han-hyung! Please m-make Cale-nim stop! M-make him s-stop!”
Lock’s hysterical pleas went in one ear and out the other as the swordsmaster stared at the back of the man he’d sworn his loyalty to. He was struggling, was what Choi Han couldn’t help but think. There was a hand on his shoulder that broke him out of those thoughts and as he turned around, he noticed Rosalyn’s shocked but also pained expression as he pointed at Mary with her chin.
That was his escape. How ironic.
Choi Han gave a curt nod as he returned to the black bone dragon, stepping on top of it while Mary commanded it again so that it ascended into the air once more. With the first attack of the berserk dragon half-blood, the “second” part of this battle slowly began. And just as Cale thought, the hidden wagons were suddenly pushed forward in an attempt to get them over the bridge.
While Cale could technically try to destroy them, his whole attention was split in two: He needed to protect his people in case the dragon half-blood tried another attack with such powerful thunderbolts and he needed to support Choi Han as well. That was why he left those mysterious wagons to the reliable Rosalyn and her mage brigade.
His own breathing and heartbeat made it impossible to hear his surroundings anyways, resulting in his unique concentration. As expected, the dragon half-blood did cast more of those thunderbolts and shot them at the soldiers and Cale’s people, but for every thunderbolt the dragon half-blood cast, Cale had a stone spear to counter.
It was, by no means, a beautiful battle, or a usual one, but it worked strangely well.
Choi Han and the dragon half-blood seemed to have a full discussion and Lock tugged on his sleeve continuously, from time to time harder than before, then a bit softer again. But Cale did not pay any attention to Lock or to how well Rosalyn was taking care of those mysterious wagons.
For some reason, the longer he was using the Super Rock ancient power, the easier it got. Loud screams finally broke through the idyllic silence inside his head and Cale turned his head for but a split second to see how the tiger tribe member had finally managed to destroy the bridge, taking care of those few wagons Rosalyn hadn’t managed as they fell into the Gorge of Death, such as the enemy soldiers that were still standing on that bridge.
Cale’s frown deepened a bit as he paid closer attention to the sounds of people crashing down into each other, breaking their libs until they died while in pain before he put his focus back on the dragon half-blood.
“You motherfucking sons of bitches! I’ll make you pay! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you and that dragon bastard!”
Now that Cale was out of that strange state of mind, he was also able to hear the nonsense the dragon half-blood was spewing at Choi Han. More importantly than that, he could also hear Lock’s low and almost silent pleas for him to stop. He ignored all of it as he directed the stone spears at the dragon half blood, coordinating their attack in a similar way to how a director directed its orchestra. Since he had decided to go all out long ago, he also used the Sound of the Wind to make the stone spears even faster, so that when he finally fired them at the dragon half-blood, while some missed, most hit him in some places of his body. And with one of Choi Han’s final slashes of the sword, the dragon half-blood was falling down, out of the sky, into the deep gorge of the Gorge of Death.
For a few moments, everything was completely silent, even Lock had stopped tugging on his sleeve with the hand he wasn’t holding Raon, peeking out from behind him to stare at the other side of the gorge. It wasn’t just Cale’s imagination, as some people, mostly his soldiers, stopped moving completely. He could still hear the loud flapping wings of the black bone dragon and how Mary made it descend so that Choi Han could return to Cale’s side at last.
The enemy side was in an equally shocked state as they stared at them, while the Roan and Breck Kingdom alliance stared at their enemies. And then, loud cheers broke through the silence.
And Cale looked around, to notice that despite everything, he hadn’t lost more than 73 people – with ‘Record’ he could, after all, scan through his soldiers faces quickly, and while he couldn’t see everyone, he knew that out of those who were standing in the front lines in the beginning, 73 people were not there anymore.
It was a less than 5% casualty rate, given that there were roughly two thousand soldiers participating in the battle. A win for their side no doubt, compared to the hundreds of enemies that had fallen into the Gorge of Death. Furthermore, with the Paerun Kingdom becoming their allies, or rather revealing themselves as their allies, Cale could see roughly well over five hundred soldiers in addition to the soldiers from the Breck and Roan Kingdoms.
For now, they had won, so it seemed.
They sill weren't fully done, at least not Cale’s group, but for now, these soldiers were done and they had won the first battle at the Gorge of Death.
Notes:
HeLlO guys,
Short note this time cuz my dad noticed I'm still up and threatens to turn off my internet (managed to convince him that I'd be done in five minutes so yeah that's that)HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE (a bit late but better than never I suppose)
I'm rather busy these days with school etc and my mood's not the best but guess who decided to come back to me? MoTiVaTiOn~~~~
Ngl, I'm so totally going to regret writing that when it leaves me again, but so far it's been going.
This chapter is a bit of a drag, but now that I'm done with it the REAL fun can start, and y'all better fasten ya seat bells for now, cuz I'mma take you on a trip with this, lol.Anyways, here's the new chapter.
Hope you like it, same as usual <3Until next time, then, lovelies!
(Btwwwww, can anyone give me feedback which Xmas special chapter they prefered this time around so I know? Cuz I'm just so excited to know what you thought of the Christmas surprise haha, but no need if you don't want to tell me!)
Chapter 74: 70. Not right now! (3)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Suspense for y'all cuz I can
Notes:
Guys, I'm really tired and I have no idea what sort of triggers this chapter contains. You read the tags, and if you've come this far, you know that shit's going down, so yeah...you have been warned :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Team Leader Kim Rok Soo!”
“Commander-nim!”
“The report?”
“Do you have a summary of the events?”
“What are you doing, staring at me like that? Move, move, we have a lot of things to do!”
“Commander-nim, please try to understand that there are still a lot of things we have to-“
Before the man in front of a young youth with lose, crimson strands framing that pale complexion clothed in a black commander’s uniform could finish what he wanted to say, said youth raised his hand. No, he didn’t just raise his hand, he raised both of them. The moment the man noticed the slow, somewhat sluggish movement, he flinched, thinking of the worst, yet, as he watched the man who’d been standing firm during the entire battle start to cover his ears, an unreadable and strangely blank expression on his face, he was at a loss for words.
Commander Cale Henituse, the man who was the first in command, was covering his ears while talking to one of the second Commander’s, Rosalyn’s, direct subordinates.
The picture in front of the many soldiers that was created was eerie and strange – definitely unusual and not something they’d get to see every day. Cale Henituse, while still regarded as a reckless and arrogant young nobleman by most, had received every single survivor’s respect. Survivor – they only survived because of that young man who’d been coughing buckets while simply standing tall, trying his best to keep the shield from breaking. While it did break once, no one had gotten hurt.
And it was all thanks to their newly appointed Military Commander whom all of them regarded as too young and inexperienced. That man was the reason they were still breathing rather than being buried below in the Gorge of Death.
“…”
Being at a loss for words, Rosalyn’s subordinate, a mage instructor from the Breck Kingdom, turned to look at the tall boy at the Commander’s left. Lock, who’d followed Cale’s orders and simply stared at his back for the entire battle, was shaking ever so slightly while tightening his grip around the blankets he was carrying, quickly loosening up again before he could squash the small child hidden inside.
“Ehem, ugh, excuse me, boy, we really don’t have a lot of time. No one knows when the retreated enemy will show up again and we are desperately in need of information and a new battle strategy-“
The man couldn’t finish upon noticing that Commander Cale Henituse stopped covering his ears, glaring at him with such a vicious stare- Rosalyn’s direct subordinate couldn’t help but flinch, unable to hide his shudder this time. The reddish-brown eyes that were staring not at but right through him, almost as if he wasn’t there in the first place, emitted an ominous aura. It was incredibly similar to someone who…who was gone – someone who was present yet not there.
Rosalyn’s direct subordinate couldn’t stop the goosebumps from appearing and quickly glanced away from the Commander’s hollow stare. Just as he was about to repeat his question, Military Commander Cale Henituse opened his mouth.
“73 casualties; Keith Acker, George Gregory Ashenhall, Henry Bento, Lia Boverow, Thom Crown, John Louis Crux, Victor-“
Before Cale could continue to list the names of the 73 deceased people – how he knew all of those names, not even the person who’d put his hand on his lips to seal them shut knew – he was stopped. The pale hand that was covering his moth was unusually big, humanly impossible cold with the temperature similar to a corpse’s and strangely familiar and yet, at the very same time, so very foreign. It was a hand he remembered holding on to with tiny fingers that weren't actually his despite being his.
“My dear son, did these people work you to the bone this much? Even making you remember the names of imbe-“
The tall man with the white hair, which was tied up in a messy bun for once (it made the impression of being done in a hurry, as if the man had been in an extreme rush for once), had a stunning appearance. He was so handsome, for a second Rosalyn’s direct subordinate wondered whether he was a dragon. Glancing at the bloodied Commander, he quickly disregarded that thought though.
There was a saying going “Birds of the same feather flock together”. Since Cale Henituse was otherworldly beautiful himself, it was only natural for other extremely handsome or pretty faces to flock around him. To hell with opposites attract! Just look at that guardian knight who’d been with him, the blonde guy whose name was Haben. And the crown prince of the Roan Kingdom as well!
Anyways, the white haired man who’d just came out of nowhere and quite literally had no presence at all despite standing right there, next to the Commander, who carried himself with pride and purpose, had stopped in the middle of his sentence, a strange frown on his gentle appearing face. His purple eyes narrowed as he glanced down at the smaller Commander before his sharp eyes turned to Rosalyn’s direct subordinate.
If he thought that Commander Cale Henituse’s gaze had seemed eerie, this new guy’s glare was terrifying. It was as if the white haired man was skinning him alive in his head. A strange smile was on the pale man’s lips as he forced a smile which didn’t reach his eyes to appear.
“My, who do we have here? Are you in charge?”
Immediately, Rosalyn’s direct subordinate stiffened up, shaking his head so fast, the newly appeared individual couldn’t help but wonder whether such a speed was possible for a normal human being. Yet, before the man had a chance to reply, the wolf boy Lock cleared his throat, immediately catching the white haired man’s attention.
No, it was wrong to say that. What caught the white haired man’s appearance was the bundle of blankets in Lock’s hands; the young Raon’s presence couldn’t be concealed that easily after all. And in his long decades of living, Vampire King Fredo van Ejellan had seen his fair share of dragons – including one that was in a similar state to the young Raon. That was why Fredo van Ejellan’s mind worked a bit quicker than he’d care to admit.
“Uh, sir, actually, C-Cale-nim is in charge.”
Fredo van Ejellan’s thoughts stopped the moment Lock’s mumbled words reached his sharp ears. He stared at the wolf boy, then turned around to look at the still celebrating soldiers. At the teleportation point through which Rosalyn, Choi Han, Archie and Witira had disappeared to carry out Cale’s last orders he gave after capturing the dragon half-blood and sending him back with Mary and Tasha. At the countless tents that had been put up. And then back at the person who was supposed to be “in charge”.
Fredo van Ejellan, due to being the king of the Endable Kingdom now, didn’t have a lot of free time on his hands, which he could use to spy on a certain unruly child of his, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t keep his eyes and ears open, though nowadays he did lessen the security measures around Cale. He’s gotten a bit cocky, huh?
Of course, Cale Henituse being appointed as Roan’s Military Commander had reached the vampire douchebag’s ears long ago, but still. Cale was a child. He should not be in charge. Fredo’s eyes sharpened as he glared at the man who was at least twice the age of his young child, unable to hide the malicious intent. Lock, sensing it too, shuddered, attempting to step back, yet stuck in place due to Cale’s orders. The wolf boy simply stared at the floor, doing his best to hide his unease.
Still not letting go of Cale’s mouth (and ignoring the cursed feeling upon noticing that the redhead didn’t push his hand off either), Fredo straightened his back ever so slightly, a mocking glint in his eyes.
“If that child’s in charge, how come he looks to be on the verge of collapse while all of you are fine? If that child is in charge, how come someone like you gives him orders? If that child is in charge, how come no one seems to be asking for his orders?”
A cruel smile was on the Vampire King’s lips as he finished his small little Q&A session with Rosalyn’s direct subordinate without receiving a single reply. The quiet and pained yelps that came out of his mouth did not count. After glaring at the man for a while longer, he sighed.
“I have arrived under His Highness, the crown prince Alberu Crossman’s, direct orders. Being this one’s father, I doubt you’ll have a problem if I take my child aside? A grown man should figure out how to deal with the aftermath of such a battle by himself, instead of running to a barely twenty year old child, no?”
When Fredo had said that he was Commander Cale Henituse’s father, no one dared to question him despite the common knowledge that the redhead was the son of Count Deruth Henituse. Maybe it was because the man had something fatherly on him, the way he treated Cale. Rosalyn’s direct subordinate couldn’t really tell, since his father didn’t need to step in for him like this.
Bowing down in front of the newly appeared man, but also to show his deepest respects to the Commander who’d led this first battle to victory with below 100 soldier’s deaths, Rosalyn’s direct subordinate muttered a quiet apology and excused himself, quickly stepping away from the scene. And as soon as he was out of hearing range…
“Hand him over this instance.”
Fredo’s voice was unusually chilly and he didn’t smile any longer, simply staring at Lock with those icy cold violet eyes of his. If Lock was being honest, if it hadn’t been for Cale’s adamant repetitions of his orders, he would have handed Raon over. No, he still almost handed him over. There was just something about this man and the small instance in which he emitted his aura-
“Team Leader Lee.”
Cale’s voice was muffled due to Fredo’s hand on his lips, yet the words he’d just uttered were clear, especially since both the vampire king and wolf boy had exceptional hearing. While both were confused, Fredo quickly pushed Cale’s senseless words to the back of his mind for a later date to deal with. Lock, on the other hand, furrowed his brows, not understanding who Cale was talking about.
Team Leader? What was a Team Leader? It seemed to be some sort of leader, of a team to be more precise. But why would Cale know a Team Leader, and rather, how and from where? Before Lock could continue to think about the redhead’s words, his hands were suddenly empty – carrying nothing but air in them.
He looked up, immediately noticing that the foreign man had taken the bundle of blankets and Raon from him, inspecting the young dragon. Lock immediately wanted to intervene, yet, before he could utter a single word, a pair of sharp, violet eyes stared him down. That gaze – Lock was frozen in his place.
It was a gaze that was asking him how it was possible to fuck up this badly.
Lock, who didn’t know this strange person at all, he’d never seen him in his life even once before, could immediately tell that he was one of Cale’s closer people. No, perhaps that wasn’t true. He was someone Cale must have gotten to know before he met Choi Han, Rosalyn and him. This man in front of Lock, he must cherish Cale Henituse a lot and he must also know a lot about him. If he knows Raon Cale must also trust him, at least to some extent. So Lock took a step back, looking down at the floor in shame.
The stranger was right. How was it possible for all of them to fuck up this badly? Even Lock, who wasn’t that close to Cale, could tell that something was majorly wrong.
“…Excuse me, s-sir, b-but will Cale-nim be al-alright?”
The stranger simply stared down at Lock, a frown on his face as he didn’t reply. Rather than that, he asked Lock a question.
“Where’s his tent? He must have a private one, no?”
Lock immediately jumped into action, pointing at one of the few tents that were on the bigger side despite being constructed for a single person. It was still a very shabby tent, at least in the vampire king’s opinion, but he kept that for himself. Nodding, Fredo let go of Cale’s mouth and grabbed his hand, so gently, Lock immediately clenched his fists in shame. His thoughts were similar to Rosalyn’s direct subordinate’s; while he didn’t believe that the stranger was Cale’s father, he acted in a very fatherly way indeed.
“…A mage. Is there a mage around here?”
Before Fredo could forget, he quickly gave Lock an indirect order, turning his head around to look whether the boy understood. Judging by the widening of his eyes and his determined look, he did understand – thankfully. Nodding back, Fredo finally guided the dazed Cale back to his tent, Raon in his arms. While the young dragon’s condition was indeed dire, there was nothing he could do rather than wait for Raon to go through his first growth phase. Cale, on the other hand…
Fredo couldn’t even tell what kind of condition that child of his was in. All he could see was that expressionless face, those unseeing eyes and that strangely unmoving yet moving body – almost as if Cale was on autopilot. He quickly put Raon down on the bed, careful as if a single mistake could injure the young dragon, before pushing Cale down on the bed for the redhead to sit comfortably – something he managed remarkably well even.
He glanced down at the redhead. Cale’s hands were shaking ever so slightly, but at the same time, he seemed calm. Judging by the blood on his clothes, face, hands and neck, the shacking could come from his exhaustion, but that didn’t explain that dazed state of his. Just as he was about to shake Cale’s shoulder, someone approached the tent.
Fredo was getting ready to call the wolf boy in, yet, the tent was opened without a single word and two sets of feet entered, neither was very calm at the moment though. And before long, Fredo was suddenly pushed aside, replaced by a man with shining, golden hair and mesmerizing blue eyes that shone brighter than the blue sky. Fredo almost chuckled, yet given the situation, he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Rather than that, he glanced at the second newcomer, a small but obviously fake smile on his lips as he bowed down ever so slightly.
“What an honor to see an ancient being twice in my life, and at such an unusual place at that.”
Eruhaben simply growled – and immediately, Fredo’s smile fell, replaced by a calculating expression. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, brows furrowed in concentration. He could immediately tell what the ancient dragon was after, even if all he had let out was a growl as a warning.
But Fredo decided to wait with his explanation and status report, at least until a certain crown prince was done fussing over his boyfriend and started to pay the least bit of attention. Said crown prince was busy crouching down in front of Cale, a frown present on his usually smiling face. He quickly took both of Cale’s hands into his, noticing how cold they were. Despite Cale’s bloodied appearance (which would have been the biggest shock to Alberu in the past), what terrified him was the blank look in Cale’s eyes. The way he was, despite lookin at him, looking right through him. His dull reddish-brown eyes, which had regained some shine over the years after their meeting twelve years ago, appeared worse than they had when he first met this particular trouble-magnet.
It worried Alberu, so much more than he cared to admit if he was being honest. He swallowed hard, doing his best to get his shaking hands under control.
64 hours.
That was what had been standing on the letter when Eruhaben and he arrived at the Gorge of Death, immediately walking through the many rows of soldiers, ignoring their attempts at praising their Military Commander with their useless words. 64 hours were less than three days – nothing at all. It felt just like back then, when Cale had been fourteen and they needed to balance out his plate, finding the earth attribute ancient power in under a week if they didn’t want him to drop dead. The anxiety Alberu was currently re-experiencing felt a bit worse though. No, not just a bit.
Back then, Cale had been a major part of Alberu’s life. No, even more than that, back then, Cale Henituse had been Alberu’s one and only best friend. He had been Alberu’s anchor, his happiness, the one person he could be himself with.
Now, Cale was even more than that. Cale Henituse was Alberu Crossman’s everything. No, even more than his everything. Cale Henituse was the most precious thing to Alberu Crossman, even more so than anything else. He was his reason for living, his reason for breathing, his reason for sleeping, existing, eating – his reason for anything and everything. Cale Henituse was a gift from the heavens – a gift from fate. He was not the “original” Cale Henituse, no, he was so much better. Alberu did not need to meet the “original” Cale Henituse to know that his Cale was the best. The love he felt for this one person despite his countless flaws, it was truly immeasurable and infinite. It grew exponentially every single day – every single day, Alberu thought this was the maximum, that it was impossible to love Cale any more than he did at that moment, but the next day proved him wrong, and the day after that too and so on.
That was why, if Cale was threatened at this moment, Alberu would- He didn’t know what he would do. His shoulders were so incredibly tense as he was clenching Cale’s hands, doing his best to hold them tenderly. He did not even notice the bundled up Raon, and if he was being utterly honest, at this moment, he didn’t care.
It wasn’t that Alberu didn’t care for Raon – honestly, he loved the young dragon a lot – it was just that at this moment, Alberu couldn’t bring himself to care for anything or anyone other than Cale Henituse who had once been Kim Rok Soo. Kim Rok Soo, Alberu thought that such a name suited Cale. It had a very nice and exceptional sound to it. But the moment Kim Rok Soo had decided to become Cale Henituse, he’d left that name behind with his past – or at least tried to.
“…Electric Eel.”
Cale’s voice was but a quiet mumble, but every single person inside this tent had heard it clearly. While the oldest two beings wondered what nonsense their child (respectfully) was spouting, Alberu felt reminded of one of those faraway evenings where Cale felt like sharing something from his past.
While he didn’t mention an Electric Eel, he did mention that during the apocalypse, mutated monsters had appeared on earth, some so foreign, they looked like beings straight out of a book, game or movie while others appeared to be a mutated version of animals or insects, some even a mixture of both. For example, there was a mutated Grasshopper-Lion, an especially strong Grade 1 monster, just one grade below the Unranked monsters. Cale didn’t mention anything about those, but he’d clearly stated that anything above Grade 3 was tricky while Grade 3 was still manageable.
Since there was no such thing as an Electric Eel here, could it be that Cale was caught up in his memories-? Immediately, Alberu touched his boyfriend’s forehead despite noticing that his cheeks were still pale and not red, meaning he couldn’t and shouldn’t be overheating due to his excessive use of his ability. Still, the cold forehead against his warm hand made things so much worse – it meant that Cale was drowning in his memories involuntarily.
But that-
“How odd, he’d said something similarly nonsensical before…”
Fredo’s mumble managed to get through to Alberu and he immediately turned his head to stare at the vampire douchebag. Both he and Eruhaben were frowning, one visibly more than the other.
“…What did he say?”
Alberu didn’t want to admit it, but his voice was unusually shaky and wobbly – as if he was going to throw up. He did feel sick, but he didn’t want to admit that. Eruhaben’s frown deepened, yet the ancient dragon stayed silent. Fredo, on the other hand, furrowed his brows, thinking about Cale’s words deeply before recalling them.
“He called for someone, ‘Team Leader Lee’.”
Alberu frowned, so did Eruhaben – though both for different yet similar reasons. Neither recognized the name. While one was entirely clueless though, Alberu’s thoughts trailed off to the first time Cale had opened up to him. It was the night of his fifteenth birthday, when he got drunk because of Bud Illis and when Alberu had gone to pick him up. He’d asked Alberu not to return home, and Alberu naturally complied – unable to say no to his one and only best friend.
Cale had revealed a lot that night, that he wasn’t the “original” Cale – thought to Alberu, he couldn’t be the fake Cale, there was no way – and also explained about his original world where he came from. But he’d shut down when asked about close ones.
Could it be that this Team Leader Lee was someone whom Cale was close with? Or rather had been close with? Despite his initial curiosity, Alberu decided that rather than dwell on such a stupid detail, he should take care of Cale’s condition first.
Now that he was a bit calmer and level-headed, he turned back to Fredo van Ejellan. His gaze said it all – Fredo immediately understood. Nodding, the vampire king finally began with his explanation, now that everyone was paying proper attention to it.
“After your call, I headed here immediately, yet wasn’t able to teleport anywhere in a ten miles radius. There was a magic disturbance tool active, and something like a shield? No, it wasn’t really a shield, rather than that, it was something that was made to keep people outside from entering the gorge. It took longer than I’d like to admit to break that damned thing, but upon my arrival at the scene, everything had already been taken care of.”
The vampire douchebag stopped for a moment, a mindful expression appearing on his face.
“Because of that shield I couldn’t see or hear what was going on inside, but I overheard some soldiers talk about the appearance of flying enemies, dead mana bombs, a wide wall of midnight blue flames and an even wider wall of water as well as the appearance of a dragon half-blood.”
Fredo stopped, fully knowing the weight those words he was spitting out so lightly carried. Even a single one of those things was more than enough to throw an entire army off guard, and yet, all of these things combined – everyone was more than fully aware that it was because of Cale that the celebrating soldiers outside were still alive.
“Apparently, this reckless child used his shield, a water summoning ancient power and an earth attribute ancient power for the entire duration of the seven hours of the battle.“
Fredo’s expression looked no better than Eruhaben’s while Alberu’s was especially pale. Almost immediately, he turned back around, shaking Cale by his shoulders, trying to get him to wake up. He had no doubt that it wouldn’t work, and yet-
“…Huh?”
Cale’s strangely faraway expression immediately changed into a deep frown, though that disappeared quickly, getting replaced by a somewhat small and relieved smile upon noticing that his beloved boyfriend’s face was the first that was greeting him. Yet, the way Alberu was staring at him, the cold sweat that was running down his forehead – something extremely unusual for the usually ever so composed Alberu – Cale quickly frowned again, straightening up. Feeling a sharp pain going through his entire body caused him to gasp in pain while leaning forward again though, making him unable to sit up properly in the end.
It was so strange to see reason return to Cale; Alberu honestly did not expect to receive any sort of reaction from that beloved of his. And even less than that did he expect Cale to lean forward in pain – what other use did that healing attribute ancient power, ‘The Vitality of the Heart’ have, other than to prevent him from experiencing actual pain, huh?
“Cale!”
Still, there was no way Alberu could ponder over something like that, not when Cale was actually fully conscious and able to see straight. Much less when he was in actual pain which his ancient power failed to prevent.
Naturally, Alberu wasn’t the only one. As soon as the two ancient beings recovered from their initial shock, they each stepped on Cale’s left and right sides, examining him for possible injuries. And while they initially didn’t notice anything amiss-
“Hah!”
Eruhaben couldn’t hold back his disbelieving scoff as he took a dagger which had been lying on the desk next to Cale’s bed. Quicker than either Alberu or Fredo could react, he had stabbed Cale’s arm with the dagger – only for it to do nothing besides making a ‘clank’ sound.
The over five hundred years old vampire king and the disguised quarter dark elf stared at the redheaded commander in equal shock as the ancient dragon and his child locked their eyes, neither looking away.
Who would have thought that the first to move would be Crown Prince Alberu Crossman? Robotically, as if he was on autopilot, he took out a certain parchment.
63 hours.
Less than fifteen minutes ago, the last digit had been 4.
Looking back at Cale, Alberu’s suddenly felt really strange. As if a sudden wave of calmness overcame him – as if he could manage everything, even something like this. As if he would somehow manage to find a solution to this absurd issue, whatever it was. Seeing a dagger almost break upon touching Cale’s fragile skin – this was worse than he imagined; something unknown. But he was sure. No, certain, he had absolutely no doubt on his mind that he was going to prevail. That he was going to do just fine. That he would manage to find a way for Cale to live, to not die.
And then Cale opened his mouth and all of that calmness was gone.
“…Raon. Raon is sick.”
Notes:
Hello lovelies~
Long time no see! Ik, ik, I'm sorry, but I was kinda busy these days. This chapter has been sitting at 4k words ever since I published the last one (not because I couldnt think of anything else to write, but rather because i didn't have the time to finish) and I decided to fuck it all and just write some sort of ending to push it out at last.
You guys deserve a continuation and I deserve a fresh chapter TT
In any case, I really think that the ao3 author curse is real after this week >^<
A lot of shit has been going down lately, including me pretending to be a delinquent (omg, I got the spelling right on my first try I feel like I am god oh fuck), so yeahhhhhhhhh, gimme a lil bit of credit for that. Now that I finally managed to post again, I do feel a lot better.
I think that I'm going to stop the Hiatus for the time being and do my best with weekly updates (though do not wonder if it's one update in two weeks or two updates in one week <3! Basically going back to the usual!
Thank you once again for y'all's continued support. Your kind comments really make my heart beat faster. Every single time I read them, I feel like a little girl that received that one toy she'd been wanting for WEEKS or even MONTHS! And every single kudo for this work...guys, thank you. Really.
This is already chapter 70 (technically 74), so I mean, I'm like 20 chapters over what I originally wanted to write (I really didn't think I would make this longer than 250k words, but hey, this means there's more for you to enjoy!) Anyways, since this won't be over too soon, guess you'll have to stay with me for this ride for a while longer ;)
Then, see y'all next update, yeah?
<3
Chapter 75: 71. Not right now! (4)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Heh :)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“It’s gonna be a real pain in the ass.”
Groaning, a tall man with a well-built and muscular body leaned back in his office chair, putting his feet, or rather his dirty shoes, on the table. There were a few document sheets between the fingers of his calloused hands, all of which were crumpled in a very unprofessional manner – not that any of his behavior and appearance had been professional in the first place. His clothes were what you’d expect survivors of the apocalypse to wear; a dirtied shirt and blood stained pants which were comfortable to move around in. His boots were old and looked ready to dissolve into nothingness, and yet, they still didn’t fall apart completely (the man must have used some sort of super glue to keep them together). His disheveled hair was wild – no one had the time to style their hair anymore, at least in the man’s opinion.
With his sleeves rolled up, the countless scars on his arms were revealed, telling tales of different field missions he’d succeeded in in the name of this company. No, not just field missions. This man, the Team Leader of Team 1, Lee Soo Hyuk, was in charge of rescue missions. He and his team fought monsters, yes. But they didn’t do just that. Contrary to Team 2 and the other teams, Team 1 under Team Leader Lee scouted the areas around Seoul, partly reclaiming places that had been thought to be lost forever. Their main objective, however, was to find more survivors and to bring them to safety.
This so called safety was just a temporary concept – at least until the Korean government had somewhat restabilized. At the moment, things were looking better than they had a year ago. And not just for the country and perhaps the entire world, but also for Team Leader 1, Lee Soo Hyuk.
Before the man could continue to complain, the documents were snatched out of his hands, the culprit quickly walked away, hiding behind his comrade and using said youngster as a shield from Lee Soo Hyuk’s glares.
The Team Leader couldn’t help but scoff, crossing his arms in front of his chest with his brows wandering up.
“Jung Soo, you little punk, what do you think you’re doing, ah?”
Choi Jung Soo, the culprit in other words, did not reply as he took a quick glance at the documents – not understanding even a single word. Groaning in annoyance, he pushed them off to his meat shield, who was both smaller and frailer than him, completely ignoring Lee Soo Hyuk’s cussing.
“Oi Rok Soo-yah, can ya summarize~?”
Team 1 was an elite squad that was directly under Lee Soo Hyuk’s orders, one of the strongest people on earth at the moment. It was an elite squad which consisted of two members next to Lee Soo Hyuk: Choi Jung Soo, an experienced fighter with the sword, and a frail man who was twenty years old yet looked even younger than that. If there hadn’t been that constant and never changing frown on his handsome face, others would consider him even charming. That man was no good at fighting, no, and yet, Lee Soo Hyuk had explicitly chosen him to be on his team, though it was true that the man had involved his personal feelings during his choice.
Nevertheless, there was no way anyone could argue with his decision. Furthermore, Kim Rok Soo did have an exceptional talent which prospered during office hours, though it was invaluable during times of battle as well. It was a talent which was actually a Grade 1 ability. No, if people were honest, the ability’s rank should be even higher – the only reason it wasn’t unranked was because it didn’t have a physical use in battle.
So when Choi Jung Soo pushed the Team Leader’s documents towards that person, there was no doubt on his mind that he’d get what he’d asked for, even if Kim Rok Soo pretended not to hear. It didn’t even take Kim Rok Soo ten seconds (it could have been faster, but the twenty year old had just lazily paged through the four paper sheets, almost as if he was testing Choi Jung Soo’s patience), then he delivered a perfect summary containing all key aspects.
“It’s a new field mission. It appears survivors have been sighted in Seodaemun-gu. HQ wants Team 1 to hurry to the rescue while also investigating a new monster mutation that originated there.”
Kim Rok Soo furrowed his brows for a second, letting out a deep sigh similar to Lee Soo Hyuk before he too crossed his arms in front of his chest, the documents safely put away on his desk.
“It’s some sort of hybrid of the Snake-wolf and the Falcon-horse.”
Both of these monsters were on the stronger side of Grade 2 monsters, but in the end, since they didn’t manage to make the cut for a Grade 1 classification, Team Leader Lee and Choi Jung Soo would be able to manage. Inside his mind, Kim Rok Soo had already begun to calculate the probability of their success and failure, continuing with possible battle strategies to lower their chances of failure and even trouble. Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk who were already used to Kim Rok Soo spacing out like this in the middle of a conversation exchanged glances, yet wisely chose to stay quiet and wait for the man’s estimation.
And naturally, it didn’t take too long.
“Mn, Team Leader Lee might be right, this is gonna be a pain in the ass.”
Hearing Kim Rok Soo cuss, Choi Jung Soo immediately punched him in the shoulder. It was but a light jab, but to Kim Rok Soo it still hurt. Sometimes, he forgot that Choi Jung Soo had a lot of similarities with an overpowered munchkin novel protagonist – not that he’d ever say those words out loud.
“Don’t cuss, Rok Soo-yah! Did ya already forget what hyung told ya? Eh?”
Kim Rok Soo ignored Choi Jung Soo partly teasing; partly serious words as he brushed the man’s hand off of him, glancing up at the tall man who’d finally decided to get up from his comfortable sitting position to join the two of them. Raising his brow, he didn’t add anything to Choi Jung Soo’s little speech, simply stared down at Kim Rok Soo.
And then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there appeared a parchment in his hand – seemingly it had appeared out of thin air even. Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but frown. He turned around to exchange glances with Choi Jung Soo, only to notice that the guy was smiling at him, almost ominously.
A shiver ran down Kim Rok Soo’s spine as he turned around to face Lee Soo Hyuk. What was wrong-? Did he do something-?
“Rok Soo, you little troublesome punk, ah! Wanna give me a heart attack even after death, huh?”
Lee Soo Hyuk waved the parchment in front of Kim Rok Soo’s face, as if he was waving the white flag to surrender in a war. His expression was the same Kim Rok Soo was used to; he was the same Team Leader Lee he was used to. What did he mean even after death…?
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Lee Soo Hyuk shook his head in a disapproving manner, making Kim Rok Soo glance up at Choi Jung Soo. Choi Jung Soo simply smirked, patting Kim Rok Soo’s hair – no wait; Kim Rok Soo didn’t have crimson hair.
The head of hair Choi Jung Soo was currently patting was unmistakably his own, and yet, Kim Rok Soo did not possess crimson red hair that seemed to have the same color as blood that was also of shoulder length. But it was his head? Wait-
Glancing down at his own fingers, Kim Rok Soo suddenly noticed that they were much paler and thinner than his own – which was already ridiculous, given that Kim Rok Soo was undeniably thin and frail, even without looking like this. But it got even more ridiculous as Lee Soo Hyuk continued to say the things he wanted to say, either ignoring or not noticing Kim Rok Soo’s confused state.
“You’re such a troublesome bastard indeed, and you have obviously absolutely no shame. What have you been doing, suppressing all memories that made you feel something, huh? You think they go away if you don’t replay them? Can’t you do something else, like anything else? Do you have to worry not just the dead, but also children?”
Lee Soo Hyuk’s voice had a scolding and yet undeniably gentle tone, almost as if he was trying to teach a younger sibling to do better. His words and behavior was typical of him, and yet, something didn’t feel quite right. And before Kim Rok Soo could find the answer himself, Choi Jung Soo jumped in on the conversation, once again patting Kim Rok Soo’s head in an affectionate manner.
“Rok Soo-yah, how are people supposed to react when a god’s telling them that you’re gonna die in 50ish hours, ah? Should they dance or some shit? Tsk, as usual, you’re so clueless~”
Lee Soo Hyuk shook his head (it was disappointment, that was written all over his face) and finally lay the parchment in his hand in front of Kim Rok Soo. There were strange letters written all over it, in a language Kim Rok Soo had never seen before yet understood perfectly.
‘Cale Henituse will die in 59 hours.’
Staring at the parchment with bewilderment, Kim Rok Soo ended up sighing. He intended to put that useless thing away, yet couldn’t do that after noticing both Lee Soo Hyuk’s and Choi Jung Soo’s intense stares.
He didn’t know any dude that was called Cale Henituse. That name sounded pretty western, maybe European? In any case, he doubted that there was someone with that name. He’d memorized all the company members, and there wasn’t any guy called Cale Henituse, that’s for certain. So why on earth should he care whether that guy was going to die or not-?
“Look at this punk, you little brat, see what you’ve done?”
Choi Jung Soo snorted at Lee Soo Hyuk’s remark, yet didn’t seem to feel especially guilty. And yet, the moment he and Kim Rok Soo locked eyes – Regret.
Regret over regret and even more regret was written all over Choi Jung Soo’s face. It looked like his eyes were going to burst from the guilt and remorse that he was currently expressing. He was still smiling, and yet – he looked like he was carrying a burden heavier than any other person Kim Rok Soo knew.
As soon as he understood that, he glanced back at Lee Soo Hyuk, only to notice that (thankfully) the man didn’t look as bad as Choi Jung Soo. Still, there was something off with him as well – as if he too had something that he deeply regretted.
Something that he deeply regretted?
What regrets could an amazing person such as Lee Soo Hyuk have?
Could it be his past family that died or the way he couldn’t fulfill his dream to become an action movie stunt performer or however those guys were called?
No, Lee Soo Hyuk was not someone who got hung up on such pesky things. Then why on earth-
Was it because he left Kim Rok Soo behind all by himself?
Shocked by his own thought, Kim Rok Soo glanced around, only to notice that he felt strangely lonely even with his two family members standing right beside him. He felt as if both of them were no more than his own mind playing tricks on him – and he would be right, at least partly.
Letting out a resigned sigh, Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo exchanged yet another set of dubious glances which Kim Rok Soo didn’t quite follow, not that it mattered. Then, the two of them turned around to look at him, one patting his hair the same as usual while Lee Soo Hyuk was busy putting his hand on Kim Rok Soo’s frail and boney shoulder, much bonier than what he was usually used to.
“Rok S- No, Cale, Cale Henituse. Yes, you are Cale Henituse.“
Lee Soo Hyuk repeated that name so often, it sounded almost like he was trying to convince himself that Kim Rok Soo was actually someone who was called such a strange and foreign name. Naturally, this confused the young man, yet he knew better than to interrupt his Team Leader.
“…You should wake up now.”
When Lee Soo Hyuk opened his mouth again, his voice sounded a bit muzzled, almost as if he was speaking through a wall. Kim Rok Soo, while he felt a bit sluggish all of a sudden out of nowhere, still managed to make out the words that left the man’s mouth. He quickly turned to look at Choi Jung Soo’s face, but just like Lee Soo Hyuk, he too had become a bit blurry and difficult to see. And before Kim Rok Soo knew it, he was sitting all alone in this vast, empty office. He glanced down at his desk, only to notice that the parchment was still lying on it.
‘Cale Henituse will die in 59 hours.’
~
The first thing Cale felt when he came to was a strong grip on his shoulder. There was a pressure pressing down on him – undeniably foreign and yet very familiar at the same time. It was the doing of his boyfriend, Alberu Crossman, no questions asked, but the strength behind that usually gentle grip was somewhat strange – strange because it hurt Cale. The redhead wanted to turn around, to glance up at Alberu and ask him, but he couldn’t.
He physically wasn’t able to turn his head around and glance at the person who was standing behind him. It was because he had noticed a simple seeming parchment lying on the desk in front of him. Cale didn’t even fully realize that he was sitting down on a chair at a desk until now. That parchment, it was the same from his dream. The same parchment that Lee Soo Hyuk –
“Ugh!”
Curling forward, Cale couldn’t help but do his best to suppress his urge to vomit. Inside his mind, there was a name so clear and yet blurry- It made him go insane. No, it didn’t just make him go insane; it made him feel sick to his stomach. Even though Cale didn’t recall the name, had no idea whose name that was; to what kind of person it belonged – he could tell that it was a name of such importance; it was ridiculous that it wasn’t clear in his memory.
The grip of Alberu’s hand on his shoulder got a bit tighter before the crown prince forced himself to loosen it, gently pulling Cale back to a proper sitting position. It was strange, the way Cale seemed to be lucid before spacing out without warning. It was the third time this happened already, and frankly, things couldn’t continue like this.
They didn’t have time to waste.
While Alberu would usually not dare to overlook Cale’s current mental state…
‘I won’t give a fuck about it if that means that he’ll live.’
…it was crucial that he focused on something a bit more important for the time being, that crucial thing being keeping his boyfriend alive. But given the nature of ancient powers (fuck, Alberu hated those goddamn trials the most), Cale would have to be mentally present in order to obtain a much needed water attribute ancient power. He needed it to balance his plate. Without it…Alberu did not want to think about the consequences in case they failed because they wouldn’t. He mustn’t let that happen.
Perhaps that was why he pushed back his feelings and relied on his rationality for once, shaking Cale, much harsher than he intended to at first.
“Cale, are you conscious?”
He was relieved that his voice didn’t shake, that it didn’t display the terror and despair he was currently feeling. Cale was a rather perceptive person, and even if he wasn’t, the two ancient and powerful existences standing opposite of him sure were. All of them were beyond shaken by the current situation – neither of them ready to face it – but if they managed to push their own feelings back, he should do the same.
For Cale.
“…What?”
After a while, Cale’s weak, out of breath reply came. It was strange; the way Alberu didn’t even expect him to reply properly. Hearing Cale’s voice, despite the weak tone, was a bit reassuring.
“We need to get going now. To follow Eruhaben – remember?”
Subconsciously, Alberu tightened his grip around Cale’s shoulder again, only letting go after noticing the redhead’s obvious flinch. To be completely honest, perhaps he didn’t let go just because of that but because he noticed that his grip was too hard – that he was too emotional in this situation despite doing his best to remain rational.
He wasn’t Cale. He had no idea how to just…turn off…his emotions like that.
“…Is it about Raon going through his first growth phase? Did Rosalyn finally reach Eruhaben-nim?”
Immediately, Cale got up from his seat, his gaze hardening. Despite his reddish-brown eyes still being glazed over – a reminder that despite his behavior at the moment, he still wasn’t fully himself – the redhead fought hard to keep his calm; to behave like a proper adult since he knew that no one else would.
No one else would.
…no one else would…
…no one else could?
Cale froze amidst getting up, blankly staring at the gorgeous ancient dragon standing in front of him. His shiny golden hair reached past his hip and flowed down in perfectly combed strands of seemingly liquid gold. The robes he wore were of a beige color, something a usual guardian knight or mage wouldn’t wear, but it wasn’t like this certain individual actually concerned himself over clothing etiquette made by mankind. Then the redhead’s gaze wandered to the bundle of blankets that this man was holding on to.
It was a bundle of white blankets.
White blankets.
White like the sky of the morning after the apocalypse-
Apocalypse.
Something that could be a synonym for the end – something that Cale had survived unlike so many other faces he was familiar with. But how on earth did he manage to survive? Cale wouldn’t have been able to survive by himself, no, under no circumstances. But there was no one he was close with. Not a single name came to mind when he thought back his old life as Kim Rok Soo. What on earth-
“Focus – for Raon.”
Alberu’s faraway sounding voice cut through the new daze Cale found himself in, but it wasn’t until the crown prince gripped his shoulder once more that Cale regained lucidity. It was a strange feeling – very similar to someone falling down from the rooftop of a house only to land inside water.
What was he thinking about just now-?
Cold sweat was running down Cale’s forehead as he did the only thing he could think of – to use Record. But Record…it wasn’t working? Why wasn’t it working? What was going on? Wait…what happened to the war? The battle at the Gorge of Death? Was he still at the Gorge of Death? No, that would be impossible; he was currently inside a room, not inside a tent. If he’d left, what happened? What was currently going on? What did he miss? Did he pass out again? While Raon needed him the m-?
Someone flicked his forehead out of seemingly nowhere, successfully breaking the chain of Cale’s pessimistic thoughts. Bewildered, the redhead glanced up at the man who had been leaning against a wall a few seconds ago, next to the ancient dragon. There was a playful smile on his lips, but even in this dazed state, the redhead could tell that this individual was working hard to keep up such a simple and carefree expression.
His white hair was up in a messy bun with lots of lose strands and his violet, seemingly omniscient eyes were filled with fear. Cale was very familiar with that expression, even if he didn’t comprehend how or why that was the case. As he mentioned before, he hadn’t been close to anyone. Perhaps it was an expression he’d seen on one of his rookies’ faces?
“Pay attention, my dear son~, you wouldn’t want me to interfere, would you~?”
Almost immediately, Cale’s usual frown replaced whatever expression he’d had on his face as the redhead moved his face away, getting up again. He didn’t even notice when he’d sat down again – or when Alberu removed his hand from his shoulder. Turning around quickly, Cale was met with a pair of azure eyes locking in with his. He’d completely forgotten how mesmerizing the eye color of Alberu’s disguised self was. It looked just like the color of the sky on a warm summer day with not a cloud in sight. It looked just like the color of the calm sea when it wasn’t disturbed by anything. It looked just like the color of peace and quiet. If Alberu’s disguised eye color symbolized that for Cale, his natural eye color gave off so much more comfort. Looking inside those deep brown eyes – Cale usually forgot anything around him.
Perhaps the eye color was actually not that important though – the comfort the redhead received just by locking eyes with the man was caused because it was Alberu he was locking eyes with.
Alberu had nice eyes.
His gaze, contrary to both Fredo’s and even Eruhaben’s was calm and his pupils weren't shaking. While both ancient beings seemed to be in despair – afraid and terrified of something bad happening – his boyfriend was like a calm rock, unmoving, unchanging, something Cale could lean on with the knowledge that he wouldn’t get swept away by whatever was currently happening to him.
Oh.
Maybe he should rely a teeny tiny bit more on Alberu rather than trying to do everything and anything by himself, only filling the older in on the most important details – and even that wasn’t a guarantee.
The more Cale locked eyes with Alberu, the calmer and steadier he felt. The glaze over his reddish-brown eyes slowly disappeared as his mind cleared once more, this time (hopefully) permanently. And Alberu, well, Alberu couldn’t help but scoff. Crossing his arms in front of his chest as he noticed and fully realized that reason was slowly but surely returning to his boyfriend- Well, he thought that it was a bit ridiculous.
This was definitely a good thing. Now that Cale was his usual self again, they could easily find the water attribute ancient power and make Cale overcome that trial so that he wasn’t in danger any-
“Cough!”
A sudden and lough cough sounded through the suddenly silent room. The reason it had gotten silent – with the exception of Raon’s heavy breaths – was so that the two ancient beings didn’t disturb the couple. As much as they didn’t want to admit it aloud, there was a special connection between Cale and Alberu, one neither of them could replicate. That was why they kept quiet and waited.
Their wait was worth it – but at the same time, not.
It was because, as soon as reason fully returned to Cale, he began to cough up blood.
Cale coughing up blood wasn’t an unusual sight for either Alberu or Eruhaben (let’s ignore the shocked sound that the vampire douchebag let out), but what was unusual was the extremely crimson color of the redhead’s blood. Don’t get it wrong, both of them were also somewhat used to Cale coughing up his real blood and not the dark used blood that his body needed to get rid of. But this time…
Eruhaben had explicitly said that Cale wouldn’t cough up blood in the state he was currently in.
Alberu couldn’t stop his body from trembling – perhaps it was both because of shock and utter disbelief at the situation he was currently faced with. Because when his body automatically moved to support Cale, he noticed.
Cale’s heartbeat – it was slow, then fast, then too fast, before it didn’t come again for a few seconds in which Alberu was convinced that he wouldn’t feel it again before returning again. It was irregular, unclear, unreliable – a silent warning. A warning which clearly meant that Cale didn’t have any time left despite the number of hours written down on the parchment.
‘Cale Henituse will die in 59 hours.’
Even if Cale was to die in 59 hours, that didn’t mean that he could move freely until then. To die meant that both one’s heart stopped beating while the person stopped breathing. The moments before death could be normal moments or painful moments. The number on the parchment didn’t mean shit – basically. In other words: If they didn’t move now, it would be too late, even if it was just a single more hour that passed.
Perhaps that was what drove Alberu to drag Cale by his arm, despite the redhead’s obvious struggles. He was still coughing blood, and while the sound of it distressed everyone inside the room greatly, one glance at both ancient beings sufficed for Alberu to know that they ended up with the same conclusion as him.
That was why Eruhaben didn’t say anything and quickly cast a teleportation array. They didn’t need Cale to understand the situation – even if that had been the plan before. What they really needed to do was to get Cale to the location of the water attribute ancient power and make him face the trial by himself – to force him, if need be.
There was no way they would find another water attribute ancient power anywhere on this continent. No, forget that. Cale Henituse was special, an exception. A normal human wasn’t supposed to come across even a single ancient power, let alone two – or more than that for that matter. Hell, even the ancient dragon who’d almost lived a thousand years and the Vampire King Fredo hadn’t come across a single ancient power so far, though Eruhaben did meet two humans who each possessed one ancient power, that didn’t really count.
For Cale to find come across more than one ancient power and to obtain them – it wasn’t possible. No, the chance of that happening was exactly 0%. And yet, it somehow happened. Not only did he obtain more than one ancient powers, he also obtained a healing attribute ancient power and one of each basic element in order to balance his plate. The chance to obtain two ancient powers of the same element even if one was embedded in an artifact, that wasn’t just an impossible miracle, it wasn’t even fate anymore. It felt surreal.
The gods weren't helping Cale. The world too seemed to be against him. But nature, maybe nature was supportive of him, leading him in the right direction?
No, even nature didn’t have enough strength to allow a human to obtain so many ancient powers, even if it was someone like Cale.
What was currently happening, it made the ancient dragon’s head hurt. That was why Eruhaben tuned out his rationality and logical thoughts; instead focusing on the chance they were given.
They wouldn’t come across any other ancient powers – and even if they would, not in the short amount of time they had left. Cale made it look like ancient powers were something anyone could pick up on a simple walk on the side of the road. That was not the case.
When the array was complete, the ancient dragon exchanged a glance with the old vampire. The two of them, despite their differences, had the same goal – both of them felt parental responsibility for Cale (and of course parental love, though that wasn’t what was important at the moment). Even if they couldn’t really stand each other – well, Eruhaben couldn’t stand the vampire for various reasons while the vampire pretty much didn’t care about the ancient dragon’s existence at all – there was a silent agreement which was exchanged without a word leaving each of their mouths.
They would make it so that Cale Henituse would survive – no matter what it took.
Alberu, who was unaware of what was happening behind him, simply glanced back to look at Raon. Even if his main focus was on his boyfriend, he couldn’t help but pay attention to the young child’s heavy and irregular breaths. He knew that right now, Raon wasn’t in danger, and that wasn’t really the main worry of him. What worried him was that the young dragon could listen to all the things that were currently happening around him – what was currently happening with Cale.
A child shouldn’t be aware of his guardian’s struggles and pain, at least not in this situation. But there was no way they could leave Raon behind. Besides Eruhaben, there was no one who could take care of Raon while he was going through his first growth phase. But Eruhaben was needed for this mission as well – he was the only one who knew the vague location of the water attribute ancient power the green dragon Olienne had mentioned in his diary or something along those lines.
So Alberu took a deep breath and swallowed whatever discontent he was feeling. He needed to do that – for Cale and Cale alone.
You owe me, you fucking bastard, and the least you will do is give me a proper explanation when you wake up. And you will wake up. Because you have to survive. Because you promised not to kick the goddamned bucket. If you die on me, I’ll kill you.
Alberu did not say his thoughts out loud. Instead, he found himself staring down on Cale’s more than just pale and sweat colored face. He caressed the redhead’s hair, gently brushing away the lose strands of his hair that were sticking to his forehead. The blood that was running down his chin was something Alberu chose to ignore in order to pay closer attention to the long lashes that framed the redhead’s eyes.
He never really complimented Cale’s looks. He should voice his inner thoughts more, that the redhead looked like the prettiest existence he’d seen in his entire life. When this was over, he’d tell Cale – after forcing him to give him some information. They could start with this “Team Leader Lee” and move forward to the “Electric Eel”.
Right, Alberu would get an answer out of Cale.
The redhead wasn’t allowed to kick the bucket before Alberu’s curiosity was soothed.
The redhead wasn’t allowed to die after that either, he needed to live a long and (more or less) healthy life.
For fuck’s sake, he was Roan Kingdom’s Military Commander – he had an entire army to lead to victory, just as he’d promised Alberu in advance. The war was still not over yet, hell, it didn’t even properly start just yet. Cale still needed to finish whatever the hell he plotted for the Mongoru Empire!
He wanted to be a slacker – a rick slacker.
Of course he would survive.
Alberu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, noticing the fresh forest air around him. With a heavy heart, arm still supporting his boyfriend, he stepped forward and followed after the calm and reliable ancient dragon.
I swear on my life, if you die on me, I’ll kill myself and join you in the fucking after life.
Notes:
Hiiiiiiii lovelies~!
Hello back everyone! I'm so glad we've finally reached this arc! Omg, you have absolutely no idea what I've prepared, but that doesn't matter, cuz I KNOW hahahahahaha!
In any case, going forward, I am certain that you're aware of the tags. You've read them and hey, after like 70ish chapters you're still here, so going forward I'll stop giving special trigger warnings. For one, it's too much work since I sometimes write one part of a chapter at one time and the rest of the chapter at another time, so sometimes I even forget what it's about (nope, I aint rereading my writing cuz that would force me to edit my mistakes and sorry, but that's a no-no if I want to keep my motivation in tact)!
I hope you can forgive me T^T!
In any case, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Watch out for the angst that's gonna come to you in future chapters (namely child abuse/neglect, trauma, anxiety/depression, survivor's guilt, panic/anxiety attacks and so on).
NOW; can WE PLS TALK ABOUT ALBERU! The guy's growing up, fuck!!!!!! Dude also got so much trauma cuz of Cale, I kinda pity him...(nahhhhh, not really lolllll). He sure as hell learnt the one or other thing from our cute Raon-nim!
Then, see ya 'round!
<3
Chapter 76: 72. Be Safe
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
:D
WE ADORE PAINNNNN
Notes:
TW warnings (I didn't mark anything in particular, given that I already warned y'all that going forward, things are going to get more angsty, but for this chapter I wanted to put up an extra warning):
- hints of suicidal thoughts (nothing graphic or too terrible, but I feel like I do need to mention it)
Else, same tags as above apply to everything, so yeah, this may be a bit angty but hey, it's also got fluff!!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Child, do you wish to listen to an old tale? Then please lend me your ear, only for a while.
The tale is actually more of a story, a story about a young child. A boy of maybe eight years of age, eyes light up with curiosity when he walks down the narrow pathways in the back alleys hidden from upper society’s view, those places where normal people don’t dare go to, let alone think about.
It is a boy similar to any other child. At first glance, he even appears to be the very same, perhaps a little bit smaller and thinner, but a child like any other nonetheless. Every time he wanders outside, even in those dirty streets where the air consists of cigarette smoke and other substances rather than normal air, where the floor is covered in spit, blood and other things, he looks like he’d just experienced something amazing.
His adventures were normal walks any other child would scoff at, given the existence of playgrounds, but to that child it wasn’t like that. Every now and then, he even encountered the one or other street animal. Usually, those street animals bit and scratched any stranger trying to approach them, but the boy didn’t have such a problem. Sure, there was this one dog that bit a hole into his shirt, trying to drag him into a different alley, and that one street cat that pretended to scratch him to get him to go away, but it wasn’t like he ever actually got hurt. It was the opposite even, most times; those street animals let him pet them, even if some were grumpier than others.
Child, do you know why that was the case?
It takes a scammer to recognize another scammer and a poor man to recognize another poor man. Just like birds of a feather flock together, similar souls attract each other, especially those filled with misery. After all, misery loves company, and those misery filled minds feel a lot emptier whenever confronted with a misery filled soul.
Child, what do you think happened to the child? Not in life, but whenever he returned home from his adventures?
~
Kim Rok Soo was a survivor.
He’d survived a lot of different things, some of which were less grave than others. For example, back when he was a kid, he managed to survive his abusive uncle Kim Seung Jong. He’d managed to find ways to soothe the man, managed to get over the injuries he’d inflict every now and then even without some healing ancient power that managed to tend to his every wound. In comparison to all the things he’d experienced in his life, his traumatic childhood didn’t even seem that bad, if he was being honest with himself.
Kim Rok Soo was a survivor.
He’d survived the end of the world, stayed alive when mankind was getting annihilated by mutated monsters and unusual animal hybrids alike. He managed to find small places where no one, not even insects, would look and hid there, trying to ignore the screams for help all around him. It was to the point where the screams all around him weren’t the only thing Kim Rok Soo did his best to ignore, but also the people. Powerless men, frail old people, weak women and clueless, terrified children- (those screams were the loudest)…He’d managed to look past all of that, and he’d managed to get noticed by some passerby dude who couldn’t and wouldn’t mind his own business. Well, starvation would have been one hell of a way to go, given Kim Rok Soo’s history, anyways.
Kim Rok Soo was a survivor.
He’d survived the apocalypse and managed to fight back, regaining human territory from monsters that had stolen mankind’s land, even if most humans had long since disappeared from the face of earth, their only remains being some unrecognizable bone piles lying around, some crushed to dust. And whenever he did face difficulties, Kim Rok Soo would manage to find a way around the problem ahead, calculate countless possible ways to get out of the situation with the fewest casualties- (someone, someplace else, would die anyways)…
Kim Rok Soo was a survivor.
A survivor’s main task was to possess the ability to survive any situation they may face. Surviving was defined as the ability to get away while still breathing – no matter if you ended up crippled, if your body would turn unrecognizable due to scar tissue, or if you survived physically but not mentally. Surviving was the ability to move on from anything after some time and pretend that it had no impact on you. Because bluffing, as in fake it ‘till you make it, was the only way to survive; no one managed to forget the horrible things that happened to them, ever.
People aren’t born survivors and it’s impossible to shape someone into a survivor. Two people who have been through the same thing could end up differently, one turning into a survivor while the other ended up killing himself in some back alley.
If a survivor isn’t born or shaped that way, how is it possible to become a survivor? The answer to such a senseless and ignorant question is rather simple: it’s not possible. The thing with being a survivor is this, either you are or you aren’t. It is not determined by birth, neither by experience, it is not determined by your surroundings or fate. It is something that is determined by something as ridiculous as coincidence, and mayhaps a bit of your personality.
Kim Rok Soo was a survivor.
It is not something he turned into because of his childhood; the domestic abuse or the school bullying. It is not something he turned into because of his teenage-years; the social isolation or the orphanage. It is not something he turned into because of the apocalypse and everything that followed after.
It is something that just, from one day to the other happened.
The day that Kim Rok Soo turned into a survivor was rather early.
It was a day that started like any other sometime in winter after he’d turned eight only that it didn’t end like other days. In the evening, Kim Seung Jong left for some backroom casino, forgetting to lock the door in his rush to get to women, gambling and alcohol. It wouldn’t be the first nor the last time he did that, but it was the first time Kim Rok Soo actively thought about opening said door.
He’d come back, he’d have to. He didn’t have a place to stay and the streets were too cold to stay out anyways. He’d come back. He’d definitely come back. He’d always come back. This was home after all, even if it was like this. Others had it worse than him, anyways.
He’d come back after going out.
Only for a little bit.
The moment Kim Rok Soo stepped through that door, not even clothed in proper winter clothes but simple rags Kim Seung Jong had found in some dumpster and then brought home, that very moment Kim Rok Soo had breathed in the cigarette smoke stained air and walked on the sticky road with his old and holey sneakers, the sole sticking onto the one or other spit out gum and used condom, the moment he’d tasted freedom and still returned to a place that caged him, crippled him, that was the moment coincidence decided to turn him into a survivor.
Contrary to life, death, war, fate and even time and space, coincidence was something that didn’t have a particular god – something even the God of Time and Space didn’t take into account. The rule of the world was that everything that happened on it happened either due to fate or coincidence.
Which of them was probably stronger?
Once a survivor, you’d forever carry that label with you, even if you changed your entire being. With Kim Rok Soo becoming Cale Henituse, the label of survivor still stuck to him. Back when Cale had been Kim Rok Soo, there were many things he’d survived. Those events were so many, that the numbers this world has to give are not enough to keep count. It is because every single time Kim Rok Soo has thought of giving up and instead kept going is a moment that is counted as a moment he’d survived because that’s what he did.
So now, that Cale was faced with yet another trial that he will survive, his head got very clear. Whatever daze he’d been just a split second before seemed completely forgotten, pushed to the very back of his mind where it got locked away, to never see the light of day again.
His body was in a state where it was about to break down and the laws of the universe dictated that he would break down again, pass out and be comatose until death visited, but his label as survivor shielded him. Because coincidence just happened to flock around Cale in particular, always chasing after him since he was a little child.
The hands that were holding him up, steadying him so that he wouldn’t fall over and accidentally hurt himself, seemed irrelevant all of a sudden and it didn’t take him long to shake them off.
He stumbled forward and immediately, two pairs of hands got ready to reach out to him and steady him, but before any of them could reach him, Cale had steadied himself. He didn’t know what kind of expression was on his face, but he quickly schooled it, feeling a lot calmer than, well, ever before.
He didn’t particularly know what situation he was in or how dire it was, but what he knew was that he needed to get something done or else.
“What’s the situation?”
Perhaps it was due to his personality, or maybe because of his survivor’s instinct that kept him calm, a form of keeping himself alive even in the worst of situations since the ability to think rationally equaled surviving, but his voice was the same as before. When Cale turned his head to face his blond boyfriend, his usual stoic expression was on his face. His entire aura had changed to the point that he appeared the same as ever.
And while Alberu, Fredo and Eruhaben were shocked to the core at this sudden change, the crown prince managed to quickly pull himself together.
“You have to collect a new ancient power or you’re gonna die.”
Curt and straight to the point, Alberu delivered the current situation to Cale, skipping over anything that wasn’t too important, like the time limit. His face was carefully blank, seemingly void of emotion, and yet, the short instance in which Alberu’s and Cale’s eyes met, it was rather easy for Cale to tell that Alberu was probably a lot more stressed and anxious than he’d ever been before this day. There was so much fear, panic and desperation portrayed inside the crown prince’s eyes that Cale, for a change, was the first to look away.
Clearing his throat, he gave a simple nod.
“Mn, it’d be for the best to avoid that outcome.”
At his attempt to loosen the mood even just a bit, he received a disbelieving scoff from his boyfriend. When he looked back up at the disguised quarter dark elf, he noticed that, while none of Alberu’s emotions had lessened in intensity, he also seemed a bit less tense and relieved for some reason.
“That’s right, my dear son, let’s not die today~”
…How Cale wished that the voice he heard was still part of his fever dream or whatever he’d had before. Turning around, the redhead was faced with a certain vampire, who now ruled over an entire kingdom as the rightful emperor and, for some reason, kept addressing and regarding him as his son. While it was infuriating and always would be, something about the way the tall and handsome vampire stood there, his long, white strands unruly and wild – something Cale hadn’t ever seen before – his forehead slightly clammy and his shoulders tense-
-He’s worried.
Hearing the gentle voice of the previous owner of the Super Rock ancient power that always asked him whether he was willing to sacrifice himself saying such soft and caring words felt somewhat odd but also strangely soothing to Cale. Perhaps it was because Super Rock had actually not wanted Cale to sacrifice himself and only tested the redhead’s limits and his worth, so to speak, or because of the way Super Rock actually wanted to protect him and his loved ones, Cale wasn’t entirely sure.
I know.
-We are too, you know.
The husky voice of the Sound of the Wind, who usually stayed silent and didn’t comment anything, also spoke up, more quietly than before. The usually loud voice of the Vitality of the Heart and the Indestructible Shield stayed silent and even the Fire of Destruction didn’t give some sarcastic or cussing remark.
-Don’t worry. The crazy kid is not too difficult to acquire. Just cuss him out, cuss him out and you’ll be fine!
Instead, he tried to calm Cale and give him an advice about the trial that was to come.
-And land the first hit, you hear? You need to land the first hit too! Hit first and think later!
Finally, the glutton too spoke up, albeit a bit more aggressive than Cale was used to. He didn’t hear the voices of the previous owners of the ancient powers often, but given all the time he’d spent with them by now it wasn’t unusual for him to easily recognize a change in their usual personality. With glutton it was probably the easiest, given that she didn’t even mention any food.
-Or just convince him to cause trouble with you in the future! Promise him that you’re going to be the most annoying troublemakers together!
…Cringing at the cheapskate’s cheerier addition that sounded more like him, Cale finally tuned back to the three people that had apparently accompanied him to…They were inside a forest in front of a somewhat grey lake?
Immediately, his usual frown made its appearance on Cale’s face as he glanced around the strange forest he didn’t exactly remember entering, not that he generally recalled much. Actually, the last thing he did remember was using the Super Rock ancient power and that dragon half blood. Seeing that none of his family members were too injured, his heartbeat calmed down a bit. Someone, or he, must have taken care of it already.
Still, for some reason, Cale felt as if he was still missing something, something major at that. For some reason, he glanced past Alberu and Fredo who were talking quietly, and straight at Eruhaben, who had been staring at him the entire time.
The ancient dragon’s golden eyes were unusually wide, his pupils mere slits as he followed Cale’s every movement with the precision of a hunter observing its prey. But Eruhaben was no hunter, at least not with Cale as its designated prey.
While Eruhaben’s eyes were unusual indeed – and certainly not something that Cale could easily ignore – the redhead’s attention was suddenly pulled onto the little bundle of blankets inside the ancient dragon’s arms. It was moving up and down hastily, almost as if there was someone inside-
Fuck.
That was the moment Cale recalled Raon hitting his first growth phase in the morning of the battle.
Goddamn it, fucking shit!
Cussing at moments like these was normal for Cale. While he still looked just as casual and stoic on the outside, his family members could easily tell that he too wasn’t as calm as he pretended to be.
It didn’t take a genius to know why Cale’s mood just shifted after he glanced at the bundle of blankets, or rather the bundled up Raon in Eruhaben’s arms. Eruhaben quickly stepped closer and put his free hand on Cale’s shoulder, strangely gentle compared to his usual, almost as if he was afraid that Cale was made out of glass and would easily break if he put too much pressure on the redhead.
“Raon is fine, he’s doing rather well. I already told you, but let me repeat myself. During a dragon’s first growth phase, there is nothing we can do besides protect him. In order to protect Raon, we have to make it so that you’re safe though, hear me, you unlucky brat?”
Eruhaben’s deep voice was calm and the words left his mouth in no rush, as if he had all the time in the world to talk to Cale, even if that wasn’t really the truth. Even if everything else about the ancient dragon practically screamed at Cale that he was anything but in no rush, his way of speech still managed to calm Cale once again, although the worry about Raon didn’t completely disappear.
“Eruhaben-nim’s right, you don’t want to stress Raon out, do you?”
Alberu, seemingly done with the secret conversation he’d had with the vampire emperor, quickly cut in. The urging way he stared at Cale, the redhead couldn’t look away.
“Just imagine how stressed he’d be if he woke up and you’re hurt?”
There was not a single doubt in Cale’s mind that that would utterly destroy the young child. Allowing himself to glance at the bundled up Raon one last time, Cale let out a defeated sigh.
“Don’t worry, I think I’ve got this figured out now.”
Turning around from Eruhaben in order to step even closer to Alberu, Cale gripped the taller by his shirt and pulled him down. While he didn’t have a lot of strength, Alberu was too exhausted to resist his boyfriend’s movements, hence simply followed whatever Cale wanted. Expecting to hear some whispered words about in case I don’t make it – a thought that Alberu had had ever since he noticed how fucking calm Cale was even though it did relieve him a lot – it was a surprise when the redhead pressed his lips against the disguised quarter dark elves.
It had been supposed to be a short kiss, Alberu could tell, but the moment Cale connected their lips, Alberu didn’t want to let go. Because god, nowadays, he got to do things like these way too rarely, and kissing your boyfriend only once in a while was not enough for him. No, no way in hell.
Cale’s lips weren’t soft, unlike what Alberu was used to. The blood he coughed up had long since dried, ruining the usually soft tasting mouth of his boyfriend ever so slightly. Alberu didn’t care about how Cale’s mouth tasted though, no, not when he was finally able to kiss him as he’d wanted for so long.
And okay, given the situation, he should perhaps let go, tell Cale to hurry up and let him do his thing so that he could kiss him when Cale returned after obtaining that new fucking ancient power because there was just no way he wouldn’t because he just had to- But Alberu also wanted to kiss his boyfriend.
As previously mentioned, Alberu was not Cale. He couldn’t just put on an uncaring and stoic façade and pretend that he didn’t have emotions or push them back to do things rationally. Sure, as the crown prince, Alberu was one of the most strategic and rational people you’d find in the entire continent, not just the Roan Kingdom. But whenever Cale Henituse got involved, you couldn’t exactly blame him for being irrational.
His hands found their place around Cale’s waist rather naturally and he immediately pulled the redhead closer, even closer than should have been humanly possible. Cale had, at some point, let go of his shirt and put his arms around his neck, not that Alberu exactly noticed.
Hot breath against cold, almost freezing skin mixed with the taste of bitter iron and it wasn’t until Alberu noticed that Cale was having trouble getting enough air, that he finally parted their lips from each other – an offense that seemed unforgivable but had to be done eventually.
Still, he kept Cale close, and the redhead too didn’t loosen his arms around his boyfriend’s neck.
“’m sorry.”
Cale’s quiet, mumbled words were almost inaudible, but Alberu still managed to hear them. Rolling his eyes, he placed one last kiss on the redhead’s forehead, carefully and gently, because this person was the most important being in his life.
“If you don’t come back healthy, you fucking will be.”
While Cale would have usually rolled his eyes at Alberu’s remark, thinking that the quarter dark elf was joking, both knew that he was dead serious right now. The way the sadness and despair inside Alberu’s azure eyes seemed to swallow the relief and happiness, the way that hopelessness overwhelmed the little hope he’d won…Cale couldn’t help but feel utterly terrible. It wasn’t because he thought that he was burdening Alberu, because he knew that the blond was probably the only person on this planet that he couldn’t burden at all, but because he knew that he was causing Alberu pain.
Loving him caused Alberu pain.
He didn’t want-
“Stop thinking about useless shit, I swear to god Cale, I can tell. If you aren’t-“
“After today, I’ll be free. I’ll be free for a long time.”
Cale’s words, calm and emotionless, managed to shut Alberu up. The disguised quarter dark elf quickly glanced at his boyfriend, only to notice that, for a change, he was fully looking at him, not through him.
Perhaps it was that, or the convinced way Cale said those words, but Alberu was inclined to trust him.
No, that’s not really true.
Alberu would always trust Cale; he did so blindly without as much as questioning it. Even back then, when he’d said absurd things, Alberu had always trusted Cale. There were certain things were Alberu trusted his own instincts more than Cale’s words, such as whenever the redhead said he was fine and actually wasn’t.
Right now though, Cale had spoken with so much conviction- no, conviction was not the right word. He had said it like he’d say anything else, as if there was nothing special about it, almost casual. And honestly, that was just what Alberu so desperately needed.
“Yeah? I’ll try to take a break from my duties, then. No promises though.”
It was a promise.
“Sure.”
Cale could immediately tell.
“You hurry up; I don’t think I can wait for much longer while you’re on death’s doorstep.”
“Already joking about your boyfriend’s death, I see.”
“How else am I going to deal with you, huh?”
“…”
“See, you don’t even know yourself.”
Cale couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on the corner of his lips, one that even he couldn’t fully suppress. Alberu mirrored that smile, although it appeared a bit more relieved on the crown prince.
The couple’s little bickering managed to lighten the atmosphere and even Eruhaben and Fredo seemed a lot more relaxed now, although still quite tense. They had taken a few steps back, probably to give the couple some much needed privacy.
What had felt like some tragic goodbye at first, felt a lot more lighthearted now.
Yes, the situation was still the same, extremely dangerous. There was such a high chance that this was going to be it, that luck had finally left Cale’s side and he wouldn’t be able to obtain yet another ancient power after managing to avoid the laws of this world for so long. It was dire, it was serious. There was a high chance that they wouldn’t ever see each other again, at least not like this.
But Alberu had faith.
He had faith in his boyfriend and trusted him, fully. And by the looks of it, Eruhaben and Fredo seemed to think along the same lines as him.
“Hey.”
Quickly turning back around to face Cale, who was still clinging to him, tightly, Alberu raised his brow in question.
“I love you. I really, really love you. Sorry for not saying it more often.”
“…”
Utterly speechless, all Alberu could do was stare at Cale for a good ten seconds. He was blushing a deep crimson color and glancing away from his boyfriend, although he still refused to let go. Seeing Cale like this, Alberu couldn’t help but lean in closer once more, although this time, he gently, tenderly kissed Cale’s cheek.
“I know, you don’t have to say it. I love you more.”
So much more.
Both stayed silent after that, Alberu continuing to gently place kisses on Cale’s cheeks and forehead until either Eruhaben or Fredo, neither the redhead nor the blond had paid attention, cleared his throat.
“It’d probably be better for Cale to start the trial now. When he comes back, you two can hug each other as much as you want.”
So it was Eruhaben who cleared his throat. Alberu nodded firmly, slowly letting go of Cale who also pulled back his arms after yet another quick kiss on the lips.
“Ehem, only after I’ve hugged my dear son, though~ After all, you spend so much time with-“
Eruhaben, ever so wise and insightful, was quick to silence the vampire duke with his glare, making Fredo turn his full attention at one of the trees a few farther steps back. The ancient dragon too respectfully glanced away, giving the couple yet again some more privacy.
“Be safe, yeah?”
Cale simply nodded at Alberu’s words, then stepped closer to the calm lake. And apparently, he shouldn’t have, given that the formerly calm lake immediately turned chaotic.
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
The formerly calm lake resembled a wild ocean when a storm was currently happening. It was something that everyone noticed, and even though both Fredo and Alberu attempted to step forward, be it out of instinct or the need to rescue the redhead, yet were stopped by layers of shields the ancient dragon put up in front of them.
“This is the trial to obtain an ancient power and no outside force is allowed to intervene lest any of you have an idea as to where we’re gonna find another water attribute ancient power.”
Eruhaben’s calm words did not match the way his pupils shrank even more. He didn’t even look at either of them while saying those words, his entire attention on Cale’s back, at least for the time before that unlucky brat disappeared-
Disappeared?
Eruhaben’s eyes weren’t the only ones that widened when Cale’s present family members realized that their precious redhead had jumped into that storming and wailing water, an action that was so incredibly dangerous, neither had any words for it, holding their breaths.
But Eruhaben was right and, no matter how much everyone hated it, none of them could possibly intervene in what Cale was currently doing, since this was his trial in the end.
Pulling up the piece of parchment, Alberu stared at the number that was written there now, knowing that it’d have to change by now.
Cale Henituse will die in 51 hours.
*
Getting yet another ancient power fucking sucked – that was something Cale decided on after he heard yet another sob story from someone his other ancient powers referred to as crazy kid. Well, the guy threw water spears at him and chased him with literal chains, complaining about being chained down by a god and wanting to change its name from Water of Judgment to Sky Eating Water.
It was an absurd concept to Cale, who believed that everyone was free to do whatever they desired to do, and that much he told to the previous owner of such a vicious water attribute ancient power.
He already missed the useful and especially silent Dominating Water he’d almost used up entirely, especially after he finally managed to obtain the Sky Eating Water and that crazy kid’s voice kept playing obnoxiously loud in his head when he got excited to see (that was possible???) the previous owner of the Fire of Destruction ancient power again.
Getting out of the lake, drenched in water, sweat and blood, Cale felt like he was dying rather than getting saved from death, and when a sharp pain suddenly went through his entire body, making him clench his eyes shut, more in annoyance than pain, although that one too played a significant part in it, he couldn’t help but cuss out the entire world.
-Your plate, it’s expanding. It almost broke, so now it needs to mend back together.
How fucking helpful, thanks for telling me beforehand.
Cale couldn’t help but want to cry after Super Rock informed him of the current situation. He could already feel how someone he could immediately recognize as his boyfriend, rushed over to him, gently shaking him. In that moment, all he was hoping for was to pass out, which was when Super Rock came with even worse news.
-…You can’t pass out; you need to be awake for the whole process. I’m sorry.
Cale was fucking crying, and it was a mixture because of the unbearable pain and his utter disbelief at his current situation.
Whoever’s responsible, I’mma fucking skin you alive!
Somewhere, not too far away, a certain god couldn’t help but shudder, getting an incredibly cold feeling, almost as if he just god cursed by someone or something.
Notes:
BITCHES GUESS WHO LIVED :D
Anyways, glad to finally be back! No, not happening again, ain't gonna make any promises this time around (tho I'mma try to post sometime soon again)
AS SAID; THIS SHIT WASN'T FORGOTTENNNNNNNN EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT I WOULD I PROVED YA WRONGGGGGGGG!!!
Anyways, glad to be back, this is gonna be a bit short cuz it's like two am rn and I still need to watch Layze before going to bed :3
Really hope you still enjoyed this, even if the update took this long! (Cuz I sure did, writing it) :3
Then, until next time!
<33333
Chapter 77: 73. Hello, old friend (1)
Chapter by Whatever_you_wanna_call_me
Summary:
Things can never be easy for Cale, unfortunately.
Notes:
Massive trigger warning ahead, please be mindful of the tags yet again and read with care!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Have you ever thought about what death felt like?
Would it resemble something peaceful, something calm, almost like falling asleep with the difference that you’d never wake up again? Would it be that death welcomes you with soft, open arms? Would it be comfortable? A place so unique, that you yourself never want to leave it?
Or would it be painful?
Many people die painful deaths. Soldiers get shot, stabbed, poisoned. People get into accidents. Murders happen. Some get tortured to death, good and evil people alike. Would death also feel piercing to them? More like eternal torture than relief?
Or was it that death itself – the act of dying – was painful for but a moment, after which you’d be flooded with a calm softness that carried all of your pain and burdens to a faraway place where they’d never be able to bug you ever again? Would it then be explained by something along the lines of ‘the force behind the universe’, such as ying and yang, good and evil, rich and poor – that one thing cannot possibly exist without its counterpart? Meaning, you have to suffer in order to feel relief?
Things like those were confusing and Kim Rok Soo had never given them much thought. Death wasn’t exactly something mystical when you faced it every single day, when it basically chased after you, followed you each single step, waiting for you to slip up. Then, it wouldn’t really matter whether it’d welcome you with open, soft and caring arms or tie you to a chair where it could stab you for eternity.
The magic lay within mystery and rarity, within its charm. Things lost its charm when they became more common. Then again, was death ever uncommon in the first place? Everything would come to end in death. But then again, because everyone would die someday, wasn’t that exactly why no one really thought about it? Why people crossed the street without thinking they’d get hit by a truck the next moment? Why people could live life freely?
In an apocalypse, you didn’t have such freedom to not think about death. That’s also when it stops being something philosophical and becomes a threat of some sorts. You don’t imagine how it welcomes you, whether it even welcomes you, but that once it catches up with you, once you make that teeny tiny misstep–
It’ll be game over.
Forever.
There is no such thing as second chances. That’s something Kim Rok Soo had been taught pretty early on. People might find it odd and unusual, no, straight out inhumane, that a back then not even ten year old was taught the ways of life no one wanted to think about.
In total, there were three crucial survival rules one had to follow. Firstly, the no second chance rule. Do it right the first time, no matter what. If you fail, you will be punished. In an apocalypse, that punishment can also be death. No, it is death.
Secondly, the know your place rule. Because you are absolute jackshit, nothing but a piece of trash that others can stomp on. You are merely more than a worthless ant. What possible contribution will you make to society by existing other than eat other people’s food and drink their water? It’s an important thing to know, where you stand and where you don’t stand. Because it doesn’t matter whether the world is hit by an apocalypse, humanity’s hierarchical structure will forever remain to be the same as ever. You are a worker or a king; it’s as simple as that. Kim Rok Soo was born to be a worker – nothing more, everything less. If you don’t know your place, you’d become a rebel. Everyone one knows what happens to rebels – they get punished. Kim Rok Soo’s uncle had always been very lenient with him, only hitting him, never killing him. Attempting to kill him was also different from succeeding, because in the end, when Kim Rok Soo had crawled back on all fours, he’d been generous enough to take him back again rather than leave him on the streets to become a stray dog’s snack.
Thirdly, have common sense and make use of it. Don’t be tactless; read the room, never show your face when others obviously don’t want to see your rat-like face that can ruin entire meals. It may seem like an unnecessary third rule, because one might consider it to belong into the second rule’s category, but no. Having common sense was a separate thing, as it required actual use of the brain. Keen observations to read people’s faces and gauge their mood had been Kim Rok Soo’s survival strategy when he’d finally managed to make his escape at fifteen.
Kim Seung Jong had been a good teacher, in the end, because hadn’t it been for those three rules, Kim Rok Soo would have certainly ended up as a lifeless corpse in some alleyway’s trashcan no one ever cared to empty or check anyways. Kim Seung Jong had also been a good teacher in the sense that he’d perfectly embodied the worst case scenario to Kim Rok Soo. No, not even the worst, but he’d hinted at it. He’d still been generous with him, obviously. Else, Kim Rok Soo wouldn’t have made it past the age of maybe seven or eight.
He’d shown the actual way this world worked to those who weren't born lucky. Kim Rok Soo had soaked up the knowledge, that wisdom, like a sponge.
And he’d kept the knowledge at the back of his mind. It had been the work of years, after all. The result of countless lessons that had been beaten into him more often than that they had been yelled at him. Because how could he possibly dare to forget something like that?
But the very same knowledge that had kept him alive during his late teens had slowly dimmed and faded to the back of his mind. No one at the company Kim Rok Soo worked at would have described him as tactful or respectful – anyone would say he didn’t have common sense and also didn’t know his place.
As for the first rule – that was something completely else. Something so deeply engraved into every single cell in his body, basically written into his DNA – anyone would agree. Kim Rok Soo never required a second chance – every single mission was carried out perfectly the first time around. Because, just as Kim Seung Jong had taught him long ago, anything else would have ended in death.
That’s the only rule Kim Rok Soo, who had now become Cale Henituse, still remembered, still went by and still understood. To the point where, rather than that it was part of a three-rule-list, it had become a stand-alone fact, a matter.
The other two rules weren't exactly forgotten, of course. They were still within Kim Rok Soo and now Cale Henituse. They would forever be there, forever stay. Like deep scars that just weren't visible to the naked human eye. They reflected in the small gestures, the way Cale still failed at seeing his own worth, the way he considered himself to be replicable. They were within his nature and would forever stay there.
The core was damaged, the DNA, the base for everything else.
Kim Rok Soo, and now Cale Henituse, had been living with that core ever since he’d turned seven in his life as Kim Rok Soo. He’d grown used to it, to his way of thinking. To his brain tricking him into thinking that his core wasn’t damaged to the point where he should technically not be alive anymore. In that sense, Cale’s brain deserved an Oscar for such an outstandingly lavish performance.
After all, did it not manage to trick Cale into thinking that he truly was a selfish disposable trash that put himself above anyone else besides maybe children?
~
Do you know what’s worse than death?
The answer about anyone with a functional brain and common sense would give would probably look like ‘have the person you love die’. While that, in itself, was an absolutely and undoubtedly horrendous thing to have happen, especially in front of your very eyes, could it honestly be considered worse than death itself? Human life was fickle and changed easily, like a tiny light candle in the wildest of snowstorms. One second, when the wind calmed, it stayed strong, burning brightly. Then the wind picked up again and blew it in a different direction, any different direction, really. It could also happen that the wind was strong enough to blow it out completely, but it was a rather easy job to light it up again.
Similar to that, having a loved one die in your stead was merely a part of life. At the moment, it would appear to resemble the end of the world – and that’s technically also what happens. Because the moment a person falls in love, they leave reality and begin to construct a new world around them – their reality – with the person they committed to. That of course requires the love to be strong enough, to be more than a mere act of lust and sexual desire mixed with the ancient instinct of a sociable creature to find a partner. So of course, when the person you’ve partnered up to construct the world you were currently living in, half of it shattered completely, leaving the other, remaining half, broken and useless.
That is why, having a loved one die, is definitely something that people could compare to an experience worthy of being considered worse than death.
What they failed to remember is that life goes on for the living. Maybe you’d mourn your lost loved one for days, weeks or perhaps even decades. But one morning, you’d get up and the pain you felt on the day you realized that you had to step back into reality, leaving back your version of it, seemed too far away to remember properly.
That’s not to say that you don’t miss your loved one as much as you did on the very first day, no, of course not, but with time, each passing second, you got used to it. And on one seemingly ordinary morning, you’d be magically over it in the sense that you realized, all of a sudden, the color of the sky is actually really beautiful. You’d find yourself humming to music again, snorting at lame ass jokes from co-workers or trash TV series, and you’d somehow manage to smile back at the Starbucks worker who’d been serving you your black coffee no sugar for the past months if not years, to whom you’d always been nothing but dismissive.
As time moves on further, you’d find yourself smile at seemingly nothing. You’d start greeting your neighbors and get involved in seemingly useless after noon gossip sessions with the old lady a couple houses down the street, the one that owned more cats than she could possibly finance while also buying her grandson that visited like twice a year the best of things, like the most recent phone. Or, after he got his lisence last year, that brand new Honda Civic.
When you’d walk into the Starbucks, the employees stop nicknaming you ‘the grumpy guy who only wears black’ and actually welcome your orders that have become a bit harder to predict. Nowadays, the black coffee without sugar didn’t seem to suit your taste anymore.
Maybe you’d stay like this forever, being content with the small things in life. Somedays were harder than others, but then the sun ascended the sky on the next morning and somewhat inside of you shifted.
Maybe you’d meet someone else. You wouldn’t love them the same as you’ve loved the loved one you’ve lost, because the moment you chose to commit yourself to that person, you’ve not only ripped out a piece of your heart but also a piece of your soul and handed it to them – parts that died with your loved one and would never return to you again. But you’d love them. Maybe enough to rip out half of your heart and soul yet again and offer it to that new person, to start constructing a new reality for just the two of you yet again.
You would be able to breathe freely one day one way or the other. Your chest would stop feeling so tight all the time and only do that seldomly from now on. But over the years, it got easier and easier. And then, the candle in the snowstorm will be plucked out, as it has nothing left within to continue burning brightly, and replaced by a smaller one that lets the flame atop shine just as brightly as before, even if it is smaller in size.
The memories about your dead loved one will become less painful and you’ll finally manage to see them as they are: trophies and tokens of true love rather than a painful reminder of what you’ve once had and what you’ve forever lost. You’ll also manage to appreciate them more. Of course, these memories will blur over time, so that they are little more than specks of bright colors that remind of happiness and love, shining so brightly, that you miss the few darker specks of color representing the bad and worse memories.
But that’s okay, because that’s what’s meant to happen – the natural circle of life.
Hence, ‘having the person you love die’ cannot possibly be considered to be worse than death. At the moment, yes. Undoubtedly. After all, half of your heart and soul dies with them. But in the long run? No. There are worse things than that.
Answers such as ‘torture’ and ‘pain’ are also natural, but they too cannot truly be considered to be states worse than death. Of course, during those moments, you’d be willing to pray for death, and sometimes, it’s bad enough for you to die willingly the moment you see a chance. It doesn’t always work, because holding, for example, a knife to your throat or writs, is a naturally scary experience. So is standing on a high building or bridge and glancing down.
In the end, what a person considers to be worse than death depends on emotions and what they are currently experiencing at the moment, because views and opinions vary each passing second. In that sense, all already stated answers are as valid as they are invalid – depending on perspective alone.
However, a universally acceptable answer does still exist, one that’s explainable for both the current point of view and in an overall and general, almost neutral, kind of way. That answer involves something as simple as ‘life’.
No matter how you look at it, everything existing can be considered to be part of life. In that sense, pain and suffering equally to anything and everything in between such as sorrow, misery, despair but also anger and anguish is also a part of it. And aren’t those the very emotions that shape people’s answers to questions such as ‘Do you know what’s worse than death?’?
Without life, death is not possible, but that also works the other way around. Those two states of existence correlate to each other. In that sense, life is necessary for death while death is necessary for life. Life makes death possible, death makes life possible. In that sense, life must contain elements that make people yearn for death while death scares people into clinging on to life.
Nevertheless, life shall still be worth living for while death shall still appear as something that must not be yearned for under any circumstance. Because life is worth more than death, at least it seems to be that way. Despite its ups and downs, despite everything, it should still be worth living for.
If only for that one morning, where you get out of bed, accidentally glance outside your window, and realize, ‘oh, why didn’t I ever notice that the grass has such a deep, green color?’. Hence, staying alive is, somewhat, a requirement too.
So, in the end, the question ‘Do you know what’s worse than death?’ should be answered like this: Nothing is worse than death because death is the end of it all.
Now, why would someone possibly need to clarify such deep philosophical nonsense?
~
Staring at the bastard sitting cross legged in front of him, arms crossed in obvious and blatant disrespect as much as disobedience, Alberu couldn’t help but let his inner mind cackle at something that would usually bring him to tears.
The clothes Cale wore were his very own – and maybe that’s what added on to this irony. Instead of his usual black color palette with even more black on top, Cale actually wore white royal clothes with beige pants that looked almost wrong on the redhead, and he did so in a battle scene no less. If Cale were to lose even a single drop of his own blood, it would forever remain visible on the clothes he was wearing.
Alberu recalled Cale’s reasoning behind his choice to go with a dark color such as black for his Commander’s uniform.
I’m attending a funeral, after all. Our enemy’s.
If he was being completely honest, Alberu had secretly loved that sassy reasoning. Pair it with Cale’s slightly amused and not at all secretive smirk, he didn’t even question the redhead’s choice of color. Even if he had, it wouldn’t exactly have been of any use anyways. Still, fact remained, that back then, Cale had been sincere. He had to be.
But he had had to know.
Had had to know that the color would hide the pools of blood he’d constantly be spitting.
As much as Alberu preferred to not think of his boyfriend’s past, in moments such as these he couldn’t help but remind himself that he’d been on the battlefield several times already. Actually, he had years of experience under his belt, one of his main arguments behind why he should have been appointed as Roan’s Military Commander rather than anybody else.
Did Cale do it deliberately then? Going for a black color palette to come off as nonchalant during a battle? No, knowing Cale, that goddamn idiot did it because it was convenient to have no one hovering around him and worry about them, as he deemed such things unnecessary as much as it was inefficient.
Alberu helped Cale change his clothes; he had felt the formerly soft fabric’s crunchy texture. Seeing blood on an ally is a distraction during battle – that must have been Cale’s idiotically rational and logical reasoning behind it. And the worst thing was, it made sense. And it was good.
As Roan Kingdom’s crown prince, Alberu should feel fucking ecstatic about Cale’s ability to anticipate events like these and come up with counter measures such as his black clothes. But as Alberu had noticed long ago, in regards to Cale Henituse, Alberu wasn’t Crown Prince Alberu Crossman, future successor to Zed Crossman’s throne, but simple, plain Alberu, Cale’s boyfriend and lover.
“Stop being so fucking smug.”
Unable to hold in both irritation and annoyance as well, given that he was trying to hold back masses of worry, anger and his familiar companion, good ol’ pal despair, Alberu didn’t even feel ashamed when he cussed at Cale. Sure, it of course wouldn’t be the first time, but the way his voice wasn’t the least bit loving did make him feel a pang of guilt.
Cale, pretending not to notice the subtle change in Alberu’s tone, simply rolled his eyes. The frown that was basically muscle memory to his facial muscles by now was etched on his face, same as ever, and yet, his eyes looked uncharacteristically dull. Alberu had always admired the unique shade of reddish-brown that Cale’s irises consisted of, but right now, the color appeared a lot darker. Maybe even a bit more reddish compared to Cale’s usual. Alberu didn’t know whether that was a bad or extremely terrible thing – that it wasn’t a positive change wasn’t even on the table.
“I’m not. I was just trying to make sense of everything you’ve informed me.”
Alberu had never been someone who was short on patience, or someone who easily raised his voice for that matter. Actually, anyone who knew him would describe him as one of the calmest people around. Even the quarter dark elf himself didn’t know what exactly happened just now, but he felt something inside him snap like a string that had been put under too much pressure on both sides for far too long.
“What, can’t use your fancy abilities anymore? C’mon, why don’t you record my every word to the point where you try to die of a fever, huh?”
There was a subtle tremor in Cale’s hands but he quickly hid them behind his elbows, clenching his arms tighter together. There was not even a miniscule change in his expression that hinted that he’d been hurt by Alberu’s words otherwise, as he simply raised a brow, most likely to appear absolutely untouched and unimpressed.
“Roan’s Military can’t really afford to lose me as the Military Commander right now, but let’s try that out as soon as the war’s over.”
Cale’s words were delivered in one of the coldest tones of voice Alberu has ever heard coming from him before, to the point where it resembled his speech around members of Arm and the White Star. His words, Alberu belatedly realized after glancing into Cale’s eyes for a tad too long, were spoken with the clear intent to hurt him. Cale didn’t mean them; he didn’t mean them at all. Saying those words alone hurt him so much more than they hurt Alberu because that was the kind of person Cale was, and yet, he still said them.
Alberu, oddly enough, felt reminded of a cornered animal doing its best to keep fighting during its last moments.
When did things start to go wrong?
It was a thought so sudden, Alberu barely registered it. When he locked eyes with his boyfriend, his beloved, the person he’d do any and everything for, he saw something he hadn’t noticed before. It wasn’t something vulnerable or something even close to any emotions, really. It was more like a haunted feeling overcame the crown prince out of seemingly nowhere. But more than that it felt haunted, it felt like a shard of something that had been broken for so long-
“You promised me. Two years.”
Alberu didn’t want to talk about this. It would end in an argument, he knew. Contrary to all those nights before, when Alberu had simply dropped the topic of conversation despite seeing the distress written all over Cale’s face, he wouldn’t be able to stop now. He’d start blurting out his inner feelings, reveal his selfish desire to keep Cale out of harm’s way even if thousands or millions or, for fuck’s sake, anyone else would have to die. But even more importantly than that, he’d reveal how much Cale hurt him. He didn’t want to hurt Cale back. But that would happen automatically when he’d revealed what an impact Cale’s self-sacrificial tendencies had on him.
But as much as he didn’t want to argue with Cale or hurt him, he also couldn’t just run away like the coward he proved himself he was, whom he’d been all along, actually.
“Yeah, but did you keep up your end of it?”
Cale stayed silent. For a change, he didn’t shoot an argument back at Alberu, nor did he start an argument that would have pulled the couple farther apart. In the sudden silence, even Alberu couldn’t help but stay quiet and wait. The shame crept up sooner than he thought it would and he buried his face in both of his hands.
They were currently in the Military Commander’s tent at the Gorge of Death. Cale had been in pain for the past three days and only gotten some proper sleep for a few short hours before some dumbass officiant stopped by, using the chance that both the ancient dragon and vampire king were out, one taking care of Raon – ordered, or rather asked, not to return until everything had been taken care of –, the other one assisting in the safe-keeping of the dragon half-blood Cale had won against, to ask for some senseless after-math and battle-stand-still orders that literally anyone else could have handled.
Immersed in his role, Cale had complied, silently, complaintlessly.
Alberu then proceeded to update his boyfriend, before he stopped amidst everything, swallowed hard, swallowed his pride and anything else that made him who he was, and continued with the other half like some sort of well-trained machine. It wasn’t until he finished with everything that he felt his emotions return to him, which lead to their current situation.
And really, now he was putting all the blame on Cale, just because he can’t keep his shit together? So soon after Cale got back to not be in pain anymore? What the fuck was even wrong with him?! Sure, he’d had a couple sleepless nights, maybe more than a couple, but-
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I overstepped.”
The apology that left his lips felt bland and insincere, quite useless and worthless. It felt like he just robbed a bank, spent all its money, and came back with a couple hollow and empty words.
The one thing Alberu had had to do was to swallow his pride and his concerns and take care of Cale’s aftermath to let him run completely wild. His boyfriend was brilliant. No, even the word brilliant failed to gauge Cale’s intelligence level and intellect. He had a strategy for each and everything and could calculate probabilities of success in changes of said strategy in a matter of seconds. As a Military Commander, as Alberu had known all along, he was an essential figure. He was the mastermind, pushing the chess figures according to his will, managing to find loopholes to not lose even a single one of his pieces.
Alberu had noted that Cale’s sole purpose behind his actions were, perhaps, just the demons haunting his mind. The demons of the past and present alike, at least that appeared to be the case.
He only needed to support Cale. To support him well enough so that he started to realize that he should, just maybe, start relying on him and open up, at least a little bit.
And yet, Alberu was only a human, or well, three quarters human. He was faulty and selfish and-
“No, you’re right. But- I have to do this. Please let me finish this.”
But I can’t. How can I just stand on the sidelines and watch you get yourself killed? How can I just stand on the sidelines and do nothing? How can you ask such a terrible, terrible thing of me? I can’t. I don’t want to and I’m physically and mentally unable to let you finish this. I-
“Then tell me why. Just explain it to me. I won’t bother you with it again, I promise. I only need to try to understand. At least leave me that.”
This was it, the end line. This was more than a mere matter of trust, because even Alberu understood that Cale did trust him. This was a question of whether Cale was able to push past his own comfort zone for Alberu. It wasn’t really about patience anymore, because Alberu was at the end of his rope. This was about how a relationship worked and that it was impossible for just one person to put in the work, even if the love was there. That’s not to say that Cale didn’t put in the work, because he did, but-
It was time something like this happened.
Because Cale was killing himself, keeping everything bottled up. And Alberu was tired, exhausted and done just sitting in the audience’s first row and watching it all go down. Watching the person he loved most in this entire world destroy himself the way Cale did. He couldn’t bear this anymore.
And if Cale wasn’t ready to share, in the end…to overcome whatever was keeping him from spilling everything out…
Maybe Alberu should distance himself from Cale for a while, then. Because god, he wouldn’t just sit by idly any longer. He’d had enough of near death experiences revolving around Cale for a lifetime.
When he locked eyes with Cale, the silent ultimatum was clear.
Notes:
Hiiiii, once again!
Soooo...I may have picked up someplace else than I originally planned to, but I think things aren't so bad. I'm trying to get back on top of my motivation for this, but no promises or anything. I'm just trying and figuring things out for now.
Anyways, as the one or other reader may already know, I've been dealing with a bunch of stuff and trying to get back atop of everything.
But yeah, it's okay, I think.
On the bright side, I'm trying to get my driver's lisence and finished all 14 required theory lessons today, meaning I can start studying for the theoretical part of the exam! (In Germany, getting a lisence requires you to visit 14 theory lessons, after which you have to ace some theoretical exam, after which your driving lessons officially begin, AFTER which you can attempt to ace the practical exam...after which you MAY get your lisence...Welcome to bureaucracy- more like bureauCRAZY).
So yeah, not everything bad! See?
Anywayssssss, hope you liked this chapter and that it was worth the wait for you!
Until next time, then!
<4444
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