The Final Record

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/27535645.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other
Fandom: 가 가 - | Trash of the Count's Family - Yulyeohan
Relationship: Choi Han/Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo
Character: Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo, Choi Han, OC - Character, Ancient
Powers - Character
Additional Tags: AU, alternative universe, Light Angst, non-canon ending, Spoilers, slow
update, OOC Cale, OOC Choi Han, fic focusing on Cale and Choi Han’s
journey, don’t ask me what happened to other characters, Lots of
Original Characters - Freeform, basically an entire different story,
faithful knight and his sleepy (but cute) liege, no beta read, Awkward
Grammar, Awkward Conversations, Canon up to chapter 673 in the
novel
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2020-11-13 Updated: 2022-05-20 Chapters: 19/? Words:
122981

The Final Record

by At_Dawn

Summary

The final battle ended with a bittersweet victory for Cale’s gang. It was a victory that had
stepped on blood and tears of the people so dear to Cale in order to be achieved. At the end,
Cale had made an ultimate sacrifice and struck the enemies with a final blow. It was the
God of Death who rescued him from self-destruction. Transported to a new, different
dimension, Cale was sealed until one day, a familiar man came to him. It was a man he
knew well, one who had sworn to dedicate his life to Cale.
-or-
A story popping up on my head to satisfy my love for my beloved ship. I don’t really know
where it will lead to either.

Notes

The final war ended with a bittersweet victory Cale and the others. Now Cale was almost
alone in a different world. Almost, because there was still his knight by his side.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Trash of the Count’s Family. Not at all. I’m just simply a reader
who loves the novel a lot.
 Chapter 1

Dimension #1108.

Choi Han remembered that was how the God of Death had called this place.

He had also told him Cale was here as well, that both the noble’s body and soul were currently
sealed somewhere on this planet, that Choi Han was the only person who could wake him, and that
it was Choi Han’s choice to come here or not.

Choi Han had not wasted any moment debating.

“Please just wait a little longer, I’ll definitely get you out of there, Cale-nim!” Choi Han muttered
as he tightly held the small compass in his right hand. Its golden pointer steadily pointed towards
the direction that he was heading to.

He had to rely on this small item the God of Death had given him in order to find Cale. Apparently,
the God himself didn’t know exactly where Cale was either, even though he was the one who
transported Cale to this world as well as the one who sealed Cale away.

The moment Choi Han heard what the God had done to his liege, he’d wanted to curse that
motherfucker of a God with the filthiest words possible, but he’d immediately changed his mind
upon knowing the reason behind it.

It’d only been a week since he landed in this forest which resembled the Forest of Darkness except
for that it was much more peaceful with no monsters nor swamps of death mana. There were of
course lots of wild animals. Some of them would be a nightmare for normal humans, but for Choi
Han who had fought with countless monsters to survive, those animals were none but his meal
ingredients.

Not that he’d done much of the hunting though. In fact, Choi Han had not eaten at all during the
first three days, having focused solely on following the direction the compass instructed him. Only
when a huge bear suddenly showed up and attacked him did Choi Han realize his body had been
worn out after days of running nonstop. He was still able to kill the animal, of course, but there was
a tiny bit of struggle, and Choi Han didn’t like that at all.

How could he rescue his lord when even a bear could make him struggle?

So he decided to take some time to eat and rest. The food was naturally the bear’s meat roasted
hastily. It looked like shit, and probably tasted like one too. Choi Han didn’t really know, as he
didn’t care. All he knew was to finish the meal as soon as possible and continue his journey.

There was someone waiting for him, and that person was everything he had in this world, no, in all
universes together.

On the eighth day, Choi Han got out of the forest.

There was a small village nearby. Choi Han felt a sense of déjà vu as he entered the village.

Just like the time when he walked out of the Forest of Darkness and was welcomed by the people
in the Harris village, the villagers here also welcomed and helped him with whatever they could.
However, unlike Harris village, this village didn’t belong to any noble’s territory. It didn’t even
have a name. The size was also much smaller, as there were only a few families gathering together.

The people explained that there were thousands of villages like this in this vast continent called the
Jewel Continent. It had been a tradition for hundreds of years that any citizens who wished to live a
life free from the reign of the royal power shall get their wish granted. Which meant a legal
agreement shall be made between those citizens and their territory lord. This agreement turned
them into free citizens who were allowed to do whatever within the terms of agreement they came
up with their lord outside the mainland.

This forest was thus named the Forest of Dreamers, as whoever dreamed of freedom would come
here.

Unfortunately, their dreams remained a dream even when they were able to step their feet on this
land.
Instead of freedom, a cruel reality greeted them. Wild predators’ attacks, inclement weather during
summer and winter, poisonous plants and animals, plenty of contagious diseases, and who knew
what else, mercilessly destroyed them and their little dream. Most of them weren’t qualified to gain
back their access to the mainland, so they had no choice but to fight by themselves. The majority of
survivors had to gather at the boundary between the mainland and the forest, as it was the safest
area for them.

Everything was that difficult, but many people still chose to come here every year. They had their
own reasons.

Choi Han felt that there were a lot more to this matter, but he didn’t have time to pry into it.

The pointer was pointing towards the mainland, which meant he would need to enter that land no
matter what.

Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to climb the wall in the middle of the night to enter the
mainland, as there was a policy for free citizens who wished to return to the mainland. Honestly
Choi Han did consider flying over the wall when the guards asked him to wait for a day before
getting tested, but it’d be troublesome if he somehow got caught and slowed down his progress
even further.

Plus, the requirements, which struck many free citizens like lightnings, turned out to be a breeze to
Choi Han.

First, there should be a test fee. Free citizens didn’t use money, not the same money used in the
mainland at least, so this fee referred to any assets with the total value determinedly equivalent to
100,000 becons. Choi Han didn’t know how much a becon was worth, so he went on a hunt and got
several dozens of wild animals, including some monster-like ones that no one could even imagine
surviving upon encountering, let alone defeating. Choi Han was oblivious of how many becons
they were worth, but the territory’s administrators seemed greatly shocked and quickly approved
them as fee.

The second requirement stated that he had to be young, ideally around 10s to early 30s. Ahem,
Choi Han’s true age might not fit into that frame, but his appearance did, so let’s just take
advantage of that. It also helped that he only had to write down his age instead of telling (lying) to
the territory’s administrators, given his acting and all.

Third, he had to be able to work, which meant he needed to be decently healthy. Choi Han passed
that condition as soon as he lifted a 1000kg dumbbell with one hand and an innocent smile on his
face as if he was a child looking at his toy.

Next, he had to be able to read, write, and do basic math.

THIS.

Albeit reluctantly, Choi Han still had to thank the God of Death for deliberately sending them on
this continent.

‘My knowledge of this world is limited, but I can know for sure there is a continent resembling
your world in many aspects. The people also use the same language as the one in your kingdom.’

The God of Death had said that to him.

And that was true. The people here used the exact same language as the Roan Kingdom people
did. Their concept of math was also the same. In fact, math had always been the same even when
he was still a normal high schooler back in South Korea.

So the fourth test was also easy.

The fifth and also the last test was one that had the majority of free citizens remain who they were.
It was a test for special skills.

“One who desires to return must have something special in him.” An old villager had told him.

Though it was stated that a special skill could be of any kind, the preferred ones were actually only
magic, swordsmanship, and leadership. The reason was simple, every kingdom in this continent
yearned for the strongest army. And, just like in their old world, mages and swordsmen were the
two main powers. Of course, someone with a big brain could outsell both of those and be
welcomed as a strategist.

Choi Han was immediately invited into the territory’s special knight brigade the moment he
showed them the first glimpses of his martial art skill. He naturally rejected the offer. There was
no way he could serve anyone but his Cale-nim. After that, Choi Han simply got his ID papers, a
pouch of fifty copper coins called lecons as a welcome money, a map of this kingdom – the Mythic
Kingdom, and resumed his journey.

Little did he know, however, that most free citizens were unfairly denied access even with all
conditions met, just because they refused to serve the territory lord. Choi Han could have faced the
same fate if it weren’t for his overload of precious materials he brought from the forest. When a
free citizen was denied access, only one third of their test fee was refunded. Apparently, whatever
the hell Choi Han had offered had made up of such a delicious piece of cake that the lord didn’t
want to lose even a third of it. Of course there were cases when the lord outright robbed everything
from the free citizens and kicked them out, but such method could only be used on weak people,
and Choi Han was clearly not included in that group.

Three days after entering the mainland, Choi Han had already crossed two territories and was
currently standing in front of the border of the third one. (Yes, our boy had moved like a lunatic for
the past three days.) He could feel the compass strongly point its pointer towards the land in front
of him.

‘Cale-nim is over there.’

He was so close to his liege now.

Standing up after a short meal (that was nothing but a roasted frog), Choi Han started to run again.
It was at that moment.

Klang klang klang

Choi Han could hear it, the sound of swords clashing with each other.

There were also the sounds of people shrieking in fright.

Choi Han was in a rush, but as a person who was meant to follow justice, he couldn’t turn a blind
eye to what was happening.

Thus, he changed his direction, joined the battle against a group of bandits made up of a mix of
fearful humans, goblins and dark elves, and quickly eradicated them. When he turned around, the
other group which seemed to belong to some nobles was looking at him with a daze. Choi Han
blinked and almost excused himself and left as there was no need for him to be here anymore, but a
benign voice stopped him.

“Please wait, young man! I am astonished by your tremendous strength and bravery. You saved
me and my people’s lives. No words can’t express how grateful I am right now for your good
deed.”

It was a middle-aged man with deep blue eyes and dark brown hair and mustache. Walking after
him from the carriage was a young lady who seemed to be in her late teens or early twenties, her
long and curled light brown hair swaying softly in the breeze, and her azure eyes sparkling under
the sun lights. A golden-haired knight extended his hand towards her, helping her get off. Choi
Han had noticed that knight was the strongest among others.

“Please be careful, your highness!”

He was telling her that, and his tone was gentle, but the moment he turned back his attention
towards Choi Han, Choi Han could feel some sort of hatred coming from the man.

It felt even worse than the first time he met Ron and Beacrox.

Choi Han quickly turned his head away and answered the middle-aged man in a polite manner.

“It was nothing sir. I was just passing by.”

“It is his majesty for you, you punk.” The golden haired knight spoke with an intimating tone. The
way he looked down at him rubbed Choi Han in a really wrong way, but he decided to stay
civilized. Choi Han could recognize the lion-shaped crest on the carriage which matched the
symbol of the royal family shown on the map. If he were to guess, the middle-aged man was
probably the king of this land. In that case, it wouldn’t be wise to become their enemy. Normally
Choi Han couldn’t care less about their status, but right now he had to stay away from every
troubles that might hinder him from rescuing Cale.

“My apology, your majesty.” Choi Han apologized. His tone was sincere but calm, and he was still
standing straight. He might be civilized, but there was no need for him to lower himself down to
satisfy others.

The king shook his head and sighed while throwing the golden-haired man a disapproving look.
He then turned back to Choi Han, a warm smile quickly appeared on his face. He seemed pleased
with Choi Han’s response.

“No no please don’t apologize! I am not the type to care about such trivial matter. Moreover, I
should have introduced myself first.”

Thus he introduced himself to Choi Han. As expected, he was the king of this Mythic Kingdom,
King Jeremy Lewis. The young lady was his second daughter, Princess Janessa Lewis. The golden-
haired knight was the princess’s guardian knight and also the knight captain. They had visited a
border territory to attend a banquet and currently were returning to the capital when they
encountered those bandits.

As they talked, Choi Han could see that the king and the knight captain were calm (well the
knight’s attitude towards Choi Han was still as irritating as ever, but at least he treated other people
calmly). Other knights seemed tired, but they were calm too. The princess was a little nervous, still,
she kept herself as composed as she could. Only the maids and servants seemed to be scared. The
shrieks Choi Han had heard probably came from the frightened maids. Fortunately, none of the
maids or servants got hurt. Choi Han supposed the royal knights were indeed fairly strong and
dedicated. Some of them were even injured during the fight while protecting others. The maids
seemed to be still young and inexperienced, which was probably why they panicked easily and
made the situation more chaotic than it should have been, causing the knights troubles taking care
of the situation. It was a relief there was no casualty on this side.

The king wanted to reward Choi Han for his good deed, even offered him a position as one of the
royal knight captains at the palace inside the capital. Naturally, Choi Han turned the offer down,
saying he had something important to do in the other direction.

“That direction? It happens to be a part of another route to the capital. A safer route even. How
about we travel together for now? We need to stop by a territory’s city to have our men properly
treated as well.”

The king seemed like he genuinely wanted Choi Han to travel with them, even just for a short time.
Choi Han debated for a second before finally giving in as his gaze fell on the injured knights and
the still slightly shaking teenage maids.

Thus, they started to travel with each other. Choi Han had to slow down to their pace. He wasn’t
happy with that, but it could not be helped. Unlike Choi Han, the people here didn’t have
tremendous strengths.

The king and the princess asked him to join them in their carriage as well, but he refused, since it
just didn’t feel right. Plus the way the knight captain, Captain Philo Baldwin, kept sending daggers
at him with his glances was unnerving.

A few hours later, they stopped to prepare dinner and camps for the night.

Choi Han wouldn’t need any of that. He would only rest for three hours or so each night on some
random tree before resuming running. But these were just normal people. Some of them were
injured. They needed rest. Choi Han could explain his urgency and leave them now, but he didn’t.
He had a feeling if Cale were in his situation, he would do the same while grumbling to himself as
though he was greatly annoyed.

That thought made Choi Han subconsciously chuckle.

“Hoo. This is the first time... Say! What was so happy that it made you smile like that?”
Startled, Choi Han turned around to see an old knight with his right arm bandaged. He was giving
Choi Han a look full of interest, gratitude, and admiration. In fact, many knights, maids and
servants were secretly glancing at him in that manner. Even the king and the princess seemed to be
curious about him. That wasn’t a surprise, Choi Han had swept away such strong enemies with a
lightning speed and saved them lot after all.

The old man was still staring at him with a curious expression. Choi Han scratched his head
sheepishly and said.

“Yes, well, I was thinking of a person…”

“Is that your girlfriend?”

“Definitely his girlfriend!”

A young knight and a younger maid chimed in. The others all jerked their heads up at once. Most
of them were extremely excited. Some maids (and, wait, the princess too?) seemed nervous and …
heartbroken?

“What are you talking about?” Choi Han stared at them, genuinely puzzled. “He’s a man.” His
Cale-nim might no longer be a normal human being, but biologically he was still a man.

“I-is that so?” The knight-maid duo scratched their heads sheepishly at Choi Han’s answer and
slowly backed away.

It was at that moment.

“Is he your family?” A soft but clear voice rang from behind them. It was Princess Janessa. She
looked curious, and for some reason, she seemed relieved and a little embarrassed too. Some of the
maids also had that same expression. Choi Han found it rather weird.

“Yes, he’s my family.” Choi Han nodded firmly. Cale was his liege and also his family. The one
and only person he had sworn to dedicate his life to.

The princess nodded, she seemed happy with his answer (why?). The king watched his daughter, a
knowing smile appeared on his face (hm?). In the corner, Captain Philo was emitting a strong
invisible murderous aura towards Choi Han.

Choi Han wondered what was wrong with this group of royal people…

It was already late, so they quickly finished dinner without talking much.

The next day, they resumed their journey. Soon, they approached a small city in a nearby territory.
Choi Han bid farewell with them at once. The king offered him a small envelope at that moment.

“Show this to any territory lords in this kingdom, and they shall be nice to you.”

The king had prepared a reward for Choi Han after all. Earlier, the king had rewarded him a bag
full of gold coins. However, Choi Han had rejected it after taking a quick glance at the injured
solders. He felt like they deserved it more than him.

Now though, the reward was no longer a monetary reward, so Choi Han gratefully accepted it.
Honestly, he had never expected any rewards from the king, but he wouldn’t refuse if offered one
that wouldn’t hurt anyone. Plus, people should pay for their “meal,” king or not. He learned that
from his own experience.
Then the princess also stepped up. She had another envelope in her hand.

“This is…?” Choi Han accepted her envelope with a puzzled expression. She smiled brightly and
answered him with her soft but clear voice.

“My birthday would be in three weeks. I would love to invite our savior to my birthday party.” She
said. Her cheeks slightly pink. The king was throwing his daughter that knowing look again.

“It is my honor, you highness. I would love to go, but please understand if for any unexpected
circumstances that I cannot go…” It was true. He didn’t know when he would arrive at Cale’s
place nor did he know how long it would take for him to free Cale from the seal.

His priority was to save his liege, everything else could wait.

Captain Philo already looked like he was ready to grab Choi Han’s collar or something.
Fortunately, the king stopped him with his glare.

“I understand. Still, I’ll be waiting for you.” Janessa added on, her face all red now. Choi Han was
wondering if she got sick, but she dashed away right after.

‘She seemed fine.’

Choi Han confirmed that the princess and everyone else were fine before slightly inclining his
head to the king and leaving. The compass was starting to vibrate in his hand now. It was urging
him to quickly go to his lord.

End Chapter 1
 Chapter 2
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: I don’t own Trash of the Count’s Family. Not at all. I’m just simply a
reader who loves the novel a lot.

It's a bit early, but Happy Thanksgiving! :3

Several hours later, Choi Han arrived at a neighbor territory. He was heading towards a deserted
mountain when a group of adventurers approached him.

“My fellow adventurer, are you perhaps seeking the truth of the Cave of Light as well?”

A middle-aged man holding a spear was asking him. Behind him stood a girl in priestess outfit and
a young man holding a staff.

“Cave of Light?” Choi Han asked curiously.

“You don’t know? Perhaps you’re not an adventurer?” The man asked back, visibly surprised.

Choi Han shook his head.

“This is the first time I’ve been here.”

The middle-aged man seemed a little disappointed with his answer. He thought he’d found a fellow
adventurer with the same goal. But as the young man was still heading towards the same direction
as theirs, it wouldn’t be bad to gain a new companion. The young man seemed strong too, a little
haggard, but strong.

That was how they got to know each other. Upon talking, Choi Han learned that the middle-aged
man’s name was Josh – a spear wielder, the girl was Tina – a priestess and healer, and the young
man was Fletcher – a mage. They were registered as adventurers at a small guild in the neighbor
territory and had come here to discover the secret of the Cave of Light.

“It only started a year ago, but the rumor has already been spread throughout the area.” The young
mage said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “All the adventurers who went there had returned
safely, but they couldn’t remember correctly what happened during the time they were in the cave.
All they could recall was that the cave was filled with light and that it was beautiful.”

“My teacher went there once. She used to be a high priestess. She said she could feel a strong sense
of nature there. It was as though a divine being was residing there.” The healer chimed in. She
seemed excited as well.

“A god may be in there. Doesn’t it interest you, young man?” Josh patted Choi Han’s shoulders
expectantly.

“Yes, very much.” Choi Han nodded firmly. The compass in his hand was vibrating like crazy
now.
Choi Han was certain who that divine being was.

‘I’ll be right there, Cale-nim.’

Soon enough, they arrived at the entrance to the Cave of Light. It was a narrow entrance, but the
cave got bigger the deeper they went.

“What is it? It’s dark as hell. Why the heck did people call it the Cave of Light?” Fletcher
grumbled as he casted another lighting orb with his magic.

Different from how people had described it, the Cave of Light was actually dark.

It was a quiet and boring cave too. There was nothing but dust and stones in here. It wasn’t
dangerous, it was just utterly dark and boring.

The adventurers started to feel disappointed, but a strong aura snapped them out of it.

Choi Han, the young man they’d just met was urgently walking with a serious expression on his
face. In his right hand was a vibrating compass, and that compass began to glow.

“What the-?” The three of them gasped at once.

“Is that- Wow, isn’t it a divine item?” Tina was flabbergasted. She and the other two were looking
at Choi Han in a new light now.

Choi Han didn’t answer them, as he didn’t hear them at all. All he knew now was that the glowing
compass was leading him to his liege, and that his liege was so close to him already.

The three adventurers fastened their steps to catch up to Choi Han, but then the young man
abruptly halted.

“Hah!”

The three adventurers gasped loudly as a beautiful rose gold light could be seen from deep inside
the cave. The compass in Choi Han’s hand was also glowing the same color now. The two sources
of light started to fuse with each other, and then.

Fluttering. Fluttering.

Their hair and clothes began to flutter in strong winds. There was a sense of water, wood, and earth
mixed in the winds as well, and a handful of pebbles were flying towards them.

“Wha-what is this? Others didn’t say anything about this!” Fletcher yelled as he casted a shield
around the group. The three adventurers started to feel nervous. Had others also experienced the
same things but just not remembered?

Then Choi Han ran pass them.

“W-wait! Are you crazy?” Josh shouted after him in horror.

Choi Han didn’t even look back at the horrified group as he continued forward. The pebbles were
hitting him, and the sharp winds were creating small cuts on his skin too, but he paid them no
mind. He continued charging forward, forward, and eventually …
The winds stopped. The blinding light also subsided.

The three adventurers then could see it.

Before them was a vast circular area which seemed to be the end of the cave. In the middle of it
stood Choi Han in front of a …

“My goodness!” Tina clasped her hands over her mouth in shock. “Th-that … isn’t that …?”

“The God…” Josh finished her sentence.

“So that is true. There really is a god here.” Fletcher couldn’t hide his amazement.

Deep inside the cave, at the center of the circular area, in front of Choi Han right now, was a figure
of a handsome young man in an elegant white robe. His skin was as pale as porcelain. His hair,
which was quite over his shoulders, was as red as blood. Among the burning red hair strands stood
out two purely white feathered wings, adorned with dazzling scarlet gemstones. The two wings,
which were attached to a silver headband, gracefully embraced the sides of the man's head. The
young man's sleeping face was peaceful, but there was a hint of sorrow hidden in the blushing pink
shade under his closed eyes.

‘He looked surreal.’

Josh thought to himself as he looked at the sleeping red-haired man.

“But those… Is he being sealed?” Fletcher seemed to have overcome his shock and started to point
out the chains around the beautiful man. There were numerous silver chains tying around the
young man, holding him tightly in the middle of the air.

But that wasn’t the only thing that concerned them. A certain person’s reaction was also piquing
their curiosity.

It was Choi Han. The teenage-looking swordsman had been standing in front of the divine figure
for a while now. He just stood there, quietly staring at the red-haired man, his eyes filled with
hundreds of emotions a normal teenager should not have. His pupils were shaking, and his lips
were moving slightly to form words he seemed to have buried deep inside since forever.

“…finally… finally, Cale-nim.”

Those were the only words the three could catch on, but that was enough for them, adventurers
who had studied deeply into hundreds of recorded phenomena and tales in this world, to have an
overall idea of what was going on between those two.

‘He knows that man.’

And not just simple knowing.

‘The man was someone extremely important to him.’

Choi Han was still standing there, his eyes fixed on the man. Josh watched him for a moment
before calling out to him.

“Excuse meee! Sorry for interrupting your emotional moment, but I would suggest you do
something more efficient than standing and staring.” He said as he glanced to his two fellow
adventurers.
The three of them were still staying where they had been. After exchanging a few glances, they had
come to a conclusion.

‘Let’s just watch and see what’s gonna happen!’

It was a pity for them as adventurers not being able to directly participate, but they were wise
enough to read the situation.

‘This is beyond the scope we can interfere with.’

They were the followers of Nature. Hence, they shall respect it when Nature chose to step in.

But that wasn’t the only reason.

In this continent’s history, stories about relationships between divine beings and humans weren’t
so rare. The plots were diverse, but they all had certain similarities. One of them was that the two
main characters in relationship had to go through hardships one after another. The levels of tragedy
could sometimes make even the cruel goblins cry. The other similarity was that, in most stories,
minor characters that tried to act up often didn’t end up so well. On the contrary, those who knew
their roles and obediently played the witnesses of the main characters’ stories, most of the time
could guarantee their safety till the ends of the stories.

And that was the key reason the trio had decided to be the witnesses of this story unfolding before
their eyes instead of stepping in directly. They would be perfectly satisfied with just that.

Their safety had to come first.

Choi Han seemed to have snapped out of his emotions thanks to Josh. He moved his gaze over to
the trio.

Flinched.

The three adventurers flinched as Choi Han’s gaze sent chills down their spines. It wasn’t vicious.
It was just so incredibly solemn that they all collectively held their breaths upon encountering it.

Nodded.

Choi Han gave them a firm nod before turning his attention back to the red-haired man called
Cale-nim. He laid his hand on the hilt of his sword and pulled it out from its scabbard.

“Wowww!” Fletcher and Tina exclaimed as they were fascinated with how beautiful the blade in
Choi Han’s hand was.

It was a silver blade that was emitting a glowingly black aura.

“Hooo, he’s a sword master?” Josh couldn’t hide his shock. He could tell that Choi Han was
strong, but a sword master was another story all together.

At the same time, Choi Han kicked off from where he was standing and, with the speed of a
lightning, he cut down the chains tying the man in white robe one by one.

Shaaaaa Shaaaa Shaaaa

The broken chains immediately disappeared into dust and rained down onto the ground. Free from
the chains, the beautiful young man fell down.
Well, almost.

Choi Han, with his inhuman speed, caught the man into his arms in no time. The pair safely landed
on the ground.

Sensing that everything was settled down. The three adventurers approached the couple.

“I-I can’t believe it. The sense of nature… This is the first time I’ve felt such a strong sense of
nature from a single person…” Tina’s pupils were shaking now. This man was definitely a god. No
mortal being could have this much natural power.

“Umm…he’s still asleep?” Fletcher spoke up, confused.

“You probably have a way to wake him?” Josh asked Choi Han as he observed the swordsman’s
expression.

‘He’s still emotional, but he doesn’t look puzzled.’

And that was true. Choi Han indeed knew what he had to do. He took out the compass from his
pocket. The device had stopped glowing, but it was still slightly vibrating.

Cracked.

The compass began to crack and turned into dust.

“Ah!” Tina gasped as two fireballs flew out of the disappearing compass. The two fireballs gently
made their ways to each gemstone on the headband of the red-haired man and fused themselves
into the stones. They could hear the man moaning softly at that moment.

“Uh…mmh…”

“Cale-nim?”

Choi Han called out to the beautiful being in his arms. His voice cracked slightly, and his eyes that
had been fixed on the man were turning bloodshot.

The beautiful man’s eyes fluttered slightly. A shade of reddish brown could be seen under the long
eyelashes. His pale lips moved softly, forming two words in a voice so faint one couldn’t catch on
if they didn’t fully focus.

“Choi…Han?”

His eyes were then closed again.

Cale hadn’t woken up for two whole days after that event.

Choi Han had brought him to Tina’s church upon her suggestion. The priests and priestesses had
looked at Cale, who was radiating a strong sense of natural power even as he was sleeping, with
eyes full of astonishment and admiration. Apparently, in this church, people didn’t worship any
specific gods. Instead, they worshipped nature, and Cale appeared to them as an embodiment of
nature itself.

The priests and priestesses with healing power also checked on Cale’s condition and confirmed that
except for the thin body and some turmoil in his power, he seemed fine. They then treated Choi
Han’s wounds with potions and provided the pair two guest rooms where they could stay for as
long as they wished. Choi Han had his own room, but it seemed as though he and Cale were
sharing one since he pretty much lived in Cale’s room, day and night standing guard by Cale’s bed,
ever since they arrived.

When Cale woke up again two days later, Choi Han was, again, the first person he saw.

Cale was relieved and grateful for that. He felt a bit guilty as well. Just a bit.

“The adventurers and the church promised not to tell others about us.”

Choi Han reported to Cale as he reached his hand out and gently touched the strands of red hair
falling over the cute half-closed eyes. Though Cale had woken up, he was still extremely exhausted
and kept falling asleep most of the time. Choi Han had been warned of that, but that didn’t make
him any less worried.

“They said they would help us with whatever they could as well. They have contacted the territory
lord to make you some identification papers. The letter I got from the king also helped a lot in
speeding up the process. They are being surprisingly nice to us.”

Choi Han used to be considered a ‘free citizen’ while Cale was a being popping up from out of
nowhere. They were a combination people would normally avoid being associated with.

“That is the power of religion and authority.”

Cale tiredly responded as he tried to sit up, struggling to fight his sleepiness. It was only early
evening, and he had slept for the whole afternoon already. Choi Han carefully supported him, his
gaze then followed Cale’s towards the window. They watched as moonlight softly embraced the
night that had turned chilly, indicating the end of fall and the beginning of winter.

“Doesn’t mean there’ll be no rumors at all though.” Cale added on after a transient pause.

That was true. The church’s staffs and visitors who only caught on several snippets of the situation
were already gossiping and spreading rumors.

“I’m sorry, Cale-nim. I was careless.” Choi Han lowered his head as he apologized to Cale, but
Cale only waved him off.

“It can’t be helped. That’s just how human beings are.”

Human beings had the tendency to gossip and spread rumors. It didn’t matter how inaccurate the
rumors were, the superior feelings of getting attention and knowing something others didn’t were
satisfying enough. Cale certainly didn’t like rumors, especially one about him being a god and
Choi Han being a god’s knight, but he didn’t want to let such things bother him for long either.

‘But if I had kept my calm and moved more stealthily…’ Choi Han was still blaming himself in his
head. He’d been so concerned about Cale’s condition that he’d just openly brought Cale into the
church whilst people might have been watching. Cale read Choi Han’s thoughts through his
expression and sighed.

“Snap out of it! They didn’t get to know our names, and their rumors are all just distorted versions
in some way, so stop worrying about it!”
The three adventurers accompanying them had done a good job covering for the rushing Choi Han
and the sleeping Cale in his arms from prying eyes. The priests and priestesses also quickly put the
situation in control, preventing strangers from approaching them.

“Yes, Cale-nim!” Choi Han nodded firmly, an innocent smile formed on his face. Cale was certain
his knight was still blaming himself somehow, but at least he looked more spirited now.

“More importantly, the God of Death sent his message to me through the fireballs, explaining
everything.” Cale nonchalant said whilst observing Choi Han’s stiffened expression. “As you
already know, I’m no longer a regular human being. That affects my body and stops it from aging.
However, the forced entry into this world and the seal have weakened my body, and there are those
traces from the final battle as well.”

‘Traces from the final battle.’

Cale was saying it in a calm voice, and his face was also calm. But Choi Han could see them. He
could see the guilt and despair flashing across Cale’s face in a split second.

It was similar to Kim Rok Soo’s pained expression when he watched Choi Jung Soo and his other
teammates dying in front of his eyes.

‘But this is even worse.’

Choi Han mentally noted as a sense of guilty and despaired emotions ripped through his own heart,
screwing it one hole after another. He quickly tried to dismiss those emotions and turned his
attention back to Cale.

‘Cale-nim must be suffering even worse than this.’

Cale didn’t look at Choi Han, however. His eyes were still fixed on the round moon lighting up the
darkness of the night as he opened his mouth again.

“The God of Death said the fireballs were parts of my fire ancient power. My ancient power had
volunteered to be split out so that it could locate me later.”

Choi Han simply nodded. He’d suspected as much.

“As fire is a natural element, getting them back did help me regain some strength. However, my
plate is still as weak as glass, so it’d take some time, but I can feel my realm is slowly built at the
moment. When it’s large enough to live in, I’ll send you there as my guardian knight.”

Cale was still not looking at Choi Han, and his voice sounded tired, but there was that
unmistakable tone of an absolute order in his voice.

“Then what about Cale-nim? Will you also go there and live with me in your realm?”

Choi Han’s face remained calm, but his voice was slightly shaking.

“Of course, you know if there’s a place where I can live my slacker life, it’s gotta be my realm.
Though not until I gain enough power. It may take some time.”

Cale replied, his voice nonchalant. The lively eyes that used to shine every time the slacker dream
was mentioned appeared dim as their owner wearily gazed up at the endless night sky.

Choi Han quietly took that sight into his eyes with a clenched heart before continuing asking, his
expression unfathomable.

“Will you let me be with you until then, no, even after then? You won’t send me away from you,
right, Cale-nim?”

If Cale was surprised by Choi Han’s sharp questions, he didn’t show. He just slowly turned his
gaze back on the man and snorted.

“What? Don’t trust me?”

“I trust you with my whole life, but I also understand you enough to know when you may sacrifice
yourself again.”

Choi Han immediately responded.

This time, Cale had to stare at Choi Han with wide eyes.

‘This punk…’

Just like that, Cale kept on staring at his knight for a long time. Hundreds of thoughts went through
his mind at that moment.

Due to the restricting rule Cale had created by abusing his status and power, neither he nor Choi
Han could get back to their world in the Birth of a Hero anymore. However, unlike Cale, Choi Han
could go back to Earth 1. Even though his family was no longer there, South Korea where he had
grown up until that fateful day still existed. But the fact that Choi Han was here right now clearly
meant that the idiot had given up on his chance to return to his original world in order to save Cale.
That was why Cale was planning to send Choi Han to his realm and keep him safe over there until
he gained enough power to transport Choi Han back to his world.

Anyhow, his little plan turned out to be a failure from the beginning as Choi Han had easily seen
through it.

‘I guess he got me this time.’

Eventually, Cale just let out a sigh-like laugh.

“Hah, you smart bastard.”

Choi Han observed Cale’s resigned expression and hesitated for a moment. He then lowered his
head slightly and started to speak in a low tone.

“I don’t know if you’ve realized, but for me, Cale-nim, you are the only reason this life still has a
meaning.” Choi Han’s voice as he confessed to Cale was quivering, and his large shoulders were
shaking slightly. “That is why, I beg of you, please let me stay with you no matter what!”

The way Choi Han said it was so desperate it left Cale speechless for a long while. A painful and
guilty feeling surged in his heart, stirring up the memories that should have been well buried.

‘Tsk, what useless emotions.’

Cale was annoyed as he found himself struggling to swallow such redundant emotions down his
throat.

With a bit of difficulty, he opened his mouth and spoke to Choi Han, who still had his head down.
“It probably won’t be a pleasant journey, and I can’t guarantee anything in the end either.”

Choi Han lifted his head up upon hearing Cale’s voice, one that sounded so faint you thought he
was whispering. He could see Cale’s eyes looking straight into his own black orbs; there was a
tinge of both resignation and expectation hidden behind the reddish-brown hue.

“Even so, do you still wish to go with me?”

Cale asked, his face relaxed, as though he already knew the other’s answer, and as though the
broken feelings rising in his heart earlier were nonexistent.

‘I don’t want to put him through hardships once again, but I guess the human in me is still as
selfish as ever.’

Cale bit his lip in guilt as he realized his selfish desire for Choi Han to be by his side.

Choi Han didn’t answer Cale right away. He quietly looked at his liege for a long, long time as if
mesmerized. He then stood up from one side of the bed he was sitting on and slowly dropped down
on one knee; his outreached hand gently held Cale’s own hand, so carefully as though he was
handling a delicate treasure.

Then, Choi Han lowered his head a little more. Warm breaths could be felt as a soft kiss was laid
on the slender fingers.

Cale didn’t react much to that. Neither did the two say anything else to each other. After all, this
wasn’t the first time Choi Han had done this to Cale. That was why, they both understood the
meaning of this action without exchanging any more words.

That night, as the shinning moon watched over, a silent promise was made by a knight to his one
and only liege.

End Chapter 2
 Chapter 3
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: I don’t own Trash of the Count’s Family. Not at all. I’m just simply a
reader who loves the novel a lot.

It's super early, but ... um ... Merry Christmas? (*^_^*)

On the next day, Cale and Choi Han left the church.

“Have a safe trip, my lord!”

“May Mother Nature always be with you, my lord!”

“You can come back here anytime you want. This church is always open for you, our lord!”

The priests and priestesses were currently saying goodbye to them.

Tina had already gone on a new adventure with Josh and Fletcher the day before, so the trio
couldn’t come to see them off.

Of course, Cale didn’t at all mind their absences. Right now, what really bothered him was the way
the priests and priestesses repeatedly called him their lord. However, he decided to just leave them
be.

‘It’s not like I can change their minds with just a few words.’

Even though Cale was aware of the sense of nature emitting from his body due to his ancient
powers and had put a control on it, the people who had been able to feel his powers before he could
hide them away had realized how special a being Cale was and were still looking at him with
admiration as if he was a god. Cale knew well in a situation like this, the more he tried to explain,
the worse it’d get. The memories of the time when people kept praising him as their hero no matter
how much he tried to deny it were flashing by vividly in his head.

‘Still, I don’t want to take advantage of them this way.’

Cale might have a history of scamming people left and right, but he wasn’t so low to the point of
taking advantage of the people he owed, especially not by using their faith. That was why Cale, as
much as he loved money, had firmly refused to take the money the church had given him at first.

‘But I do need money.’

That was true. Choi Han had some money, but apparently they wouldn’t be able to last long with
that. Fortunately, Cale had a very good idea.

‘Let’s make a trade with them instead.’

As they worshipped nature, people in this church treasured items bearing natural powers just as
much as divine items. Well, Cale supposed since he was almost a divine being himself, items that
held his power could be considered divine items as well. So he’d created three little rocks using his
earth ancient power, then he channeled a bit of his fire power into one of them, a bit of his water
power into one of the others, and a bit of his wind power into the last rock. Tying each of them to
steady black threads, Cale’d given the church his handmade divine necklaces as a compensation.
Of course, he had insisted he would give them for free even though those items were indeed as
valuable as half a dozen of high-rate magic stones. However, the priests and priestesses were so
moved that they were adamant about Cale taking the money he’d refused earlier.

‘Now I can rightfully take the money.’

Cale felt more comfortable taking the money now as they practically made a trade with each other.
Plus, it wasn’t even a fair trade as the money the church gave him was much less than the actual
value of the items he’d made for them. Normally Cale would never make such a transaction in
which he was the one with less benefits, but this time Cale didn’t mind at all.

‘They helped me and Choi Han during the time of crisis.’

It was a small church which didn’t seem to have a lot of money. Still, the people here had
welcomed and accommodated them with everything they had. They might have done that out of
religious reasons, but a debt was still a debt, and one gotta make sure to pay it.

Just like that, Cale and Choi Han waved the church goodbye and began their journey with no
planned destination in mind.

“I could’ve hunted and traded the products for money. You didn’t have to use your powers for
that.”

Choi Han spoke to Cale in a whispering voice after half an hour into the journey, having noticed
Cale had woken up.

Currently Cale was on Choi Han’s back. He’d thought he’d be able to put up with walking for at
least an hour, but reality had proven otherwise. Cale’s power deprivation was worse than expected,
and it got even worse after the power extraction to create the necklaces for the church, so he’d
collapsed after only fifteen minutes. Choi Han, who had had his eyes glued on Cale since the
beginning, had effortlessly caught him and put him on his back. Cale had been extremely sleepy at
that moment, so he’d just closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth from Choi Han’s back without
commenting.

“It’s alright. I wanted to give the church those items anyway. They helped us.” Cale answered with
a tired voice.

Choi Han held back his sigh after hearing those words. His liege really never changed. He was still
that kind soul who always cared for others while neglecting his own health like that. Choi Han
knew it was just futile arguing with Cale on this matter.

“Where should we go now, Cale-nim?” He asked Cale instead.

Now that he’d taken a short nap, Cale felt a bit better. He could tell that his mind became a little
clearer as well, so he tried to gather his thoughts and give Choi Han an order. It was already bad
enough that Choi Han had been walking this whole time not knowing where they were heading to.

“Well…hmm…”
Cale hummed softly as he contemplated where they should go.

It would have been much easier to determine if he had stuck with the three adventurers as they
seemed to know lots of interesting places. Cale knew it would be a wiser choice. However, he
decided against it.

The reason was simple: he didn’t want to become too attached to them.

It was a cowardly thought, but time after time losing the people so dear to him had left a wound too
large to be healed in his heart.

Of course, Cale wasn’t at all aware of that wound, he simply thought of himself as a pathetic
coward, a fucking selfish, irresponsible bastard who didn’t want to involve with other people
because it was annoying.

Contrary to the chaotic mess in both his mind and heart, Cale’s expression remained stoic.

“Hmm…”

He continued to hum, his mind still deep in thoughts.

Choi Han peeked to his right side as he felt Cale’s warm breaths tickling that side of his neck. Cale
had had his chin on Choi Han’s shoulder this whole time, but only now did he turn his face to Choi
Han’s. Like a bunny seeing the beautiful world outside its hole for the first ever time, Choi Han’s
heart delightedly jumped the moment his eyes landed on the face that was only an inch away from
his. It was because, though Cale was thinking hard, his sleepy face appeared dazed and dreamy.
His eyes were still half-closed, and his long lashes were fluttering due to his fast blinking,
seemingly trying to resist the urge to fall asleep again.

‘He looks adorable.’

Choi Han thought he could continue to carry Cale on his back like this forever.

Of course, Cale didn’t know Choi Han was having such thought, so he was trying hard not to
trouble Choi Han any further.

‘Choi Han is a nice guy, but everyone’s patience has a limit.’

Thinking so, Cale opened his mouth and whispered softly.

“The town. Choi Han, let’s go to the town. We have stuffs to buy.”

That was why they were at a small town now. Choi Han had put Cale down before entering the
place (for reference, Cale had to sternly order him so). They visited several shops to buy some
necessities. It was a relief that they had a bag with spatial dimension magic on spacious enough for
all of their newly purchased goods. The three adventurers had gifted them this bag as a farewell
present before they had left. It was a must-have item for adventurers, so they seemed to have quite
a few spare ones.

Cale was also a little tempted to make a quick stop by the bar on their way, but he shook his head
and walked away with a sour expression after taking a swift glance at the deflated bag of money.

So here they were at the last place they needed to visit: a tailor shop, and a small one at that.

Before their departure, the church had offered them some clothes. However, Cale and Choi Han
only took two thin and worn out cloaks with them.

There were orphans and elders in the church, and both of them knew those people needed the
clothes much more than them, especially during this time when the winter had come near, and the
stinging cold was turning palpable.

Still, clothing was a necessity nonetheless, so they decided to stop by this small shop. And not just
small, this shop was hidden in the corner and appeared rather shabby on the outside, so there
weren’t many customers coming in.

However, Cale knew better than to judge a book by its cover, and he was not disappointed. Cale
could tell the products were decent. They were not made with the most luxurious materials like the
ones he’d worn when he was still a young master of a wealthy family, but they were not bad either.
The prices were reasonable as well. More importantly, there were simple shirts and trousers that
matched Cale’s preference.

Cale had bought a few, happy that he finally could take off the white robe that made him look like
a priest. Meanwhile, Choi Han only picked a simple tunic, saying he was content with just that.
Cale eyed him up and down before calmly taking several dark-colored tunics and trousers, which
looked pretty much like what Choi Han was wearing now, off the racks.

“We’ll take these as well.” Cale then nonchalantly spoke to the shop’s owner.

“Cale-nim, that’s…”

“Don’t worry, I’m good at these stuffs. They’ll look good on you.” Cale responded to Choi Han
with his same indifferent tone.

‘I’m not worried about that though…’

Choi Han was not at all concerned about how they would look on him. He was willing to wear
even a rag, as long as it was Cale who picked it for him. However, he had initially planned to buy
only a piece of garment so that he could save them a bit of money. But Choi Han knew well it was
nearly impossible to change Cale’s mind when the man had decided on something.

Cale noticed the complicated look on Choi Han’s face and coldly added.

“It will be a long journey, so we need to be thoroughly prepared for everything. Staying warm and
healthy is the most important thing. It’s not like we’re gonna go on a trip for just a day or two.”

“…I understand, Cale-nim.”

Choi Han responded resignedly while thinking about how ironic it was that the person who kept
reminding others about the importance of health always neglected his own health.

His train of thoughts was cut off as his eyes accidentally caught on a red-colored fabric.

Choi Han quickly headed towards the rack in the corner and grabbed that red garment, his eyes
swiftly laid on the thin and torn cloak on Cale’s arm as he did.

“I’ll take this too.”

Choi Han put the object on the counter and happily paid for it. Cale observed him with a curious
expression but didn’t say anything.
They left the shop soon after that.

As Cale began to put the thin cloak back on him, however, he felt a warm, comfortable sensation
cover his body.

Wrapping around him now was a fairly thick cloak that had its red color a shade deeper than Cale’s
sunset hair. The fabric touching his skin was as soft and light as feathers, cuddling his body in a
gentle manner. The hood was large and trimmed around with fluffy white faux fur, embracing the
small and pale face as if kissing. Choi Han had bought this cloak right before they’d left the shop
and was currently tying for Cale a cute white ribbon on the collar.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Cale asked, amused.

“I just thought it’d look good on you, Cale-nim.”

Choi Han responded as he finished up the ribbon and took a step back, his eyes not leaving Cale
for even half a second. Cale snorted at his response.

“Hah, and I was wondering why you suddenly had that drastic change in fashion sense.” As far as
he’d known, Choi Han wasn’t into colorful outfits at all.

Choi Han didn’t even try to respond to that, he just quietly stood there observing Cale with a
satisfied smile on his face. The image of Cale standing elegantly in the crimson cloak with a few
strands of his long red hair falling out from the hood, moving rhythmically along the wind, was
reflected vividly on Choi Han’s pupils.

His liege, Cale, was just too beautiful.

Cale watched Choi Han standing still as if frozen and wondered if the weather was too cold for
even Choi Han to handle. So he turned back his feet, re-entered the tailor shop, and then picked a
thick dark grey cape for his knight; the corners of his lips twitched up slightly as he did.

Cale, there is something in the North.

That’s right! Cale, there’s a delicious smell coming from the North. Ahh I’m hungry again.

Cale heard the voices of the super rock and the glutton priestess not long after he and Choi Han had
exited the town.

After the end of the final war, his ancient powers’ s voices were supposed to disappear since their
wills were fulfilled. However, they remained with him even then.

‘If it is you, we feel like we’ll get to see many more interesting things.’

They had said that.

Cale wasn’t pleased with their reason as it sounded like he was a troublemaker of some sort, but
honestly speaking, he was somewhat relieved that they decided to stay with him. Of course, it was
because they would be useful in situations like this, not because he was afraid of being all alone.
Absolutely not!

Anyhow, now Cale finally had an idea of where he and Choi Han should go to.

“Choi Han, let’s head to the North.”

He gave Choi Han a short order.

“Yes, Cale-nim.”

Choi Han simply nodded before putting Cale on his back once again. Cale protested at first, but he
immediately stilled when Choi Han threatened that he would carry Cale in a bridal position if Cale
kept trying to get off with an innocent smile on his face.

‘This bastar- person, he’s even threatening me now.’

Cale felt somewhat bitter, but Choi Han’s warm back and his peaceful smile soon melted that
bitterness away. Cale closed his eyes and drew out a peaceful dream in his head as he felt Choi
Han’s gentle eyes flickered to him every so often.

Cale started to get annoyed.

No matter how much he slept, it just didn’t seem to be enough. Cale just kept feeling lightheaded
all the time. And it was really annoying.

Even right now when he was just standing still watching Choi Han, it felt as if he could fall over at
any second.

A few steps from him, Choi Han was hurriedly brushing off the dust on a boulder; his concerned
eyes flickered to Cale so often Cale wondered how he was still able to see the dust to clean.

“Cale-nim, it’s all good now. Please have a seat while I go set up the tent.”

Choi Han carefully sat Cale down on the now-clean boulder before dashing to an even ground and
starting making a tent using his old cape, dry leaves and straws.

Cale frowned slightly at that sight.

‘He’s acting like a servant.’

After going through hundreds of hardships together, Cale considered Choi Han purely as his
family, not just some subordinate. Cale’s dream was to live a rich and peaceful life with his people,
not a poor life where the only family member he still had had to do all sorts of serving things for
him. He couldn’t just leave everything to Choi Han while doing nothing. And Choi Han wasn’t a
servant to begin with, he was a knight.

As Cale was still lost in his musings, Choi Han approached and gently picked him up in his arms.
He brought Cale into the shabby tent he’d hurriedly built and laid him on a bed made of boulders
and straws.

“My apologies for the shabby bed. I’ll go hunting and get our dinner ready. In the meantime,
please get some sleep, Cale-nim.”

Choi Han apologized with a puppy look on his face. Cale found it rather cute. Still, he had
something he must tell Choi Han before the man left.

‘I need to make it clear to him that he’s not bound to serve me like a servant.’

Cale reminisced the time when he’d ordered Choi Han around, asked him to use his sword art to
cut his steaks, and even made him serve tea even when Ron and Beacrox were present. He thought
he kind of unintentionally turned the protagonist of the novel into his personal servant with his
careless behaviors. He wanted to make sure Choi Han didn’t have to feel responsible towards Cale
for that reason.

When he started to open his mouth though, numerous voices could be heard in his head.

Kahahaha, I could feel a natural power akin to mine in the North. Cale, rest well and then we
go destroy that power together.
XXX you, you dumb fire, shut the XX up, how do you expect our Cale to sleep with that
XXX loud mouth of yours?
Umm… Sky Eating Water…you’re being loud as well!
Let them be, super rock, you know those two were always like that.
Kahahaha, c’mon Thiefy, aren’t you trembling in excitement right now as well?
Can I eat that power?

Cale’s ancient powers seemed to be excited with the thought of absorbing a strong natural power as
they were causing a fuss in his head.

‘How vicious.’

Cale frowned deeply as the loud noises filled his mind. Choi Han flinched at that frown, a tinge of
pain ripped through his heart upon seeing his liege’s discomfort.

In the meantime, Cale recalled what he was going to tell Choi Han and was about to speak up, but
he was once again stopped midway as he felt a rough hand full of deep old scars caress the side of
his face, transmitting a light, gentle heat to the cold pale cheek.

“Get some rest, Cale-nim, I’ll be right back with you when dinner’s ready.”

Cale wanted to get up and warn Choi Han he bettered not touch the food and just let Cale take care
of the meal in fear of having their dinner transformed into a disaster, but Choi Han’s gentle touches
were so comfy that Cale couldn’t resist closing his eyes at the pleasant sensation without any
further protest.

‘I guess we’re fine like this.’

Cale wasn’t sure about the dinner, but he thought their relationship was fine as it seemed to be
more than just a simple master-servant relationship. After all, no servants would casually touch
their masters like what Choi Han was doing.

“Mmm.”

Cale assured himself that and subconsciously let out a satisfied hum before falling into a deep,
peaceful slumber with the sensation of Choi Han’s warm touches still lingering on his pale skin.
His soft lips parted slightly, and his body curled up a bit to fit in the small bed, making him look
like a cute little kitten.

Choi Han confirmed that Cale had slept and stood up to leave the tent, his face suspiciously red as
he did.

An hour later, Cale woke up at the sounds of owls and frogs persistently tickling his ears from afar,
as well as the crackling noise of dry wood being burned down from somewhere nearby.
Cale shivered slightly as he stepped out of the tent and let his body be touched by the temperature
that had dropped down quite a bit.

Several feet from him, Choi Han was struggling in front of a fierce fire. He seemed to have been
done with hunting and was currently grilling some fish.

Their tent was close to a river, so Cale was certain Choi Han’s hunting was just him catching the
fish in the river while looking out for the tent.

Cale’s brows furrowed at the sight of the two fish in Choi Han’s hands.

‘How can he be so bad at it?’

One fish was overly, entirely burned while the other had its tail burned miserably whilst its head
remained untouched by the flames.

Cale stared at the fish in disbelief. Choi Han was skillful in a lot of different things. With his top-
notch swordsmanship, who would have thought he would be so clumsy when it came to such a
simple task?

‘But that is fine.’

Everyone had some things they could not do, so did Choi Han. In Choi Han’s case, cooking and
acting were simply two of them.

‘I suppose that is also part of his charm.’

Cale chuckled slightly at that thought and observed the black-haired man, who was sweating
profusely as he belatedly tried to save the burned fish, in amusement. For Choi Han, who was
essentially an old man, to have those weaknesses, Cale found it rather cute and funny.

However, Cale had no intention to have burned fish for his dinner, so he crouched down next to
Choi Han and gave him a short order.

“I’ll handle this. You go get some rest.”

Cale didn’t even look at Choi Han’s reaction as he snatched the two skewer sticks from Choi Han’s
hands in a smooth movement. He then threw away the overly burned fish without hesitation and
skillfully laid the other on the flames so that only its head would be grilled while its ugly burned
tail would be safe from the flames. He also pierced another raw fish into a skewer stick and started
to grill it.

Choi Han watched Cale whilst smiling and scratching his head sheepishly. He then obediently
followed Cale’s order and leaned himself against a nearby tree.

Having situated himself down, Choi Han’s vision immediately returned to Cale as he observed the
man grilling the fish with a calm expression. Cale’s long and pale fingers gracefully held the sticks,
switching their sides every few seconds. The fish were starting to turn into a nice brown color and
sending out an enticing smell.

Cale’s expression was still slightly dazed, but he looked brighter after the short nap. His long
lashes casting small shadows on the lower eyelids as the flames lit up his face, making the
beautiful facial features more striking than ever. Then, with the crimson cloak, Cale’s entire body
seemed to be covered in a rosy-red halo. A light breeze passed through at that moment, moving the
strands of his red hair in a rhythmic motion, making them look like they were dancing happily in
the blazing light.

Choi Han made sure to engrave the scene before him into his head for eternity.

End Chapter 3
 Chapter 4
Chapter Notes

The latest chapter in the novel had my heart shattered. (T＿T)

It hurt so bad that I felt like I have to do something to ease this painful feeling, so I
decided to upload this chapter today. I hope it can somehow bring joy to you as well.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Three days later, Cale and Choi Han arrived at a forest early in the morning.

During the time they’d stayed in the church, Cale had recorded the basic information about this
continent written in Tina’s beginner adventurer guide, so if that guide were anything to be trusted
in, they should currently be inside the Arian Forest, a long and narrow forest separating the
mainland in halves.

It was interesting considering there were only two major kingdoms in this Jewel Continent.

One of them was the Mythic Kingdom, the majestic lion of the South – the paradise for myth-
seekers and adventurers.

The other was the Sage Kingdom, the powerful griffin of the North – the country renowned for its
richness in resources.

These two nations, each guarded one region of the mainland, together made themselves known as
the only true jewels of the continent.

There were realms out of reign of these kingdoms, of course. Carving Empire of the goblins in the
West, Obrad Empire of the dark elves in the East, and even the Island of Greenery and the ancient
Island of Glory where the plant tamer tribe and the elves and dragons had once lived, respectively,
were just a few examples. However, these lands all had modest sizes compared to the two big
nations.

But the reason for their humble sizes wasn’t because the two major kingdoms occupied too much
land. In fact, the Mythic Kingdom was none but a bit larger than Roan Kingdom, and so was the
Sage Kingdom.

So what was most of the land on this continent for? The answer was simple: it was all for the
Forest of Dreamers where free citizens ran to.

‘How peculiar.’

Cale wondered if there was a particular reason behind that, but he decided to put that question aside
for now and focus on the matter at hand.

“This seems to be the place.”

Cale casually commented as he eyed the scene before him with interest.

Currently Cale and Choi Han were standing in front of a boiling lake.
Yes, boiling, in the middle of the cold season, no less.

“Cale-nim, please be careful!”

Choi Han hovered around Cale with his eyes scanning the lake cautiously. Though there were
boulder walls along the shore, it would still be a disaster if someone was unlucky enough to fall
into the dangerous water. It also didn’t help that Cale still had that dazed expression on his face.

However, Cale didn’t hear Choi Han at all as he was listening to the voices in his head.

Kahaha, here it is. The mysterious power akin to mine. Cale, let’s destroy it together!

The cheapskate was loudly spewing those vicious words.

Cale, I’m not sure what exactly it is, but there is definitely a presence in there.
Cale, I think it is not evil.

Cale felt more at ease after hearing the super rock and the thief informing him of their
observations. At least it wasn’t a demonic being.

Can I eat that power?

…then came the glutton priestess…

“Cale-nim, I can sense an unknown presence deep inside the lake. It doesn’t feel murderous
though. Rather, it’s just wary of us.”

Cale nodded at Choi Han’s report.

“Let’s just test it then.”

Shhhhh

A small water orb appeared on Cale’s palm at that moment. Cale then extended his hand, sending
the orb into the lake.

Choi Han watched as the water orb carefully approached the boiling surface. It then slowly
lowered itself down. The moment the orb finally touched the lake water, however, Choi Han could
sense a fierce aura raging from deep inside the hot water.

Almost instinctively, Choi Han rushed towards Cale; his strong and solid arms covered Cale’s
head and shoulders, tightly held the shorter man into a protective embrace.

BOOM!

Shhh Shhh Shhh

The sounds of water splashing could be heard right after the fearsome explosion. However, not
even one drop of the boiling water fell on Choi Han nor Cale.

From the corner of his eye, Choi Han could see the white feathered wings widely spread from
behind him. A half-transparent silver shield could be seen surrounding the area where he and Cale
were standing.

Cale had used the Indestructible Shield, securing them both from the explosion and the
dangerously hot water. Now that Choi Han had some time to think, he thought it was to be
expected of Cale to have already considered the danger entailed by his action.

Still, Choi Han persistently kept Cale in his arms as he felt an enormous, invisible fear invade the
deepest part of his heart, dominate his mind, making his chest tightened and his breaths heavy just
by the mere thought of letting the man in his arms go.

That was the fear of losing the dearest person in his life.

Perhaps Cale could sense the turmoil in Choi Han’s heart, since he didn’t push the younger-
looking man away. He just patiently waited for him to calm down a bit before raising his hand and
gently laying it on Choi Han’s back.

Pat pat.

Cale lightly patted Choi Han’s back while whispering softly to his ear as if soothing.

“I am fine.”

“... I apologize.”

Choi Han took a deep breath and exhaled slowly upon hearing Cale’s voice before finally
proceeding to let go of him. Choi Han’s motion was strangely slow, and the fingertips on his hands
lingered in hesitance the moment they brushed by the locks of red hair which were messed up quite
a bit due to the sudden intrusion of the long and rough fingers.

It was as if he was desperate to hold Cale in his arms even just for a second longer.

Cale observed Choi Han’s complicated expression for a minute. He then put a hand on Choi Han’s
shoulder and spoke in his uniquely stoic tone.

“Thanks for protecting me!”

Choi Han’s eyes widened slightly at that. He then subconsciously smiled, feeling the turmoil in his
mind and heart all vanished at that instant.

“But don’t use your body as a shield again. You might get hurt.”

Cale added, his voice stern. He thought of his Vitality of Heart that would be able to thoroughly
heal his injuries while Choi Han, though strong, couldn’t do such a thing, so in a situation like this,
it’d be more logical for Choi Han to just run away. With his insane speed and reflex, he would
have absolutely been able to avoid the explosion had he run alone, but it was clear as day Choi Han
was too good of a guy to do that. That was why Cale felt such an order was necessary.

However, Choi Han just continued to smile warmly at Cale’s disapproving tone while recalling a
vow he had inscribed in his heart.

Even if it would hurt.

Even if it would be pointless.

Even if the consequences would be none but agonies.

As long as it was for his liege, then it wouldn’t matter if he put himself in danger or pain; he would
be more than willing to repeat that same action again and again if it meant he could ensure of his
liege’s safety.
Of course, Choi Han did not say that out loud.

However, Cale could read that thought through the silence and was quite unhappy with it, but he
ignored it for now.

Cale left the Indestructible Shield on as he sent a small fireball into the water. There was no
explosion this time. The fireball simply vanished in the water.

“Hmm.”

Cale could tell that obtaining this power wasn’t going to be an easy task. Clapping his hands
together, he came to a decision.

“Let’s do some research first!”

Continuing testing this presence without knowing what it was would lead them to nowhere, so it
would be wiser to obtain some information first.

Cale and Choi Han entered a city in a territory nearby the forest soon after. After asking the
citizens here and there, they were advised to visit the city’s public library, where all the folktales
related to the lake as well as other tales recorded around the area could be found.

“Here, young master-nim, this section contains all the tales about that lake that have been gathered
for over a decade now.”

The librarian led Cale and Choi Han to a corner section inside the library. It was probably because
Cale’s outfit looked similar to the ones he’d worn during the time he was still the eldest son of the
Henituse family, or it was because Cale’s each and every movement seemed very noble-like, or
maybe both, that he appeared to be an aristocrat in the librarian’s eyes, which was why he was
calling Cale a young master. Cale supposed it was understandable since he even had a knight by
his side.

“Thank you, sir.”

Cale nodded to the librarian and turned his head to look at the bookshelf in the corner. It was much
smaller than the one he encountered in Bud’s mercenary guild’s library, but it still seemed to
require quite some effort.

“Young master-nim, I don’t mean to pry, but do you perhaps intend to read all those books?”

The librarian inquired hesitantly.

“Yes, I do.”

Cale’s answer was short and calm.

“…If that’s the case, I would suggest you two get a room at the inn first. There is only one inn in
this city, you see, and all the rooms are almost always occupied every day before sunset. Of
course, that is if you haven’t got one already.”

The librarian suggested kindly, but Cale only shook his head at that.

“There is no need.”
“No need? You mean you’ve already got a place to stay?”

“No, I mean we won’t need to stay here for long.”

“B-but aren’t you planning to read all of the books in this section? Even with two of you, it will
still take at least two weeks to finis-“

“Shhhh. Mister, we’re in a library.”

Cale’s reddish-brown eyes glinted in amusement as he put an index finger against his lips and
reminded the librarian who subconsciously raised his voice in confusion. His soft lips curled
slightly into a mischievous smile as he did.

The librarian flinched and apologized embarrassedly at that.

Cale chuckled lightly and opened his mouth to respond to the flustered librarian.

‘Two weeks?’

“One day.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll finish all of these before the end of the day.”

Cale said to the librarian with a confident smile. The librarian stared at that smile, once again found
himself in disbelief. Eventually, he sighed and nodded.

“I understand. Good luck then, young master-nim.”

The librarian probably thought Cale was just bluffing and left with a light shake of his head. Cale
found that rather amusing.

He then turned back to the bookshelf; his fingers subconsciously unbuttoned the first button of his
shirt.

A nostalgic feeling flooded Cale as a familiar heat slowly spread throughout his body, starting
from his head.

‘Time to work.’

He wasn’t called The Recorder for nothing.

“You can help too if you want.”

Cale said to Choi Han, who was looking at him as usual, before taking a thick book down the shelf
and quickly flipping the pages. Cale’s reddish-brown eyes turned icy as they scanned through the
pages one by one.

Hearing Cale’s suggestion, Choi Han reached out for a book and started to read it.

Choi Han didn’t even finish two thirds of the book before sunset, but Cale was already done with
the whole bookshelf, so he gave it to Cale as well. Cale read through it in less than thirty minutes
and calmly put it back on the shelf.

“Here, Cale-nim.”
Choi Han handed Cale a towel to wipe off the sweats on his face. Cale’s condition didn’t look as
bad as when they visited Bud’s library. Still, his face was quite red, and he was also sweating and
panting.

Cale just nodded and took the towel with a soft ‘thanks.’ He looked tired and annoyed.

‘I can’t take my shirt off here.’

Cale seemed to be restraining himself from taking off his shirt as they were in a public library.

At the same time, Choi Han also tried hard to restrain himself from reaching his hand out to caress
the blushing face which was glittering with the glinting sweat drops before him because, again,
they were in a public library.

Anyhow, since Cale had to keep his shirt on, he looked a little uncomfortable due to the heat. Choi
Han was worried, but he knew this side effect would subside soon enough.

They walked out of the inside section of the library after Cale had steadied his breaths and met the
librarian, who was sitting at the counter and watching them curiously.

“Umm… young master-nim, did you finish reading all those books?”

The librarian asked, amazed.

At first, he was certain the young master wouldn’t be able to persist more than half a day, but then
his certainty started to crumble upon realizing Cale hadn’t left the library at all this whole day. The
red-haired young master persistently stayed in the inside section of the library, and when he
walked out, his face seemed slightly flushed as though he had a fever.

‘He probably worked really hard on them.’

Regardless of Cale being able to finish all those books in one day or not, the librarian still respected
his effort, so he decided not to laugh even if the young master failed to do so. However.

“Yes, I did.”

Cale answered calmly.

The librarian stared at him with wide eyes.

“I-is that so?”

He weakly responded with a forced smile. There was a tinge of doubt and pity in his expression.

‘Poor boy, he must be too embarrassed to tell the truth.’

Just as the librarian was nodding to himself with that thought, he heard Cale nonchalantly added
on. He could also see the corners of the young master’s lips twitch up slightly as though he was
resisting an urge to smile brightly.

“I found the information I needed as well.”

With those words, Cale and Choi Han inclined their heads slightly and left the library.

The librarian continued to stare at the entrance which the pair just walked through for a long time
after they had left.
“He probably was just bluffing, right?”

The librarian mumbled to himself. Perhaps it was due to the confident look on the young master’s
face, but he had a feeling that wasn’t a bluff at all.

Both Cale and Choi Han had eaten a little before leaving the city. Cale had taken a nap on Choi
Han’s back on the way back to the lake as well. And with the side effect of his recording ability
subsiding, Cale felt much better at the moment. He thought he was ready for the second
confrontation with the unique lake.

It was already evening, but thanks to the moonlight, they were still able to see fairly well in the
forest.

The water in front of them was still as bubbling and steamy as ever due to the tremendous heat.

The Raging Lake.

It was the name given to this one-of-a-kind lake by the nearby citizens, starting from roughly
thirteen years ago.

Cale quickly went through numerous records in his mind as his eyes were fixed on the boiling
water.

As expected for the kingdom of myths, there were already hundreds of tales about this place, even
though it had only been thirteen years. Most of them stated that the whole lake was possessed by an
evil spirit. Some others said a selfish witch had put a spell on the lake to harm anyone daring to
approach her favorite place. A few books attempted to explain the phenomenon in a scientific way.
All of them sounded quite convincing in their own ways. However, to Cale, who was close to be an
expert in analyzing fantasy novels, those tales had too many cliches and plot holes to be taken
seriously.

‘Baseless theories,’ that was how Cale called them.

Then, there was that one strange book titled A Sinner’s Confessions, which was abandoned
miserably in the corner, probably due to how incomprehensible its story sounded. That forgotten
story was also quite ridiculous to the people in this world, but for the people in a certain different
world, there were several points that seemed noticeably familiar, and Cale just happened to have
lived in that certain world for a good thirty six years.

With his eyes still focused on the steamy lake, Cale opened his mouth and started to speak in a
calm voice.

“Fear not, little child.”

Choi Han’s eyes, which had been glued on Cale this whole time, widened at the words coming out
of Cale’s mouth. They were words in a language extremely familiar to him, yet he hadn’t been able
to hear it for who knew how long.

Yes, it was Korean.

Cale ignored Choi Han’s shocked expression and continued to speak.

“We are not here to harm you. We just wish to talk to you, if you will.”
Through the corner of his eye, Choi Han could see the water started to calm down.

“Wow.”

Choi Han was greatly amazed. However, they both could tell that the being in there was still
emitting the heat as though it was still wary of them.

Cale spoke to Choi Han at that moment.

“You say something to it too.”

“Excuse me, in Korean?” Choi Han asked, visibly shocked.

“Yes, in Korean.” Cale indifferently nodded.

“Um…what should I say to it?” Choi Han asked hesitantly.

“Whatever you think that can comfort the poor soul of a child who isolated himself due to his fear
of evil humans.”

Choi Han’s eyes started to shake at Cale’s calm answer.

‘A child? And one who was isolated and treated badly by the humans too?’

Choi Han subconsciously thought of a certain dragon and slowly opened his mouth, his eyes filled
with a roaring passion.

“He is right. We do not wish to harm you in any way. We are here to help you.”

The weak boiling seemed to die down even more thanks to Choi Han’s words. However, the
wariness was still there. Cale opened his mouth one more time. The child’s response to what he
was going to say next would decide if their paths were meant to cross.

“It is up to you to decide, but if you wish to be free from darkness and go out to see the outside
world, then I can help you, Yi Yeong-ah.”

The lake’s surface seemed to be strongly shaken at Cale’s last words. However, the boiling didn’t
stop. Cale eyed the scene for a long, long time before finally giving up.

“I understand. I respect your decision. My apologies for disturbing you.”

With that, Cale turned on his heels and gave Choi Han a short order.

“Let’s go.”

“Hm? But Cale-nim, aren’t we here for…”

“No need anymore.”

Cale firmly cut Choi Han’s words. He then saw the puzzled expression on Choi Han’s face and
calmly added on.

“I suppose you already realized, but the presence in there is not just some mindless power. It’s a
creature that has its own thoughts and feelings. To a creature like that, we have no rights to
interfere with its life, even if it decides to stay solitude from the outside world.”
“Ahh.”

Choi Han gasped at Cale’s words. He then nodded and quickly followed Cale as well.

Just when they both turned their backs, however, an extremely young and shaking voice could be
heard.

“Yeou~Yeou~, please, no go! Yeou~, no leave me! Omma! Appa!”

The voice sounded as though it was about to break into tears.

Cale’s steps came to a halt upon hearing the pitiful plea. He whipped around to face the lake. There
was a white cloud of concentrated steam swaying back and forth as if shaking. Cale’s brows raised
up slightly, confused by what he had just heard.

“Pardon me, what did you just call us again?”

“…o-omma, appa…”

The young voice answered to him. It sounded hesitant.

“…Who’s omma? And who’s appa?”

Cale asked back in disbelief. Still, he found himself clinging onto a small hope he didn’t even know
what it was for exactly.

There was a pregnant pause.

Then, the faint cloud slowly moved towards Cale’s side as if it was trying to point at him. Cale felt
his hope begin to crumble.

“…omma…”

The cloud moved again. This time, it stopped in front of Choi Han.

“…appa…”

“Hah!”

Cale sighed loudly, finding himself utterly at loss.

Choi Han watched Cale’s flabbergasted expression with an embarrassed smile on his face, feeling
an overwhelming sense of fatherly responsibility rise in his heart.

“And what makes you think that?”

Cale had a rough idea of why the child thought of them that way, but he was completely clueless of
just how the roles were decided.

However, the child didn’t answer his question. The cloud on the lake began to wane as if it was
disappointed.

“N-not omma, not appa?”

Cale looked at the cloud, feeling somewhat pity for the kid, but he still had to tell the truth.

“No, we are not. I’m sorry.”

 The cloud was weakened miserably now. Choi Han observed the fading cloud with a sympathetic
expression. He didn’t know what was going on, but as this creature was talking to them in Korean,
he could somehow guess that it might have come from one of the Earths. A young child from the
same motherland who had been trapped in a lake was calling him his ‘appa’ and Cale his ‘omma’.
Choi Han was bound to feel the urge to rescue and protect this child.

As Choi Han was about to say something to console the poor child, he could hear Cale’s calm
voice formed words that made his eyes widen in shock.

“We’re not your biological mother and father. However, I know your birth parents. I am your
godfather.”

From the corner of his eye, Choi Han could see the lake start to bubble and fill itself with clusters
of cloudy steam as if the creature inside was greatly shaken.

End Chapter 4

Chapter End Notes

As I wrote the last part, I tried to use the lines Cale had said to Choi Han the first time
they met, but it didn't work out. (〃．．)
I wrote this chapter a while ago, but even now I still don't feel satisfied with it. (
〃．．)
 Chapter 5
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han. I’m simply a
reader who loves the novel a lot.
Merry Christmas! :3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“We’re not your biological mother and father. However, I know your birth parents. I am your
godfather.”

Choi Han’s pupils were shaking as he turned to look at Cale after hearing the bomb the man’d just
dropped. Cale’s face was stoic as usual, but Choi Han was able to catch the barest hint of unknown
grieves hidden behind the serene reddish-brown hue.

Cale, meanwhile, wasn’t looking at Choi Han. His eyes thoughtfully scanned the lake as he
continued to speak to the creature inside it.

“I’m not at all a good person. I’m selfish and only care about myself and my people, and even so
there were times I failed to protect those who I wanted to protect.”

Cale was admitting that to the child, but it felt as though they were words meant for himself to
hear.

Woeful memories opportunistically flashed through his head, stinging and cold. Cale simply
ignored them and resumed his speech. He didn’t like pain, in whatever form.

“However, when I take someone under my wings, I’ll help them grow as much as they can, and if I
promise something to them, I’ll make sure to fulfill it.”

Even a trash had his own principal. Unless he purposefully lied, Cale would never betray a
promise he’d made.

“That is why, if you wish to be free and go see the world, I promise you I can make that come
true.” Cale’s expression when he made the promise was solemn. He truly meant it. “So, what is
your answer, Yi Yeong?”

The child seemed to be hesitating as the lake’s water was moving slightly, creating small tides
jostling back and forth. The faint white cloud also kept hovering around the lake’s surface.

Then, the motions halted abruptly. Cale’s face stiffened as he perceived that Yeong had finally
come to a decision.

“Yeou~…the world…wanna see…”

Yeong’s voice was quivering, but it seemed to hold a firm resolve inside it.

The corners of Cale’s lips went up into a small smile upon hearing the child’s honest response.
Beside him, Choi Han was also having a similar expression. It seemed he and Cale were going to
adopt another child.

“Very well! Then I shall help you.”

Cale declared confidently. Both of his arms reached out as a translucent shield with two holy wings
appeared from the silver threads extending from his fingertips and slowly entered the lake water,
heading towards the source of the heat. He then calmly gave Yeong an instruction.

“Listen up, Yeong-ah, withdraw the heat and inform me when your body is completely covered by
my shield, got it?”

“Yes, omma!”

Cale ignored the ‘omma’ part and quickly carried out his plan. Numerous sentences from the
strange book he’d found in the library were flowing through his mind like a stream of words.

<I put a seal on her protective barrier using the damned badge. Only when it willingly withdraws
its power and decides to leave, and only when a soul truly cares for it to the point of throwing
themselves in the murderous water to protect it, then the seal will break, and it can escape that
barrier.>

In short, it said: “Sacrifice yourself and save it.”

‘No wonder that book was ignored.’

That was Cale’s thought on this absurd excerpt.

Even if someone was able to thoroughly comprehend the content, who in their right mind would
risk their life for something so uncertain anyway?

Though Cale was indeed trying to pull the child out of the lake unscathed, he had no intention to
sacrifice himself. Why did that when he could simply use the Indestructible Shield and have both
of them be safe?

“Yeou~, omma, the shield, all around!”

Cale’s smile widened.

“See the white barrier around you?”

“Y-yes!”

“Release your power as much as possible, until that barrier breaks, understood?”

“O-ok!”

Contrary to the timidness of his voice, Yeong was a bright child and good at following
instructions. Cale could tell the child was releasing an incredible amount of energy as he felt an
enormous pressure against his shield.

A string of black blood flowed down from the corner of Cale’s mouth at that moment.

“Cale-nim …”

Choi Han called out to Cale anxiously, but Cale wasn’t in a state where he could pay attention to
anything else. He was fully focusing on the accumulated energy inside the shield underneath the
water. Then, as anticipated, the fearsome pressure seemed to break through something and directly
attacked the Indestructible Shield. Cale coughed up a handful of blood as he observed the shaking
lake. Dizziness invaded his mind, and Cale started to stagger. Choi Han, whose eyes had never
once strayed away from Cale, quickly put his arms around Cale’s shoulders and kept him from
falling over.

“Cale-nim…”

“I’m alright.” Cale reassured the concerned Choi Han before giving Yeong another order. “That’s
enough. Withdraw your energy. I’m going to bring you out of the water.”

As Yeong obediently withdrew his power, Cale also carefully moved up his shield.

“Ahh!”

Choi Han gasped loudly upon seeing the creature inside the spherical shield emerging to the
surface. (*)

<Red streaks running among the pure white fur, golden eyes with vertical pupils, the small creature
appeared uncanny as its nine tails shook weakly as though it was cold.>

And that very creature was descending from the shield onto the ground right in front of their eyes;
steamy mist whirled around the small figure like clusters of clouds, making it look like he had
stepped out from the gate of heaven. As the creature landed, there was a small grey badge dropping
down next to him.

“You’re … a gumiho?”

Choi Han felt goosebumps all over his body. He was so shocked that he forgot to use Korean to the
child.

Standing in front of him and Cale was a fox as small as a puppy. The fox had fluffy fur whiter than
snow with a few red streaks trimming aesthetically on his face, ears, and neck. His sharp golden
eyes were moving left and right as he himself was scrutinizing a world he’d never been able to see
with his own eyes. However, above them all, what caught Choi Han’s attention the most were the
nine fluffy tails waving softly like nine bundles of white cloud.

“You should speak Korean.” Cale nonchalantly reminded Choi Han, causing the latter to put his
hand on the back of his head with a soft ‘oh, right.’ “But yes, he’s a gumiho. Hey, you should at
least be able to introduce yourself, right?” Cale directed his question towards the child.

The child, Yeong, who was looking quite lost upon seeing the outside for the first time, flinched
slightly at Cale’s prompt before holding his head up high, seemingly trying to appear more
confident, as he spoke with his baby-like voice.

“The name, yeou~, is Yi Yeong, yeou~.”

Choi Han stared at Yeong without blinking. He’d seen lots of unimaginable things ever since he’d
crossed dimensions, but he hadn’t at all expected to encounter a creature from Asian folklores at a
place with medieval western vibe like this. In a way, it was even more shocking than those
monsters that had suddenly popped into his life when he’d just been transported to another world
for the first time.

Cale observed Choi Han’s stunned face with a bored expression before slightly nudging the man’s
side.
“It’s your turn.”

“Ah, yes! My name is Choi Han. Nice to meet you, Yi Yeong!”

Choi Han energetically introduced himself to Yeong, causing the latter to focus his eyes on him in
awe.

Short black hair as dark as the night, black eyes as deep as an ocean, grey cape fluttering heroically
from behind the large back, and a well-built body that appeared pronouncedly strong and reliable,
the tall young man smiled warmly as he introduced himself with a voice so uniquely firm and
sincere that the boy felt an urge to instantly trust in him.

Then, Cale also stepped up.

“Great. I am Cale Henituse, known by your parents as Kim Rok Soo. As I have said, I am your
godfather. Let’s get along well from now on.”

Yeong’s gaze moved from Choi Han towards Cale after hearing his short introduction.

Red hair standing out in the silver moonlight, reddish-brown eyes warm and tranquil, crimson
cloak moving fluidly along the wind like red smoke, the man standing in front of him, the one who
had come to free him from the eternal seal, appeared so unreal he thought the man didn’t belong to
this world.

But then the child noticed something else and spoke up in a concerned voice.

“Blood…yeou~…not good…yeou~”

‘What is this kid talking about now?’

Cale was slightly caught off guard by Yeong’s broken sentence when he noticed the child’s eyes
were fixed on the black blood around his mouth.

‘Oh, this.’

“This happens all the time. It’s nothing.”

Cale’s reassurance seemed to ease Yeong’s worry a little. Cale watched the child relax. He then
crouched down before him to pick up the grey badge before spreading his two arms and looking at
Yeong somewhat expectantly.

Yeong, unable to fathom Cale’s intention, kept standing still and staring at him. Cale stayed in that
posture for a good two minutes before finally heaving a sigh.

“What are you standing there for? Come, we’re leaving.”

“Ah, yeou~.”

Yeong started and immediately jumped into Cale’s arms, having realized what the man meant by
that.

“What’s so funny?”

Cale curtly asked Choi Han, who had been watching the godfather-son duo’s awkward first
moment and was chuckling warmly, with an annoyed glare.
“My apologies, Cale-nim.”

“Tsk.”

Cale clicked his tongue and swiftly looked away from Choi Han, who was apologizing for some
reason but still struggling to suppress his chuckles.

“Yeou~, where go? Yeou~?”

Yeong, who was gently held in Cale’s arms against his chest, raise his head to look at Cale and
asked. Cale smiled as he noted the boy seemed to be loosening up bit by bit around them. He
opened his mouth and gave the boy a short answer.

“First, we’ll get some rest for the night. Then, we’ll visit your birthplace.”

Yeong’s eyes widened upon hearing Cale mentioning his birthplace. Cale observed those shaking
eyes and calmly added.

“Of course, that is if you want to. If it’s too hard for you, we can pass it for now.”

Cale had certain businesses demanded to be done at Yeong’s birthplace, but he could postpone
them if the child himself didn’t wish to visit the place. Though Yeong was roughly thirteen years
old, his mind was still pretty much of a baby as he had spent almost all his life up until now hiding
inside the lake. Cale wasn’t so heartless that he would force such a child to go somewhere he
wasn’t comfortable with.

“Yeou~, no, wanna go, yeou~, wanna see everything!”

“Heh.”

Cale chuckled at the child’s energetic tone. Fond memories of the time he’d spent with a certain
group of children flew by like a lukewarm breeze.

‘It’ll be too bad if we can’t, but I really want to go see it once, nya.’

‘Right, too bad if we can’t, but I reallyyy wanna see it, nya~.’

‘Human! Let’s go together!’

Cale’s smile became wider. A long time ago, those cheerful voices had used to fill his days like the
way rays of sunlight would dance their way into an empty room, warming the cold floor and
lighting up the walls that had been stained by darkness. Alas, such good old days now belonged in
the past, and he could never go back to them. However, just being able to reminisce them was
more than enough to brighten up this remorseful life of his.

Unfortunately, it seemed life had refused to look at him with mercy.

Suddenly, Cale’s own memories betrayed him as the records he never wanted to see ever again
ruthlessly made their ways to the open against his own will.

‘Huff…huff… we will protect our family, nya!’

‘My noona is r-right, nya. Nobody can touch our family, nya!’

‘W-weak human, I’m g-great and mighty, *cough*. I’ll p-protect you. *cough*’
Cale felt his vision stolen by the records imbued with blood. Those direful records crumbled into
thousands of sharp slivers, cutting off the light of happiness that had dared to rise. Darkness
blinded Cale’s eyes as the young, yet broken voices echoing in his mind faded away in a moment
that was like a millennium. Then, even his legs gave out.

“Cale-nim!”

Choi Han urgently supported the faltering Cale with his strong arms. A feeling akin to his heart
being squeezed to the point it broke enveloped him as he observed Cale’s complexion.

His liege, Cale, was sweating and panting heavily. The reddish-brown eyes that always shone with
wisdom had turned dim. His slim body was shivering violently under a mysterious pressure. And
his face, it had lost all color, making the black blood that hadn’t fully dried even more prominent.

However, Cale’s arms still held on to the little fox as though he was afraid the child would fall and
get hurt.

“Y-yeou~, what’s wrong? Hurt? Don’t be, yeou~.”

Yeong was asking in a panicked voice. Tears swelled in his eyes as he looked up at his godfather’s
face.

However, Cale had no way to respond to the child. It was partly because he was too exhausted to
even open his mouth and speak, but the main reason was because he did not know what was going
on either.

‘What the hell is wrong with me?’

Cale had been happily holding Yeong in his arms, and the memories that had flashed through his
mind were initially warm and loving.

Why was he suddenly like this?

He couldn’t understand it at all.

Yeong was at loss of what was happening to Cale, and Cale himself failed to explain such a thing
as well, but there was a person who didn’t look puzzled.

It was Choi Han.

‘Cale-nim is in pain.’

But it wasn’t just some physical pain.

‘It is the pain from the traumas he has gone through during his previous lives.’

They were lives given to him by cruel minds, ones in which so many people dear to him had lost
their lives right in front of his eyes, creating a dreadful fear haunting his heart like a tenacious
phantom, ready to engulf his mind whenever it became unguarded.

Choi Han, who had followed Cale for years, had witnessed Cale’s hardships both in the past and
present, had stood by Cale’s side and shared the despairs the man had been through, was able to
see a glimpse of Cale’s pain, as well as Cale’s obliviousness when it came to his own emotions. It
was just like that time when Cale had collapsed after reading the message from the God of Death
due to the overwhelming fear which he himself had no idea of, or that other time when he’d let his
tears fall in front of everyone for the first ever time and had been puzzled in the search for the
reason behind his own tears. Choi Han had learned from those incidents that his liege, Cale, was
simply too selfless to ever care for his own feelings. That sacrificial mindset of his was, in a way,
admirable, but it also drove Choi Han madly frustrated.

However, no matter how frustrated he was, Choi Han chose to just silently stay by Cale’s side and
look out for the man’s slightest changes in emotions in his stead so that whenever such a situation
occurred, he’d be able to quickly react and support his liege.

“Huff…huff…”

“Cale-nim…”

Choi Han gently called out to Cale as he let the man lean against a nearby tree. He then took out a
towel, damped it with the lake’s water, and carefully wiped off the blood on his liege’s face. As he
watched the blackish-red color staining the white fabric, Choi Han felt his eyes clouded with
shadows. He’d seen this sight so many times, but never once had it been less hurtful. What sort of
expression he was showing to his liege, Choi Han couldn’t tell. He could only wish Cale would not
notice it as it was surely not pretty.

In the mean time, Cale had closed his eyes as soon as the soft texture of the towel had touched his
lips and chin; the thing was both wet and warm with the water of the lake that no longer raged but
hadn’t cooled off. His breaths slowly steadied, and his trembling ceased. Sensing peace once again
came back to him, Cale cracked his eyes open.

‘Ah, I made him go through it again.’

Through a narrow gap between the eyelids, he could see a blurry face among the sea of spots. Cale
could tell whose face that was just by its silhouette. And when his vision became clear, the other
person’s expression was reflected.

Cale wordlessly looked at that expression, one that was only calm on the surface. He wondered
how there could be such a good person. Because, just how many times had he pulled this kind of
face out of this unlucky bastard already? He was just too shockingly good at that, an ability he
wasn’t even proud of. Yet, this idiot still stuck to him, who was simply a trash, and cared for him
this much.

‘Choi Han.’

This person, Choi Han, was his knight and his family. He was someone who would follow him to
the end of the universe. Perhaps his life wasn’t as shitty as it appeared, not when he still had this
good-natured man standing by his side.

Thinking so, Cale felt his heart instantly soothed and warmed up.

He heard Yeong’s quivering voice at that moment. The child was still in Cale’s arms, looking up at
Cale in worry. His nine tails waggled frantically in panic.

“Yeou~, omma, sick, yeou~, don’t want, wanna help!”

Yeong was fidgeting as though he wanted to help but didn’t know how. Choi Han, who had
finished cleaning the blood on Cale’s face, could only shake his head apologetically at the child’s
desire to help. There was nothing they could do now except for staying by Cale side and reassuring
Cale that everything would be fine.
However, Cale, who had overcome the ‘unknown’ fear, had a different opinion as he listened to the
voices in his head.

Cale, we can’t help with your … um … mental issue, but there’s a way to improve the
condition of your soul and body.

The super rock was talking to Cale. For some reason, his voice sounded really sad.

Right, Cale, the little fox has the power akin to mine. Ask him to give you some! If I can
absorb it, you will get better!

The cheapskate was saying that to him. It was rare to hear his voice so full of concerns.

That child’s power is special. It doesn’t seem like sharing a little bit heat will be harmful to
him in any way.

The super rock added as though he was expecting Cale to have such worries.

“That’s right. He should be alright.”

Cale casually responded to the super rock, drawing both Choi Han’s and Yeong’s confused eyes
towards him.

Cale ignored their gazes and quickly went through a certain record in his mind.

‘Yi Chin-Mae, Grade 1 Ability User.

Special Ability, ‘Heat.’

Side Effect: temporarily lowering body’s energy (will be automatically restored)

Limit: varies by the body’s condition’

In other words, this formidable ability only required some energy that could be restored with time,
and if the users’ bodies allowed, they could even turn a whole city into an oven if they wished to.
In that case, that should be fine for Yeong, who had released a bunch of his heating energy but was
still being fine, to give Cale some of his power.

But Cale didn’t want to rush the child. Though Yeong appeared to be fine, the energy he’d spent
was no joke. Plus, it’d probably been amplified thanks to the white barrier, meaning Yeong’s real
power wasn’t that strong, so just to be safe, he should let the child rest and fully restore his energy.

Cale patted Yeong’s head and calmly said to the boy between his gradually steadied breaths.

“There is something you can do to help me.”

Yeong’s golden eyes that resembled the eyes of two certain cats brightened at Cale’s proclamation.
However, Cale’s next words caused him to slightly duck his head.

“But not now. Now is time to rest and sleep. We’ll go back to this matter tomorrow.”

It’s already late at night, and all Cale wanted to do now was to lie down on some warm bed and
have a long deep sleep.

Of course, that simple wish of his was impossible as they were in the middle of a forest at the very
beginning of winter season. Cale couldn’t ask Yeong to share some heat with them either. He was
planning on letting Yeong rest and restore his energy, so ordering the child to do so seemed rather
counterproductive.

Choi Han stood up and took out his old cape to prepare a bed after hearing Cale’s order with a
serious expression. What had just happened once again reminded Choi Han that he needed to train
himself even harder. Before, no, even now, he’d always relied on Cale. Choi Han wanted to change
that. He wanted to become the large and firm back that his liege could lean on. After all the things
his Cale-nim had been through, there should at least be one person by his side who was capable of
giving him the peaceful and comfortable life he deserved.

“Yeou~ yeou~, appa, what that?”

Choi Han, who was entrenched in his own burning thoughts, whipped his head around to look at
Yeong upon hearing the boy’s questioning. His solemn gaze melted down into a gentle one, such
that a father would look at his son with, as he faced the little fox who was watching him curiously.

“It’s a bed. You can lay on it and have a warm sleep with it.”

Choi Han answered Yeong with a smile, his tone doting.

“Bed. Warm. Wanna help, yeou~!”

With that, the little fox jumped in and began to spread out the cape with his front paws.

“Appa, yeou~, how did I do? Yeou~?”

“Good! You did well!”

Choi Han praised the child with a fond expression.

A few steps away from them, Cale was watching the two working together with a soft smile on his
face.

‘They look like a real pair of father and son.’

Cale felt his heart oddly warm seeing Choi Han and Yeong interacting with each other so naturally
as though Yeong was Choi Han’s long-lost son. However, his smile began to distort into an
awkward frown at the boy’s next words.

“Yeou~, good. Omma be warm. Good. Yeou~.”

For some reason, Yeong was still calling Cale ‘omma,’ but that wasn’t what bothered him the
most.

“Of course he will. You did great!”

Cale’s frown deepened as he saw Choi Han playing along with the child. Cale decided to speak up
on this matter when he still had the chance. If he just let it be like this, Yeong might end up
actually believing he was his mom and Choi Han was his dad.

“Yeong-ah!”

“Yeou~, omma?”

“Why do you still call me ‘omma?’ I thought I told you I’m your godfather?”
Yeong started slightly at Cale’s blunt inquiry. The child seemed hesitant to answer as his pointy
red-tipped ears drooped slightly, probably because he thought he had somehow displeased Cale.
Even Choi Han was glancing between the two anxiously. Cale blinked and proceeded to clarify to
Yeong in an attempt to soothe the nervous child.

“I’m not scolding you. I just want to know.”

Yeong began to relax with a small smile on his fox face after hearing Cale saying he was not angry.

‘How innocent.’

Both Cale and Choi Han had the same thought as they observed the little fox easily changing his
mood with only a simple console. The fox opened his mouth and answered in a timid voice.

“’Yeong-ah’.”

“Huh?”

Cale and Choi Han looked at Yeong questioningly as the boy suddenly uttered his own name.
Yeong flinched slightly at their surprised tone and quickly added.

“’Yeong-ah,’ yeou~… omma always called me ‘Yeong-ah’…”

‘Yeong’s omma? Wait! Don’t tell me...’

Cale was totally at loss for words as realization dawned on him. He recalled how he had called the
boy’s name for the first time.

‘It is up to you to decide, but if you wish to get out of there and see the outside world, then I can
help you, Yi Yeong-ah.’

He then recalled what Yi Chin-Mae had said to him once upon a time.

‘Both of us are excited, especially Gumi.’

‘Gumiho have sharp ears and high intelligence. They begin picturing the world as soon as their
brains start to be developed.’

‘So Gumi spends every day talking to the child.’

‘She always says something like this: “Omma can’t wait to finally meet you, Yeong-ah~” with the
happiest expression I’ve ever seen on her face. Hah hah. She told me to call our son Yeong-ah too,
but I thought that ‘ah’ part kinda made his name sound weak, so I refused. She’d been sulking for
days until I brought a bunch of her favorite flower hah hah hah.’

Closing the records in his mind, Cale ran his hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh.

‘Aigoo. My head.’

As it turned out, both Yeong’s mom and dad had talked to him regularly during the time of
pregnancy, so it made sense that Yeong could only recognize the Korean language from Cale and
Choi Han after being born and sealed in this world. However, because only Yeong’s mom had ever
called him ‘Yeong-ah,’ Yeong mistook Cale as his ‘omma.’

‘So the reason was that simple. I just brought it on myself huh?’
Cale’s gaze fell on Yeong once again. He was determined to make it clear to the boy that he was
not in any way allowed to address his godfather so wrongly like that just because of such a
ridiculous reason, but his steely determination melted down the moment he caught the sight of the
nervous and pitiful child. Even Choi Han, who had stopped working on the bed at some point, was
looking at him nervously; his kicked-puppy eyes seemed to be harboring a message Cale didn’t
dare decipher.

Somehow, Cale felt like he had lost in a battle of words for the third time, and two of them were to
his own people, no less.

Such a thing was really unnerving.

He sighed inwardly before finally gave out a stern order.

“Just make sure you don’t call me that in front of other people. Call me Cale or whatever else. No,
you shouldn’t talk in front of anyone else but me and Choi Han to begin with. Understood?”

“…”

“Yeong, hurry.”

Yeong, who was staring blankly at Cale, heard Choi Han whispering urge in his ears and quickly
responded.

“Ah! Yes, omma!”

Yeong sounded extremely happy as he answered Cale with a cheerful voice and sort of made a high
five with Choi Han next to him.

For some reason, Cale felt betrayed.

‘Why is Choi Han acting like this?’

Choi Han seemed like he was enjoying this situation in which he and Cale were playing the father
and mother roles. And given the fact that his knight was effortlessly terrible at acting, he was
definitely not just ‘playing the role.’ Instead, he was taking the matter seriously.

Cale started to doubt his decision.

However, an adult should keep his words to a child. And well, it was no use dwelling too much on
something you could no longer change. So, let’s just push such annoying matters aside and enjoy
the peaceful night without worrying about the future.

That was Cale’s plan.

Unfortunately, such a plan seemed to be a luxury for him at this point as he heard Yeong’s baby-
like voice timidly called out to him.

“O-omma…”

“What is it?”

“Yeou~, omma, appa, yeou~, not here, the other ones, yeou~, wanna know about…”

Both Cale and Choi Han, who were getting used to Yeong’s way of speaking, immediately
understood what the child was trying to ask for.
 ‘He wants to hear about his biological mother and father.’

Cale sighed internally as he saw the curious expression on Choi Han’s face as well. He then
opened his mouth to answer them both.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow. Now, let’s go to bed!”

He wasn’t going to give up on his peaceful sleep just yet.

End Chapter 5

Chapter End Notes

(*) I'm not sure if Cale's shield can be spherical, but the webtoon's illustration kind of
gave me the idea. So, please bear with me.
Though I indeed have been throwing light angsts here and there, it doesn't necessarily
mean that all the characters in the novel have met tragic endings in this fic. Things can
turn out different. I guess it's inevitable that I will need to see how the novel is going
to end as well.
 Chapter 6
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han. I’m just a mere
reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+
https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

See the end of the chapter for more notes

There you are! Sunbaenim, why are you here? Is the food not to your taste?”

Kim Rok Soo, who was standing alone at the balcony, turned around as he heard a familiar voice
calling out to him. It was Yi Chin-Mae, one of the rising stars among the ability users of Gangwon.
He was renowned for his heat-controlling ability which was useful in both attacking and
defending.

“No, I just don’t feel like joining.”

Kim Rok Soo responded calmly to the man before him. He was never into rolling around in a party
anyway, especially not one celebrating a victory that’d been achieved by the loss of others’ lives.

“Heh.”

“What is it?”

Kim Rok Soo curtly asked the younger man who just joined him at the balcony, feeling oddly
annoyed. He had escaped to this place to get some peaceful time alone, but this punk just had to
come here and ruin it. It wasn’t like they were close or anything. In fact, this was the first time his
team and Chin-Mae’s team worked together in an operation.

“Nothing, sir. I just thought you really are like how others describe you.”

“Oh, ok.”

Kim Rok Soo simply nodded his head at that. He couldn’t care less about what others gossiped
about him behind his back. However, Yi Chin-Mae didn’t want to end their conversation just yet.

“My wife is having our first child. That is why she couldn’t attend this operation with us though
she wanted to.”

“I understand. Congratulations.”

Chin-Mae’s wife, Gumi, was another rising star of Gangwon. She was famous for her Gumiho
ability, which allowed her to transform into her nine-tailed fox form. In addition to that ability, she
also had sharp senses and was fast and strong. Gumi had been introduced to the Gangwon team by
Chin-Mae himself. She was expected to become one of the most powerful figures among the ability
users of South Korea. The two had finally got married last year, and they were expecting their first
son to be born within the next two months.
“Both of us are excited, especially Gumi.”

Kim Rok Soo nodded at Chin-Mae’s eager voice and nonchalantly asked.

“Have you decided on his name?”

Immediately, Chin-Mae’s face brightened upon seeing Kim Rok Soo pay attention to his words.

“Yes sir, it’s Yi Yeong! We’re gonna call him Yi Yeong!”

Kin Rok Soo’s expression turned iffy as the younger man suddenly became even more energetic.
He only asked that because it would be quite rude to keep ignoring when someone was trying to
talk to him. Well, he reckoned most parents were bound to have such reactions, so Rok Soo just
nodded in response out of politeness.

“That’s a good name.”

“Right? I named him that hoping he will grow up into a brave and strong person, someone who
will climb to the top and achieve great things, like a legendary hero!” (*)

Kim Rok Soo didn’t respond to that right away. He was debating if he should spell out his thoughts
that would more or less displease Chin-Mae. Eventually, he opened his mouth and shared a little
bit of his own opinion.

“Isn’t it already good enough that the child can grow up healthily and happily?”

To Kim Rok Soo, whose only dream was to put an end to all the chaos and enjoy a slacker life
without a care about the world, growing up being expected to become a hero sounded like a
terrible nightmare.

“Pfft.”

“What?”

Kim Rok Soo was taken aback by Yi Chin-Mae who was laughing as if he found amusement in his
words. He had thought Chin-Mae would get offended or even angry at him.

“Nothing, heh heh. It’s just that I understand now why Gumi has a high opinion of you. She told
me the same when I said that to her.”

‘Gumi has a high opinion of me? Why?’

Kim Rok Soo had an ominous feeling that this conversation was going to take an unexpected turn,
so he decided to stay silent instead. However, Chin-Mae showed no sign of ending his talk.

“Gumi said she only wished for Yeong to grow up like a normal child and for our family to be
happy together. When she heard of what a person you seemed to be like and then saw you in
person, she was in admiration and said she respected your living ideology.”

This time, Kim Rok Soo nodded to Chin-Mae’s words a little more vigorously. He was moved that
someone else aside from his team members not only understood and but also respected his slacker
dream.

Chin-Mae did not miss that change in Kim Rok Soo’s expression and was trying hard to suppress
his laughter as the icy team leader in certain rumors looked kind of like an excited child at the
moment. Then, he slowly turned his thoughtful gaze to the collapsed buildings in the far distance
and calmly stated.

“You know, sunbae, Gumi is a gumiho.”

‘Why is he suddenly telling me this?’

Chin-Mae’s sudden revelation of something everybody knew left Kim Rok Soo at loss of words.
However, Yi Chin-Mae quickly elaborated.

“Not like a Gumiho ability. That was a lie. Gumi doesn’t possess any sort of awaken abilities. She
has had that transforming power for a thousand years now. She’s a real gumiho. I met her by
chance in a forest. She was sort of hiding underneath a lake hah hah. We fell in love and, well, you
know the rest of the story.”

Yi Chin-Mae was just casually saying that, yet his eyes, as analyzed by the experienced Kim Rok
Soo, held the fiercest honesty.

“…ok.”

If Kim Rok Soo was shocked about the out-of-nowhere revelation, he didn’t show. And well, it
wasn’t something so unbelievable to him anyway. If monsters were all real and alive, then why not
gumiho? That was why Kim Rok Soo purposefully avoided commenting on the matter. He refused
to make his life any more complicated than it had already been.

And if Chin-Mae understood Kim Rok Soo’s intentional silence, he chose not to care.

“One more thing, sunbaenim, it’s supposed to be a secret, so please don’t tell anyone about it.”

“…ok.”

‘Why did you tell me then?’

As though he could read his mind, Chin-Mae opened his mouth and spoke to the older man.

“I’m telling you this because both I and Gumi wish for you to become Yeong’s godfather.”

“Ok…, wait, what?”

Kim Rok Soo was flabbergasted.

‘What nonsense is this punk spewing now?’

‘How can you ask someone you just met not long ago to be your child’s godfather?’

Kim Rok Soo could not fathom what sort of crazy thoughts had led Chin-Mae and Gumi to such a
decision. It was because he didn’t know that Gumi, a one-thousand-year-old gumiho with a special
spirit, was able to detect the extraordinary soul of Kim Rok Soo and had a hint of how exceptional
of a being he was. Simply put, it was Gumi’s instinct that told her to make Kim Rok Soo Yeong’s
godfather. But as Kim Rok Soo had no way to know that, he decided not to answer the couple’s
request right away.

That didn’t stop Chin-Mae from rambling about his family life, of course. He was really persistent
to the point Kim Rok Soo couldn’t help but deeply regret going to the balcony on that day.

However, two months later, he regretted it even more.

It was because he received the news that Gumi, who was close to her due date, had gone missing
during a sudden monster attack into the Gangwon’s base. Chin-Mae had gone crazy because of the
incident and couldn’t remain his calm. He’d had to pay with his life for that.

At that moment when the news reached his team, Kim Rok Soo, someone who couldn’t forget, was
reminded of one thing he had failed to do.

He hadn’t told Chin-Mae and Gumi his answer just yet.

“Sniffle. Sniffle.”

Cale petted Yeong as the child was trying his best to suppress his tears after hearing about his
parents for the first time. Choi Han, who was quietly sitting across them with a skewer stick of
grilled mushrooms, also lowered his head with a pained expression. He seemed to have lost his
appetite due to the heartbreaking story Cale had just told him and Yeong.

Cale had debated whether he should tell Yeong everything. Eventually, he’d come to a conclusion
that the child deserved to know about his origin.

“Finish your meal. I’ll tell you the rest after our breakfast.”

Cale said to both Yeong and Choi Han as he also began to eat his own food. He still needed to
explain to them how he’d found out about Yeong through the hints from the strange book at the
library, but he thought a break was in order for Yeong to recover from the overwhelming emotions.

Even Cale himself was too tired to continue.

It was then when he felt Yeong’s little paw pat on his lap. Yeong had swallowed the last piece of
his grilled meat and was trying to get Cale’s attention with his front paw.

“What is it?”

“Omma, yeou~, tired, yeou~, wanna help...!”

“Ah. That.”

Thanks to Yeong, Cale finally remembered he was going to need Yeong to give him some of his
heating power to fortify his fire ancient power. He had focused so much on telling Yeong of his
parents that he forgot about his own health problem.

Across him, Choi Han was watching Cale’s expression with a slight shake of his head and a
resigned smile on his face.

Cale just ignored Choi Han’s odd reaction and casually asked Yeong a question.

“Yeong-ah, are you full of energy now?”

Yeong had slept well and gotten a good meal, so he was beyond energetic right now.

“Yeou~, energy, full, yeou~!”

“Good.”

Cale was satisfied with Yeong’s response. He then closed his eyes. Two feathered wings adorned
with scarlet gemstones spreading out from a silver headband appeared on his head.

“Woah, beautifullll.”

Cale just ignored Yeong’s awed exclamation and gave the boy an instruction.

“Channel a little bit of your energy into the gemstones on this headband. Remember, just a bit, got
it?”

“Yes, omma!”

Then, Yeong proceeded to do just as told. He closed his eyes as his heating power was channeled
towards the gemstones on Cale’s heads. Yeong’s nine fluffy tales were waving softly like floating
clouds, and the few streaks of red fur on his forehead wrinkled as the child had his eyes tightly shut
in focus. Before him, Cale was sitting elegantly in his deep red cloak with his eyes still closed. His
pale face, which was being warmed up with the heating power entering his body, was getting back
its pastel shade of blushing pink.

This process lasted for roughly half a minute. During this time, even the forest seemed to quiet
down as though fascinated by the two outstanding existences. The atmosphere around the two was
so still one would think they were inside a canvas, with only the sound of rustling branches could
be heard. Above them, autumn leaves were slowly falling down in a harmonic pattern, adding to
the canvas of red and white a shade of amber, dreamlike and lulling like a scene out of a fairytale.

Choi Han, who was standing across Cale, wordlessly contemplated the sight in front of his eyes in
awe, feeling like he somehow had stepped into a fantasy world where angels and mystical creatures
existed, seemingly forgetting he had been living in one for almost a hundred years now.

“Thank you. You can stop now.”

Cale’s calm voice broke the silence as he signaled to Yeong to withdraw his power. The headband
on his head also began to fade away.

‘Such a useful item.’

Cale had to, albeit reluctantly, thank the God of Death for this Power Absorbing Headband. It was
especially designed to only appear and do its job when Cale needed it to.

There was just one thing about it.

‘Why did that bastard have to make it look so holy?’

It was the blindingly dazzling design of the band.

‘Couldn’t he just give me a normal-looking one instead?’

Cale was never a fan of extravagant stuffs, but somehow he always got those things on him ever
since he’d become Cale Henituse. But considering the headband was pretty easy to use, Cale could
tolerate its cheesy appearance. Now wasn’t the time to be picky.

However, he was still being annoyed, for a completely different reason.

Kahahaha, that was wonderful! I approve this kid! His power is wonderful! Now let’s go
destroy everything! No, let’s collect all the money in this world then destroy everything!!!

The cheapskate was having a blast in Cale’s head after absorbing a bit of Yeong’s power as he was
spouting such vicious nonsense.

Cale just ignored that freak and looked towards Yeong and Choi Han. He still needed to tell them
about the strange book as well as verify certain things about Yeong’s power.

‘Sigh, why do I always have so much to do?’

Cale sighed internally as he felt the precious energy he had gained after sleeping and getting
Yeong’s power instantly fade away with all the to-do tasks still unchecked in his list.

‘But after that will be my time.’

Kahahaha, Cale, money! Let’s loot all the money in this world then destroy it all with my
Fiery Thunderbolt! Kahahaha

‘Money, huh?’

The corners of Cale’s lips curled up into a smile that a certain dragon would call a scamming smile
if he saw it.

“Right, let’s go get some.”

“Yeou?”

“…Cale-nim?”

Both Yeong and Choi Han were confused by Cale, who suddenly mumbled to himself. However,
Cale just ignored them as he thought to himself.

‘It’s about time I collect my payment.’

The heating power wasn’t the only benefit he could gain from reading that one strange book.

Though Cale had such an exciting plan in mind, he decided not to rush. So the first half of the day
continued on with Cale patiently explaining the crucial points he’d collected from the book A
Sinner’s Confessions that’d helped him find out about Yeong then with him and Choi Han testing
out Yeong’s powers.

When all questions they’d come up with were cleared, the group began to move following Cale’s
order.

This time, they headed further northward. Their destination was none but the infamous griffin of
the land – the Sage Kingdom.

“It seems we can’t pass the gate without the kingdom’s identification papers.”

Cale commented as he observed the guards checking on the people trying to enter the Sage
Kingdom’s territory from afar.

“Yeou?”

Yeong, who was held in Cale’s arms against his chest, looked up at Cale curiously upon hearing
the man’s words. Earlier, he had followed Cale’s order and used his transforming power, which
actually worked like an illusion-creating technique, to make himself appear just like a normal fox
with only one tail. Yeong was a half gumiho, but he was still able to perform this type of spiritual
magic that only gumiho could do, one that even high-rate mages had no way to detect. His range of
power was still extremely limited, of course, but it still sufficed for certain jobs.

“I said right now we can’t enter that place just yet.”

Cale explained to Yeong in Korean in a whispering voice as he noticed the boy’s puzzled face. He
would probably need to teach the child the language of this world soon when he had time.

For now, there was a more pressing issue they had to address. They needed to figure out a way to
pass the enormous wall, either legally or illegally, so that they could visit Yeong’s birthplace and
Cale could collect his payment.

It was then when he heard Choi Han’s whispering voice from behind.

“Cale-nim, there are three people observing us. One of them is coming this way.”

Choi Han quick-wittedly spoke in Korean so that even the movements of his lips couldn’t be read.

“Grr.”

Yeong seemed to have sensed the incoming presence as well and began to bare his teeth warily.
Cale just calmly patted the child’s head as if soothing while opening his mouth to give Choi Han a
short order. His voice was faint, and his eyes were still fixed on Yeong in his arms, making it look
like he was just dotingly talking to the fox.

“Pretend you haven’t noticed.”

At Cale’s order, Choi Han immediately stopped his hand from reaching for the hilt of his sword.
Choi Han’s terrible acting wasn’t shown as he did nothing but guarding Cale as always. (**)

It was then when a gentle voice reached their ears from behind.

“Greetings, young master-nim and sir knight!”

Cale and Choi Han turned around to see a beautiful woman in glasses greeting them with a warm
smile on her face. Her double pigtail braids tilted forwards as she bowed down in a perfect curtsy.
Her hands were slightly holding the long green skirt that made the light pink color of her hair stand
out in a graceful manner. She was clad in an outfit that appeared to be of a commoner. Still, her
every gesture radiated a sense of someone who had grown up learning proper etiquettes and
spending time dealing with quite a number of aristocrats.

“Greetings, miss!” Cale greeted her back with a startled expression on his face. “Um … pardon me,
but may I have the privilege to know who you are please?” Cale’s voice was hesitant. He appeared
genuinely flustered.

“Oh my, where are my manners? Please forgive me for my rudeness, young master-nim!” The
woman seemed honestly concerned at Cale’s flustered expression as she quickly apologized and
proceeded to introduce herself. “My name is Mae. I work for an organization that helped travelers
gain their identification papers to the Sage Kingdom.”

“Ahh.”

Cale gasped aloud, and his face brightened visibly upon hearing the woman, Mae, introduce her
job.
“Really? Identification papers? Then miss Mae, can you help us please?” Cale spoke to Mae with
half rejoiced, half pleading eyes. His voice was quivering slightly as well. “It is quite embarrassing,
but we’ve come unprepared. We are not used to traveling, you see.” Together with the slightly
dazed expression on his face due to his sleepiness, Cale appeared awfully pitiful at the moment.

“Of course, young master-nim, it is my job to help out whenever I see a traveler in need.” Mae
politely responded to the desperate Cale, the friendly smile immovably hung on her attractive
heart-shaped face.

Choi Han, who was standing next to Cale, looked away and tried his best to pretend he was just
sightseeing their surroundings so that he could hide away his awkward acting from the woman.
Meanwhile, Yeong, who couldn’t understand what Cale and the woman were saying to each other
but could still sense a drastic change in the man’s demeanor, was looking up at his godfather with a
shocked expression.

Thankfully, the pink-haired woman didn’t pay attention to either of them as she was focusing on
her conversation with Cale.

“Our office is just right over there, please follow me, and we can start the process as soon as we
arrive.” She gestured her arm slightly to an opposite direction, prompting Cale’s group to follow
her.

“Thank you so much, miss Mae! We are so lucky to meet you here. Choi Han, let’s go!” Cale
gratefully said to Mae before turning towards Choi Han to give him the order. The moment their
eyes met, Choi Han could clearly see an unspoken message hidden in the reddish-brown hue that at
some point had begun to glisten as though its owner was extremely delighted at something. A
declaration of ‘scamming time’ was blissfully floating midair following Cale’s every step, such
that appeared so light one would think he was a bird ready to take off and fly.

Mae led them to a path alongside the wall. After quite a long walk, they found themselves entering
the woodland edge of the Arian Forest once again. They then sort of crossed an uneven area and
entered a gloomy and deserted valley full of ancient trees before finally arriving at the destination.

“Please come in, young master-nim!”

Mae ushered them into her office, which was a small but decent wooden house built above a
benign stream. There were also many trees and plants around the house, making it look refreshing
as though the house was as well a part of nature.

‘What a place!’

Cale looked at the house in awe. Not a splendid castle, but a peaceful house such as this was still
ideal for living a slacker life.

“Please excuse us for our lack of furniture! Our organization is still in development, you see.”

Mae said as she motioned for Cale and Choi Han to sit down on the wooden chairs at one side of a
rectangular table.

Choi Han naturally chose to stand behind Cale instead, so Cale put Yeong on the vacant chair after
having situated himself down. Cale’s eyes swiftly scanned through the room at that moment.

This room that Mae’d claimed as her office was indeed lacking in furniture. Aside from the set of a
table and chairs, there was only a moderately large desk with some sort of documents on it. Cale
wasn’t sure about the other parts of the house, but the rest of this particular room was oddly
occupied with small plants, seemingly to protect them from the cold or for decorating purposes.
Most of them were common flowers and small trees. There was a pot with a weird vining flower
plant underneath their table as well.

“Please take a look, young master-nim! These are the templates for the Sage Kingdom
identification documents. And here is a form to fill out your information.”

Mae slightly nudged her glasses as she gently offered Cale several paper sheets which seemed
extremely well-constructed.

Cale gave Choi Han the form to read while he himself started to scrutinize the templates with an
intense focus as though he was enchanted by them. Beside him, Yeong also put his two front paws
on the edge of the table and looked at the documents curiously. Cale’s group appeared rather
unguarded at the moment.

Just like that, the small wooden house was filled with silence. The only sounds present were the
sound of water flowing in the stream beneath the house and the bird chirps from several branches
above the roof. This silence remained for roughly thirty seconds until, all of a sudden, Cale opened
his mouth and nonchalantly spoke up.

“Funny how you think you can fool us so easily!”

While Mae, who was sitting across from Cale, froze up like a machine having problems
processing, a few small trees in the house started to grow. As fast as the speed of light, the growing
branches rushed to the table and began to lift the thing up, disclosing the crime scene being
conducted right beneath it.

The little plant under the table which should have been a harmless adornment, that very plant was
stealthily reaching its hairy reddish green vines towards the money and magic pouches hung on
one side of Cale’s waist.

But that wasn’t the most shocking part about this whole situation.

The weirdest thing about this shitty little plant was that not only was it slowly moving its
disgusting tentacle-like vines along Cale’s legs up to his waist like a pervert, but it also had eyes! It
had jet black eyes with absolutely no room for sclerae, ones that were bizarrely big compared to its
flower ‘face.’

A freaking yellow flower was looking straight back at Cale with its two widely opened eyes as
though it knew it was caught committing a wrong deed. Saying this sight was horrifying was an
understatement.

Cale was surely shocked. However, his face maintained its usual stoic expression as its owner
listened to a disgusted voice in his head.

Cale! That’s it! That perverted plant was the weird sense of natural power akin to mine that I
felt earlier. My goodness, what a nasty plant! Even I am losing my appetite.

It was the glutton priestess. Just right when Choi Han had reported Cale about the three suspicious
presences, the glutton priestess had informed Cale of a power which oddly felt like hers but not
quite hidden somewhere nearby. Before their entry to the house, she’d confirmed to Cale that said
power was definitely hiding inside. She’d then shared her suspicion of the eerie-looking flower pot
just a few inches away from Cale’s feet and timely given him an alert the moment that plant
proceeded to move its vines. Thanks to the glutton’s warning, Cale was able to utilize his wood
power in time and expose the indecent plant when it was trying to approach his precious pouches.

Sensing the plan had gone wrong, the shitty plant raised up its vines which mimicked long and
sharp whips to strike at Cale’s face. Choi Han immediately unsheathed his sword and made a dash
forward.

KLANG!

THUMP!

Choi Han’s sword that was covered in a brilliant black aura collided with a large axe enveloped in
a faint brown light, creating a loud clashing noise echoing throughout the house. The owner of said
axe was then sent flying to the wall with a thumping sound, causing the figure hidden in the light
brown coat to crash against the wooden wall and slowly slide down onto the ground with a painful
groan. As the mysterious figure struggled to stand up, the hood on their head fell down, revealing a
female face with healthy dark brown skin, white hair, and two pointy ears beautified with shining
silver hoop earrings. Her big gray eyes were glaring at Choi Han with an extreme hostility.

This girl was one of the two people who had been secretly observing Cale’s group as they moved
to follow Mae to this house. She had been hiding outside this whole time, and as soon as Cale’d
flipped over the table, she’d jumped into the house through the window with a fierce aura and
relentlessly aimed her axe at Cale’s head. Of course, she wasn’t a match for Choi Han, but she was
still decently strong, enough to make him consider her a greater threat to his liege than the little
plant. Choi Han was able to fully focus on the axe-wielder thanks to Yeong, who could sense the
danger directed towards his godfather and immediately rushed forward with his sharp claws and
tremendous heat shooting at the aggressive vines.

Shrekkkkkk slurppppp shrekkkkk

Burned by Yeong’s heat, the flower shrieked painfully even though it didn’t have a mouth. At the
same time, a mint-haired man was seen running out frantically from somewhere inside the house
while screaming in tears as if he was tormented by something.

“HOT! TOO HOT! STOP! STOP! PLEASE!”

He kept shouting while rushing to the weird plant and hugging it into his chest as if protecting.

At the same time, Mae, who realized their tactic had been exposed, stealthily took a dagger out of
her skirt.

Stabbed.

There was a sound of the dagger stabbing on the wooden floor. Mae raised her hands defenselessly
as she felt cold sweats running down her temples. From the corner of her eye, she could see a keen
silver blade just an inch away from her neck. Said blade was glinting with a fearful black aura as
though challenging her to just try pulling any stunts.

“OI! YOU BASTARD! DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH OUR BIG SI- URGH!”

The white-haired girl yelled at Choi Han angrily and tried to get up but failed due to the wound
she’d suffered during the previous attack. The man with the flower pot still in his arms hurriedly
supported her. He himself was panting painfully as though he was also injured. Then, Mae also ran
towards them in concerns. Choi Han simply let her go, not in the slightest worried she would be
able to do anything stupid.
 The group of two women, one man, and one plant gathered together in panic. They knew they had
chosen the worst target this time. However, as the two men didn’t kill them, that meant they still
had mercy. Thus, there was still room for negotiation. If they were lucky enough, some flattering
words and the tables could even be turned.

That was what they thought.

However, as Mae opened her mouth to speak on behalf of the group, she felt a pressure more
suffocating than fear itself weight her entire body down. It was a pressure she’d never experienced
before, one that must belong to an overlord, the kind that would ruthlessly punish anyone foolish
enough to try pulling tricks on him without a second thought. Mae looked around with shaking
eyes to see her two comrades were also having the same expression as hers. The three of them
gulped at once and slowly looked up. Their bodies couldn’t help but tremble.

Three pairs of eyes widened in unison as they landed on the sight before them.

Gone was the feeble young master who had appeared so naïve and pitiful.

In front of them now was a red-haired young man sitting on the wooden chair that somehow
looked tenfold more majestic as the edge of the man’s crimson cloak fell around it. The man had
his arms gently hold the white fox and his legs crossed into an elegant posture; his head raised up
slightly as he stared them down with a wicked smile. Behind the young master, the solemn knight
who was obviously a sword master firmly stood with his hand on the hilt of his sword and his eyes
observing them menacingly. Together with the background full of abnormal branches moving
slightly in a cheerful manner as though following their master’s mood, the sight before them
appeared as eerie as a scene from a horror novel.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared? Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”

The young master was telling them that while gently petting the white fox. His voice was gentle,
but the smile on his face was as evil as ever. Furthermore, the line he’d just said sounded exactly
like what a villain would say to his victims before torturing them to death.

“Now, let’s have a little chat, shall we?”

None of them dared to protest.

End Chapter 6

Chapter End Notes

(*) I searched Google, and it said the name Yeong meant brave or hero (which is why
I chose it).
(**) Sorry Choi Han, I just love how author-nim would bring up your acting skill
every so often.
Sometimes I question myself why I always tend to make things more complicated than
they already are. *sipping tea while looking at the far distance and thinking about my
life*
 Chapter 7
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

Happy New Year!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

‘Why are they still acting like this?’

That was Cale’s question as he gazed down the group of three people who were trembling
intensely while looking at him with shaking eyes. At first it was satisfying seeing the bastards who
tried to nick his money had the backs of their heads smacked hard, but then it would be difficult
getting down to business when they just kept looking like their souls had left their bodies, so Cale
decided to calm them down a bit by saying he wasn’t going to kill them. However, for some
reason, their expressions seemed even stiffer after hearing what he’d said.

It wasn’t until he lowered his gaze to see even Yeong was staring at him strangely that he realized
what was wrong.

‘Ah, my Dominating Aura.’

Cale’d been using the Dominating Aura with the intention of giving the three swindlers a little bit
of scare. That was why the three still seemed like they didn’t have the courage to even breathe
normally.

Withdrawing the intimidating aura, Cale spoke as he carefully observed the group of tricksters who
finally relaxed their bodies.

“Let’s not waste time beating around the bush. Mae, is there anything you want to say?”

Mae, who was scared but still wanted to turn the tables somehow, opened her mouth with a flinch
upon hearing Cale’s blunt call, not caring that the young master no longer addressed her politely
like before. However, Cale beat her to that.

“And just so you know, I already see through your little trick.”

Cale’s pupils lazily moved a bit to the left before purposefully stopping by a certain plant.

Mae just shut her mouth. The young master was really smarter than she’d thought.

Originally, she and her comrades had planned to have the plant steal the money visible by the
young master’s waist. After that, they would just kick the group out for having nothing to pay for
their service and make the young master take all the blame. They could’ve given the young master
a fake ID that would not work. It would have been fun seeing this noble be arrested for presenting
some crap to the guards, but there was a risk of those nosy guards being suspicious of someone
trying to produce bogus IDs around the area. For that reason, they’d proceeded with their current
plan instead. It was a simple yet effective plan, especially to such a naive-looking target. And even
if the young master’s guard tried something foolish, how could a teenager win against a dark elf
warrior anyway?

Obviously, every bit about that brilliant plan had been a grave mistake from the start.

Cale smirked slightly as he observed Mae’s stiff expression and resumed speaking.

“In case you’re still trying to cook up some scheme, I suggest you keep this in mind.”

There was a wickedly gentle smile on Cale’s face at that moment.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t try lying to me the second time.”

The three people flinched visibly at the subtle warning.

‘Any more bullshits and you’re dead.’

That was how the group interpreted the young master’s words.

‘Hm, this feels good.’

Cale felt extremely refreshed as he observed the alarmed faces of the foolish bastards who tried to
scam him. It’d been a long time since his trash mode had been last activated.

Before him, Mae was biting down on her lip in dismay.

Now that things had turned out like this, she had no choice but to resort to telling the half truth, one
in which there shouldn’t be lies, just a truth not fully told.

Just like that, Mae told Cale’s group about themselves, what they were, and what they’d intended
to do with Cale and his group.

She admitted that her group was indeed a bunch of swindlers, but they were ‘good’ swindlers. They
shared their money with the people of the slums and never harmed innocent citizens. They only
targeted nobles or the likes and never touched poor commoners. And even with the nobles, they
only robbed them and made sure not to injure them as long as their lives weren’t at stake.

Cale simply observed the braided-haired woman with a bored expression. The way she said made it
sound like all nobles were bad people and deserved to be robbed.

‘This must be the common all-[insert name]-are-evil type of character that often appeared in
novels.’

Cale thought as he nonchalantly opened his mouth to speak.

“Does lifting up a table put your lives at stake as well?”

Needless to say it did not, but sharp whips and a massive axe had been aimed at Cale’s group
nonetheless.

The trio began to sweat profusely.

“T-that was just us taking precautious actions, young master-nim.”

Mae couldn’t help adverting her eyes as she stuttered the response. She and her comrades knew
well this young master wasn’t the kind they could easily mess with.

Well, all of her comrades save for one.

“ARGHHH I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! OI BASTARD, QUIT YOUR SHIT-TALK RIGHT

THERE! YOU EVIL HUMAN NOBLES BROUGHT IT ALL ON YOURSELVES, DON’T YOU
DARE PLAY VICT-MMMMH!!!”

Mae and the mint-haired man hurriedly covered their youngest comrade’s mouth in panic. The
white-haired dark elf seemed as though she still had a million words left to say, but she
immediately shut her mouth at Mae’s meaningful look with a pout.

“I beg your forgiveness, young master-nim! This girl is still young and ignorant, you see, she
doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

Mae tried to fix the situation with her face turning blue from the lack of blood. Next to her, the dark
elf girl was looking at her with frustrated eyes as though she found Mae’s words hurtful.

Cale just wordlessly stared at the three while recalling the typical kind of novels which always put
at least one character with such a hot temper in a group.

Already familiar with this kind of character, Cale wasn’t so taken aback by the girl’s sudden
outburst.

Within Cale’s arms, Yeong was watching the scene with a perplexed expression, but he got back
his calm after looking at Cale’s usual stoic face.

However, there was someone who absolutely didn’t like what he’d just heard.

It was Choi Han.

‘Bastard? Evil?’

Choi Han wouldn’t give a damn if those insults were directed towards him, but there was a certain
person whom these rats should have known better than to mess with.

Of course, Choi Han still remained silent despite the outrage inside. Him being all worked up and
causing a ruckus without being ordered to would only bring a bigger insult to his liege.

That didn’t mean his killing intent had to be suppressed, of course.

‘Is it just me or the temperature suddenly drops?’

Cale wondered as he felt a sudden chill crawling on his skin.

The air indeed got colder. Not by a natural force, however.

Mae and her comrades, who felt this murderous intent even more prominently than Cale,
unconsciously shriveled their bodies as they realized they’d fucked up.

‘Say something, Mae, you gotta say something, now!’

Mae internally screamed at herself as she tried to find a way for her group to survive at least.
“I-, right, the ID papers! That wasn’t a lie, young master-nim, we can really make IDs that mimic
the real ones perfectly! We’ll give you however many of them you want! Please just spare us!”

Cale’s eyes flashed for a split second. The identification papers were obviously what they needed.
However, his team leader had taught him this a long time ago.

‘Remember, Rok Soo, the first thing an exposed swindler offers you is either another lie or
something they’re originally supposed to give.’

So, what this woman had just offered Cale should not be all she got. Thinking so, he calmly
responded.

“Are you taking us as some pushovers?”

“…Pardon?”

“Do you really think that is already enough?”

Mae felt her heart sink at that instant.

This young master wasn’t just smart. He was a completely sly bastard.

“Information.” Very faintly, Mae voiced the word with a forced smile; next to her, the mint-haired
man was trying his best to silence the mouth of the short-tempered dark elf who seemed to be at
the peak of her limit. “We might look like this, but we are quite knowledgeable about this area. We
can tell you what you want to know about the place you’re heading to. I assume it wasn’t a lie
when you said you’d come here unprepared?” Mae finished as she looked straight back at Cale
with somewhat confident eyes. The young master was shrewd, but the fact that he’d come to the
gate not having the required IDs clearly showed he wasn’t familiar with this area.

“Heh.”

Cale couldn’t help but grin. Now this was someone who knew how to negotiate.

“You are right. I am indeed not prepared.”

In that case, wouldn’t it be just right for him to use whatever he had really well in order to get that
preparation?

As Mae and her comrades continued to observe the young master’s face, they felt their peaceful
future fade away little by little.

It was a cold and gloomy afternoon in this deserted town called Camellias. In a desolate church, a
priest was absentmindedly brushing the dust off the wall while lamenting to himself.

‘Why am I so unlucky?’

That was his thought as he recalled how he had been sent to this accursed town of all places twelve
years ago.

Camellias was a small and uncrowded town located at the far end of the Sage Kingdom. It was
already bad enough that the population here was painfully low, but there was something even
worse that kept people from coming to his church.
‘The haunted church …’

Almost all citizens in the Sage Kingdom were the faithful lambs of the God of Prosperity. For that
reason, all of his churches were always filled with a decent amount of visitors. However, this
particular church was avoided even by the town’s citizens, all due to the damned incident
happening thirteen years ago. Now everyone believed this place was more or less haunted. It was
just his luck to have been ordered to come here and help build this church back up from scratch.

He had spent the past twelve years in frustration because of that decision from the higher-ups. He
wasn’t talented, but he had studied his ass off to become decent at magic, just for them to throw
him away and make him someone’s left hand in a place that barely had a future.

Wasn’t that unfair? He only wanted to become a priest who could help others and be respected.
Was that too greedy?

‘If only a higher-up would lay an eye on this place at least.’

As the priest wistfully thought that, he saw a figure in white robe approaching his church from
afar. Like it had been set by God himself, a gust of wind gently passed by the mysterious figure,
accidentally removing his hood.

“Ah!”

The whole church gasped at once. It was because the revealed face had a beauty beyond mortal
imagination. And not just his face, from the dazzlingly white hair to the tranquil eyes dyed with the
color of the sky, everything about this man was no doubt a piece of art.

The man strode into the church with a pace that wasn’t so fast nor slow, and his walking posture
was as majestic as of a royalty.

‘No, even more than that.’

The holy vibe the man radiated was something even a royal couldn’t dream of. Even the pup
walking next to him had an uncanny aura around it as though it was a mythical creature.

And most importantly, there was a grey badge engraved with the unique symbol of the God of
Prosperity – the leaf of fortune - hung neatly on the white robe.

“My goodness…!”

The priest found himself and other priests present uttered in unison.

“A higher-up!”

He couldn’t close his mouth due to how shocked he was. It seemed God had finally listened to his
wish and decided to make it come true.

‘It should be nearby.’

Cale thought as he eyed the vibrating grey badge in his palm with Yeong, who was disguising as a
grey puppy, running next to him.

Their infiltration into this Church of the Prosperity God had gone pretty smoothly so far. It was all
thanks to Yeong’s power that Cale’s hair color, eye color, and even his white rob were appearing
differently to others’ eyes.

‘Gumiho are masters when it comes to disguising.’ Yi Chin-Mae had said.

Cale could see now that his comment wasn’t exaggerated. He remembered having read about
gumiho in Asian folklores when he was young, and all of them more or less implied the same thing
about this creature.

However, Yeong was a half-gumiho and still young, so he could carry out simple magic only, and
if he used his power on someone else, he had to constantly stay close to that person in order to
ensure the effectiveness.

Since they only had one badge, Cale had to leave Choi Han with the three swindlers and came here
with Yeong, who he’d introduced to the priests as his familiar. The priests had bought that without
the barest hint of doubt, so Yeong’s presence wasn’t a problem. What concerned Cale more,
however, was the checking process to verify his grey badge. He’d got this badge from a real
higher-up, so it was absolutely not fake, but there was a possibility that changes had been made
over the course of thirteen years. Fortunately, no errors were detected. It seemed those bastards,
whoever they were, didn’t give much thought to that incident. And well, even if the badge no
longer worked, he could always make up some shameless excuse like “Fake? How dare you say
that to me?” or “It’s your crappy contraption that needs to be fixed.” before vanishing without a
trace. He was Cale the trash after all.

Anyhow, it was a good thing Cale didn’t have to end his plan without a gain. With the biggest
obstacle removed, all that was left for him to do was to play the role of an elegant priest, follow the
church’s priests around in a welcome tour, and be guided to a fancy guest room to rest as night fell.
Needless to say how perfectly Cale’d performed in this disguise. He’d had plenty of practice in his
past life after all.

And when darkness thoroughly enveloped the area, it was time for the real purpose of this special
visit.

Having stealthily snuck out of his room, Cale’d been walking in a particular direction with the
badge in his palm, feeling the vibration get stronger along his steps. Yeong was naturally following
behind him.

Then, all of a sudden, the badge started to flash faintly. The location was at the corner of the lobby.

‘It’s here.’

The badge had reacted to this certain corner during Cale’s tour around the church, so now Cale just
needed to return to the same spot, a task that was, without a doubt, just a piece of cake to him.

He put the badge on the floor as his mind wandered to an excerpt from the strange book.

<Each badge has a code. Each code is a key. Use the key to open the door.>

A dim light arose from the floor as a magic circle was taking form on it. Cale looked at the now-
complete circle with a hesitant expression.

‘Is it safe to enter?’

Since he couldn’t see the inside, Cale wondered if it was too risky to just jump in. However, he
didn’t have to debate over that for long.
“Yeou~”

With a jump, Yeong was already inside the place. He then popped his head out of the magic circle
and cutely reported to Cale in a whispering voice.

“Yeou~omma, safe!”

Cale watched the child’s cheerful face, feeling a little bemused. This child was getting more and
more proactive in such a short time. He then nodded slightly and stepped in as well.

As Cale’s entire body went through the circle, he could see his feet land on a staircase leading
down to a basement. Cale carefully removed his badge on the ground above his head and patiently
waited for the magic circle to disappear before giving Yeong a short order.

“Let’s go.”

With the gold-rose flame in his left hand serving as a torch, Cale relaxedly took step by step down
to the dark basement with Yeong running next to him.

He recalled the content of the book A Sinner’s Confessions as he walked.

<I am a sinner. I have committed a sin too grave to ever be redeemed. The heaven’s angels loathe
my presence, and even the hell’s demons despise my existence.>

Admittedly, it had quite a decent opening.

But then, the writer suddenly jumped to something entirely different.

<Fuck those motherfucking bastards I hate them to death those sons of a bitch will go to hell I
swear …>

… Yeah, it was some difference.

The book went on with all sorts of swearing for several dozens of pages before resuming its
previous tone.

<Even at this moment, the selfish me wonders if everything could have turned out for the better
had the first emotions I felt not been jealousy and inferiority.>

<I believed I could become as powerful as them. I was willing to bet my pointy ears and non-
existent dick that I could do that, so I decided to try it.>

… Cale reckoned that was the writer’s way to imply she was a woman and not a human, either that
or it was just her personality.

‘But I know exactly what she was.’

The book had narrowed down the range of possibilities, and Mae’s information had confirmed it.

<The bastards in this place were not much different from those bastards over there. I haven’t met
all the shitheads over there, but the ones I met all forced me to overuse my power. Those stinking
chumps would beat me up when I couldn’t do it. THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS I SWEAR
THEY’LL DIE THE MOST PAINFUL DEATHS…>

Again, about thirty more pages were dedicated to the blatant hatred. Cale had a déjà vu as he
recalled those sentences. It was like reading the diary written by the Holy Maiden in the Mogoru
Empire’s Church of the Sun God all over again.

But among those curses, there was this certain excerpt that particularly caught Cale’s mind.

<Those useless motherfuckers couldn’t understand the barest glimpse of them and they acted like
they already ruled this world? ‘Useless bitch’? Who the hell is the useless here?

But it was a curse.

I wish I’d never understood those words. I carried that out in secret to show off my power, but that
immaturity killed her.

Even so, I still wish I could understand this word. I want to know what she, no, what they were.
This word must be the key.

> (*)

Surely, it was the key word. Thanks to this word, Cale was able to have a rough picture of what the
writer was trying to say.

It appeared that the writer had some sort of ability related to language. This ability of hers must not
have been strong, which was the reason her superiors had beaten and looked down on her. There
was also the possibility that she’d purposefully kept the contents she could understand to herself
since she’d got such a large grudge against them.

Anyhow, this ambitious woman must have been desperate to build her own powerhouse, which was
why she’d accepted to become the sponsor of a church in this deserted town.

<Those bastards took all the good ones. I got the worst of the worst. But there was a good thing
about the worst. Those of the worst were the most desperate. I gave them some words, and they
were willing to kill all the people around them for my sake. Those deaths were required. I offered
those deaths to the powerful. In exchange, she came.>

And ‘she’ was Yeong’s mother, Gumi.

<Even though her entire body was covered in blood, that creature was beautiful beyond words.>

The writer then spent like fifty more pages on describing the pretty appearance of the creature,
who was Gumi in her gumiho form, and expressing her admiration towards her. Cale supposed this
overly detailed depiction must have been rather uninformative to the people in this world, but
thanks to it, Cale was able to make a guess of who the summoned creature was before confirming
his guess with this particular sentence.

<There was a red camellia burning on her hair, which was the whitest of the white, the silkiest of
the silky.>

It was widely known by Korean ability users that the infamous gumiho of Gangwon loved
camellia flowers. In her human form, she would adorn her silky long black hair with an elegant
camellia. That was undoubtedly Gumi – the prettiest nine-tailed fox.

Also, the book described her having been pregnant and already injured before she’d appeared,
which made sense considering Gumi’s disappearance from Earth had happened during her last
month of pregnancy with hundreds of monsters suddenly barging in her base that day.

Cale slowed down his steps and slightly peeked to his side. Yeong was jumping down the stairs
excitedly. He thought it was a relief that the event on that day didn’t seem to faze the child.

‘As expected of those brats’ son.’

Both Yi Chin-Mae and Gumi were bold individuals. Yeong, though still being quite timid, must
have that trait in him as well.

Cale turned back his attention towards the even ground ahead of him. He and Yeong had finally
been done with the staircase and were standing in a dark basement; the rose-gold light in Cale’s
hand was still lighting up their surroundings.

It was pretty much just a small and empty room. In one of the corners, Cale could see what he’d
expected to see.

With his steps a bit lighter than they were normally, Cale approached the items laid neatly in that
corner and picked a black pouch up from the ground.

‘It’s better than expected.’

In the pouch was a handful of silver and gold coins. The silver coins were called becons, and the
gold coins were necons. Cale could recognize them even with his eyes closed. He’d memorized
everything related to currency in this world.

This pouch of coins was Cale’s payment, as stated by the author of the book A Sinner’s
Confessions.

<To the stranger who I will never meet, save that child from darkness, and I shall pay you with
everything I have. It won’t be grand, but I promise you won’t be disappointed. So keep the badge
and go to the basement.>

She had been some sort of an outcast, so it wasn’t a surprise that everything she’d had was just this
pouch of money.

‘And this too.’

Next to the black pouch was a notebook. Turning a few pages of it, Cale could say it was just a
diary of sort as there were only a date and a few words on each page.

‘The content in here is even worse.’

Cale thought as he frowned at the oddly short lines in the diary. They weren’t even complete
sentences.

With his recording ability activated all along, Cale quickly scanned through the pages of the diary
and put it back in its place when he finished.

As he turned his head around, Cale could see Yeong was seated a few steps away from him,
discreetly scrutinizing the dark basement. None but a pure curiosity was present on his face, which
was a good thing. Cale didn’t think it was necessary for a child’s mind to be heavily scarred by the
past. Looking into those innocent golden orbs, he had a transient thought about the book’s writer.

‘Though she was the culprit behind Gumi’s disappearance, in a way, that higher-up had
accidentally saved Yeong.’

The sudden monster breach into Gangwon shelter left with only one survivor. That survivor later
related that before Gumi had vanished mysteriously, she’d been facing a fearful monster with her
body completely worn out. In other words, both Gumi and Yeong could have died on Earth, but the
book’s writer had summoned her to this world just in the nick of time. Then, for some reason, the
writer’d had a change of heart and instead of presenting Gumi to other higher-ups in exchange for
an acknowledgment, she’d killed the priests whom she’d worked with and tried to save Gumi.
She’d even helped fortify Gumi’s barrier on Yeong despite herself being burned in the murderous
water and then put the old church on fire to erase all the evidence involving Gumi’s and Yeong’s
existence.

‘Doesn’t mean her actions can be justified though.’

To Cale, the fact that that woman had summoned the pregnant Gumi to this world for her own
selfish desires would remain unchanged regardless of what she’d chosen to do afterwards.

“Let’s go back.”

He gave Yeong the order and proceeded to walk back to the stairs. His main goal of this visit had
been achieved flawlessly.

A weak and naïve nobleman, a young and inexperienced guard, and a harmless fox pet.

That was Mae’s first impression on the young master and his people. That was also the reason why
she had targeted him in the first place.

She had misjudged them. That, she admitted. And because of her mistake, her team was suffering.

‘Damn that sly bastard!’

Mae gritted her teeth, her tied arms fidgeting in annoyance, and recalled how the red-haired young
master had always gotten the upper hand during their not-so-friendly conversation.

***

“You really don’t know anything else about that church?”

The young master asked. Earlier he was asking about a church of the God of Prosperity which had
gone through a fire thirteen years ago. Mae had informed him the location of said church, but she
had no intention to reveal any more than that, not when the young master even touched the
sensitive subject regarding the higher-ups.

“No sir, we’re just some commoners, you see.”

“I see. What a pity.”

The young master responded with quite a kind smile. For some reason, Mae had an ominous
feeling about it.

“It can’t be helped since you are actually this useless. I suppose it is to be expected of such useless
chumps like you who are ignorant and don’t know a thing.”

The young master deliberately emphasized those harsh words. He didn’t even try to be subtle.

It was then when Mae knew she had been right.

“SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO BIG
SIS? YOU’RE THE ONE WHO DOESN’T KNOW A DAMN THING! BIG SIS GREW UP IN
THAT CHURCH UNTIL SHE WAS ELEVEN, SHE KNOWS EVERY SINGLE THING
ABOUT IT!”

‘…Aelwen…’

With her arms tied, Mae could do nothing to cover her little sister’s mouth …

At that moment, she could see it. She could see the corner of the young master’s lips twitch up a bit
as though he found the hostile insults thrown at him just as melodious as a beautiful piece of music
being played.

Very silently, Mae’s heart sank to the bottom of her stomach …

‘T-this young master, he’s way too shrewd.’

There was this famous saying in this world: ‘an enemy as strong as a tiger is not as dangerous as an
ally as dumb as a cow.’

The young master was obviously manifesting the meaning of that quote at its finest.

Even if Mae tried to feign ignorance, it would turn out just the same. The young master would just
casually provoke Aelwen and make her accidentally reveal the truth in the process.

‘It can be even worse.’

If they had to give the young master their honest answers anyway, at least let Mae do it. Heaven
knew how many more of their secrets would be spat out from their young sister’s uncontrollable
mouth without ever being asked for?

That was why from that moment onwards, she could only obediently give the young master
whatever information he needed concerning that church.

***

‘Damn it! Just come back already!’

Having finished reminiscing, Mae cursed loudly in her mind, utterly annoyed.

The young master had ordered his guard to drag her group near the gate just to ensure the ID in his
hands would work as told and then drag them back to their wooden house to await his return.

Her group, including their plant comrade, had been imprisoned here ever since, but there was still
no signs of the young master being back.

Peeking at the black-haired guard who looked barely eighteen years of age, Mae decided to try a
little trick on this punk.

‘He is surprisingly strong for a human, but he’s still none but a teenager.’

Teenage was the age when people often found themselves with all sort of mood swings and weird
thoughts. During that time, one could begin to doubt what their younger self had believed and
believe what they’d used to laugh at.

So, this black-haired teenager, who was watching her group’s every movement with calm eyes,
should be no different. And based on his appearance, this boy must be rather pure at heart, which
made it even easier to manipulate him.

‘His situation must be similar to mine.’

Mae had spent her pre-teen years in the Church of the Prosperity God being forced to learn
etiquettes and please the visiting nobles. It was possible that this poor boy had also been raised to
blindly serve that sly and villainous young master.

And just look at those innocently serious eyes, that muscular body at such a young age, and the
straight sitting posture which radiated an unmistakable sense of justice, this young man was
destined to become a hero, not some scammer’s underling.

‘Yes yes, that must be it.’

The more she thought about it, the more certain she became.

Misjudgment could hardly occur twice in a row, not in her case at least.

Thinking so, Mae carefully opened her mouth and spoke with her usual gentle voice. She was
determined to wake up that heroic nature sleeping inside this young guard and set her group free in
the process.

“Excuse me ... sir ...”

Being called, the young guard calmly turned towards Mae with a questioning gaze. Mae smiled
warmly at him and continued to speak.

“Can you do us a favor and ... um ... untie us please?”

Mae fidgeted uncomfortably as she asked.

“Sorry, can’t. I was ordered to keep you all tied until his return.”

‘As expected, he refused.”

Mae’d already predicted that her trick wouldn’t work so fast, so she’d prepared more than that.

“Please, sir! You heard, right? That we are not bad people?”

The guard didn’t respond to her desperate plea. He just silently looked at Mae. But that was ok.
Such silence was also within her prediction. With a quiet gulp, Mae proceeded to an important step
in her newfound plan.

“Sir, have you ever thought about how unfair life is when all those aristocrats can enjoy every
single good thing while us commoners have to work like cattle to serve them?”

By including him in the same group of people with hers and relating to the frustration about life
this teenager could potentially have inside him, Mae was putting some efforts to slowly pull him to
her side.

The young guard opened his mouth then.

“No.”

That was what he said.

‘I see. Poor boy, that young master must have worked him so hard he didn’t even have time to
think much for his own.’

In that case, she just had to push it a little more.

“Tsk tsk, sir knight, how pitiful of you.” Mae shook her head disappointedly.

“What do you mean?” The guard asked with his brows furrowed slightly.

‘Great, he took the bait.’ Mae thought triumphantly and began to read aloud the newly written
script in her mind.

“I mean that I pity you, a young and strong sword master who could have a bright future all for
himself but has to throw it away and serve a noble who doesn’t hesitate to bully us commoners!”

Mae could see the guard’s eyes become clouded at that moment. She wanted to smirk. The gears in
this punk’s head had finally started to turn.

‘Let’s continue pushing it!’

“Have you never questioned the orders that man gave you? They don’t seem like justice at all, do
they? No, they are immoral! Isn’t it such a waste for someone who’s reached the level of a sword
master at such a young age like you to dedicate your life to such a weak and ev-“

“Shut up!”

And she shut up.

It was because the young guard was gazing down at her with such deep and murderous eyes she’d
never imagined a teenager could possess. They were even scarier than yesterday when his master
had been present. Thanks to those eyes and the black aura whirling around the man’s back, Mae
finally realized.

‘This punk is not so innocent after all.’

Looks could be quite deceiving at times.

In order to stay alive, Mae knew it was better to just keep her mouth shut from now on. However.

“OI YOU INSOLENT JERK! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO ORDER OUR BIG SIS? STOP
ACTING LIKE YOU’RE THE BOSS HERE JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE THAT DAMNED
BASTARD’S DOG!”

‘Aelwen…’

Mae wanted to cry.

“BIG SIS TOLD YOU ALL THAT FOR YOUR OWN SAKE! BECAUSE YOU’RE SO DUMB
YOU FOLLOW WHAT A SCUMBAG OF A MASTER!”

Mae stared at her sister with teary eyes. Aelwen still showed no signs of stopping.

“YOU AND THAT BASTARD ARE BOTH THE SAME!”

Faster than the speed of light, the blood on Mae’s face was totally drained out as she heard a low
voice emerging in the midst of Aelwen’s loud insults.
“Why don’t you …”

“WHAT? BEING BOSSY AGAIN? I SEE THAT DAMNED YOUNG MASTER IS ABSENT SO
YOU- URGH!”

Klang

There was that sound of a sword being unsheathed.

“… shut the fuck up?”

The young guard’s low voice reached their ears at that moment, finishing his sentence. This time,
his every word echoed prominently in the wooden house as the atmosphere had become utterly
quiet at that instant.

At the same time, Aelwen felt like she’d lost her voice as an enormous aura choked on her throat.
Mae, who was sitting next to her, also felt the same. However, the one sweating bullets right now
with his life on the thinnest line was their mint-haired comrade, whose neck could feel the icy
presence of the blade daring him to just try budging.

The person who had started this mess was Mae, and the one who had actually messed it up was
Aelwen, but the guard, Choi Han, was aiming his blade at the mint-haired man who’d been silent
all this time.

Why? Was he being soft to the ladies?

Pfft

Bullshits.

This was Choi Han’s thought as he glanced at the group in front of him from left to right.

‘This one attacked Cale-nim with her axe and then kept insulting him.’

‘This one badmouthed Cale-nim. She tried to harm him with her dagger as well.’

‘And this one …’

The group of swindlers could clearly sense the temperature around them dramatically drop the
moment Choi Han’s eyes laid on their male and botanical comrades. They could tell the black-
haired guard was extremely pissed off.

‘This one tried to touch Cale-nim with his nasty plant.’

Choi Han felt like gritting his teeth.

His Cale-nim. HIS. PRECIOUS. AND. ADORABLE. CALE-NIM. He was almost touched by
those disgusting tentacle-like vines, ones that seemed to have been controlled by this damn mint-
haired pervert. THIS. WAS. UNACCEPTABLE.

Choi Han had already been upset at the fact that he’d let such a thing nearly happen to his liege. If
anything, his mood only got worse when he had to be separated from Cale and guard these
swindlers instead. He’d been keeping his head cool because Cale had ordered him to watch these
people carefully, but they just had to cross the line and affronted his precious liege from time to
time.
With his icy black eyes widely open, Choi Han stared down the group with his sword stably next
to the mint-haired guy’s neck and his black aura still ruthlessly choking the other two. His lips
parted just enough to let a low voice escape in a whispering tone.

“I don’t give a damn what you think about nobles in general. You might think your actions are
justified, but for me, my family is the only thing that matters.” Choi Han’s eyes narrowed sharply
at that moment. “Cale-nim probably lets y’all be because he’s a kind man and because you are still
useful. So just quietly stay there like the dead rats you are and wait for his return.”

The black aura gradually returned to Choi Han then. But just when Mae and her comrades began to
let out the breaths they’d held at some point, …

“Also.”

… they had to collectively hold them back.

It was because Choi Han still wasn’t done talking.

“Whatever you told Cale-nim, they better not be some other lies.”

Mae could see the man’s grip on the hilt of his sword tightened as he spat out such vicious words
directly at her and her comrades.

“Because, if those lies bring any harms to my family, even just a single scratch, I swear I’ll pull out
your tongues and cut them all off. Understood?”

“Y-yes sir…”

This time, even Aelwen didn’t dare to answer otherwise.

The group members were all looking at Choi Han with shaking eyes. However, a certain pink-
haired woman was observing him rather differently. It was as if she was seeing her favorite
character from the book she’d read a long time ago.

Meanwhile.

“Ouch!”

“Yeou?”

Yeong looked up as he heard his godfather’s exclaim. Cale noticed and gently reassured the fox
cub.

“I’m ok. It’s just a scratch.”

After having collected his payment, Cale had been in quite a good mood. Perhaps that was why
he’d been walking rather carelessly and let a tree branch scratch the back of his hand.

‘It’s kinda hurt, but compared to the money I got, such a small scratch means nothing.’

Cale thought cheerfully as the wooden house gradually came into his sight. Very soon the now-rich
him would be able to reunite with his knight and resume their journey.

Too happy, Cale felt like he could skip to the house, absolutely clueless about what sort of
 jeopardy this scratch he considered nothing big could bring to a certain group of people in that very
house.

End Chapter 7

Chapter End Notes

Sorry for the lengthy explanation of the book’s content.

(*) means gumiho (nine-tailed fox).
 Chapter 8
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

Have a good one! ❤️

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Having sensed the familiar presence approaching, Choi Han, who had been watching the swindling
trio with eyes that could kill, calmly walked over to the front door and grabbed the door knob. With
a squeak, the door opened, and the forest air tinged with the numbing scent of frost flowed into the
house.

“Cale-nim.”

“I’m back.”

“Yeou~!”

At that moment when the shadows of a cloak-cladded man and his fox could be seen taking form
on the wooden floor, Mae and her comrades couldn’t help but smile brightly in utter joy as they
perceived they would be released very soon.

Unfortunately, such joy failed to last. Instead, it started crumbling and sinking deep down beneath
their feet the instant they saw the young master’s hand. More specifically, the back of his right
hand.

There was a prominent streak of blood that obviously belonged to some sort of wound on the back
of his hand, which could be seen painfully clearly as the man raised that particular hand up to tuck
a few strands of his blazingly red hair behind his ear in a graceful manner.

Had it been a normal situation, the group would have allowed themselves some time to admire such
a beautifully carried-out movement. Sadly, this was not it. Not at all. Not when they saw the warm
smile on the young guard’s face wither the instant a certain red streak came into his field of vision.

Then, he turned his head sideward, his deep black eyes coldly piercing them. No mercies could be
found within those black orbs, not even a single room for excuses. Perhaps just to express his inner
rage a little more vividly, the black aura was glowing rather brilliantly around him as well.

For a fleeting moment, Mae and her comrades had a cute delusion that the young guard was just
demanding a compliment from them, that they could just applaud that brilliance and laugh it all
off.

Well, it was called a delusion for a reason.

‘This is the end. We’re as good as dead.’

The trio felt like resigning to fate as they blankly stared that the furious man before them,
wondering if their deaths could be less painful if they continued to keep their mouths shut till the
end.

It was then when they heard a deep yet gentle voice puncturing the suffocating tension inside the
house.

“…Choi Han?”

Cale, who was standing next to Choi Han, reached his right hand out to him hesitantly upon seeing
the dark aura behind the man’s back. Was he pissed because Cale’d made him stay in this boring
place while he’d been enjoying the town inside the gate? Cale reckoned that was understandable.
Even he would be disheartened spending a night watching these stupid scammers whilst knowing
his comrades were having their fun somewhere else.

Still rather lost in his musings, Cale missed the initial shifting in the atmosphere the moment Choi
Han turned his head toward him upon being called. He didn’t even notice the way the glowing
black aura vanished at that instant. By the time Choi Han returned his full attention back to Cale,
his cold and merciless eyes had already got back their glints. It was as if the man had never emitted
no killing intent, and this pure-looking guy who possessed such warm puppy eyes was everything
he could possibly be.

The black pupils in those puppy eyes became focused as their owner lowered his gaze to inspect
the red stain standing out vexingly on the smooth pale skin from a closer distance. Then, very
carefully, as though to hold a delicate flower petal, he raised his rough hands and took the other
man’s right hand into his; his black brows knitted slightly at that moment.

‘Cale-nim’s hand … it’s too cold.’

Choi Han’s hands were cold too, but Cale’s hand was just so much colder. That couldn’t be helped
since winter had started to manifest itself quite strongly this year. As a result, the weather was
getting more and more freezing every passing day, and even the raw air could now be seen with
naked eyes in the form of white steamy breaths.

It’d have been different had Cale let Yeong use his heat power on him, but the Cale Choi Han
knew was too good of a person to make a child constantly release a power that would wear out his
body, especially when that child had just worked a long night shift.

Pushing aside the newfound matter regarding his liege’s lack of warmth, Choi Han decided to
focus on the more pressing subject for the time being.

“Cale-nim, this is …”

He asked, his face calm. However, his eyes reflecting the blood on Cale’s hand were dimmed with
concerns.

Cale followed his gaze to see what the other man was talking about.

“This? It was just a scratch.”

Cale had got this scratch not long ago. It’d been quite ugly then, but thanks to his Vitality of Heart,
the wound had been healed nicely and cleanly … Well, perhaps not so cleanly since the blood stain
could still be seen stubbornly sticking to his pale skin.
Choi Han observed the blood streak with a pensive expression. He knew Cale had a self-healing
power, which must have healed the wound completely, but then what? It didn’t change the fact that
his liege had been in pain.

Like the way a feather would land on a lake’s peaceful surface, Choi Han touched the back of
Cale’s hand with his fingers, gently tracing along the bright red streak. The blood hadn’t even fully
dried. Some of that red fluid stained the tips of his fingers, and its distinct metallic smell vaguely
hovered around his nostrils. Choi Han felt the wrinkles between his brows deepened the longer he
looked. Probably just minutes ago, this soft and flawless skin he was caressing had been split open,
blood had poured out from the scratch, and unpleasant sensations had certainly been felt.

Inclining his head a little lower as though wishing to soothe the slender hand with tender kisses,
Choi Han mumbled as his eyes turned clouded with frustration.

“I should have been there with Cale-nim …”

There was this fact Choi Han had learned after years of serving Cale. It was that whenever Cale
went out of his protective range, the man would miraculously return being more or less hurt.
Perhaps Choi Han should be thankful it was only a scratch this time, but who could guarantee
there’d be no greater dangers awaiting them along this journey?

Oblivious to what his knight was thinking about, Cale was observing Choi Han with a confused
expression after hearing his mumble and seeing his exasperated eyes. He couldn’t understand why
such an insignificant bloodstain was bothering the man so much.

‘I thought only Beacrox could be that obsessed with cleanliness.’

… Cale was wondering if Choi Han’s gloominess was due to him not wiping off his bloodstain.

“Choi Han?”

For the lack of anything better to say, he called out to his knight once again.

Choi Han jerked up his head to see Cale was giving him a questioning gaze. Facing those puzzled
eyes, he could only smile resignedly before taking out a handkerchief and gently cleaning the blood
off his liege’s hand.

Before him, Cale was staring at the way Choi Han carefully rubbed the white fabric on the back of
his hand, feeling oddly iffy.

‘To think about it, that time when I coughed up blood and let it seep into Choi Han’s clothes, he
was also annoyed.’ (*)

Though he didn’t dirty Choi Han’s clothes this time, if it was the blood itself that upset the man,
then an apology was in order.

“Sorry.”

Choi Han’s eyes widened slightly at that. Then, after a while, he just sighed as though realizing
what Cale was referring to.

“… It was not a problem.”

If anything, this reaction only made Cale even more certain that his knight was being upset due to
the blood on his hand. Well, that was indeed the case. The root cause of it should be reconsidered,
however.

Seeing the blood streak was completely wiped off, Cale awkwardly withdrew his hand from Choi
Han’s grasp with a soft ‘thank you,’ rather pleased to see the usual warm smile had returned on his
knight’s face.

Turning towards the other side, Cale started to frown.

‘What’s up with these people?’

Every member of the scamming group, from the dark elf girl to the pink-haired woman, the mint-
haired guy, and even the perverted plant, was looking his way obscenely strangely. Their faces
were imbued with a shade of pink, and their eyes seemed hazed with some odd emotion, one that
laid between the entangled borders of fear, admiration, and perhaps pleasure as well (?).

Mae was even drooling a bit…

‘What the-‘

Cale glanced at his knight quizzically, wondering what the hell the man had done to them, but Choi
Han only shrugged.

Looking back at the swindlers who had turned weird at some point, Cale decided he bettered not to
know the reason. With a sigh, he gave out an order.

“Untie them.”

As Cale watched Choi Han untying the trio, his hand casually reached into the magic bag on his
waist and took out a gold coin.

“Take this.”

Cale nonchalantly said to the swindlers as he threw the coin in their direction.

“Y-young master-nim … this is …”

The group stuttered in disbelief, their voices quivering. They hoped this wasn’t one of those cases
where death row prisoners were granted one last moment of bliss before being sentenced.

“It’s for the services.”

“S-services.”

“The IDs and information.”

“Hah.”

The three people gasped loudly at once. Having seen what a scammer of a young master Cale was,
they hadn’t at all expected this young man would actually pay them back for their services. No,
they were already more than willing to throw away this scamming life of theirs as long as they
could get out of this mess unscathed. That was why even when the cool and hard texture of metal
could be clearly felt with their skin, the group still couldn’t help but stare at Cale with eyes full of
doubts and fears.

“What? Not enough? I won’t give you more though.”

Cale inquired mockingly with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face, snapping the group out of
their astonishment.

“No no, it’s not that, young master-nim!”

“Right, this is much more than we can ever ask for!”

“I still don’t like human nobles like you, but I approve people who repay their stuffs properly!”

“Slurp!”

What they were saying was true. Even real IDs wouldn’t cost that much, and the IDs they’d given
the young master, though working for the time being, were still fake. But this young master didn’t
hesitate to toss away a whole necon for only two fake IDs and several pieces of information? With
him holding their lives in his palm, he didn’t need to spend a single lecon to begin with.

Reading the questions written all over the swindlers’s faces, Cale calmly spoke with a blank
expression.

“You said you would share your money with the people of the slums. I hope that wasn’t just one of
those empty lies of yours.”

Since he was sort of a scammer himself, Cale didn’t feel the need to interfere with the way these
bastards made their living. Frankly speaking, he didn’t even care whether the three swindlers had
been honest when they’d dragged in the people of the slums, but just in case they had, a little bonus
would not hurt.

‘It was also thanks to that woman’s information that my plan had gone that smoothly.’

Though Cale was in possession of a grey badge, he hadn’t been certain how exactly a stranger like
him could freely go around the rebuilt church to look for the basement. Fortunately, Mae, who had
lived her childhood in the old church, had eavesdropped the priests’s talkings from time to time, so
she was able to deduce that the priests from small churches such as that one foolishly worshipped
the beings called higher-ups without even knowing their appearances. They could only recognize
one by seeing the grey badge on that person’s robe. The author of A Sinner’s Confessions had not
even revealed much of her face. These valuable pieces of information had been extremely helpful
for Cale’s infiltrating plan.

While recalling that, Cale swiftly turned his head away from the scamming group, so he couldn’t
see the odd gazes the three people and one plant were giving him from behind his back. It was as
though they were looking at a god who’d disguised and blended himself into this mortal world to
challenge their human nature.

Then, one of them strongly stepped up.

That was Mae.

“Young master-nim.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have a contact mirror with you?”

‘What’s up with this woman all of a sudden?’

After exploring this world for a while, Cale had learned that the magical technology here was quite
different from their old world. For example, the people here used a communication mirror instead
of a video communication orb for contacting each other. When activated, the mirror would
magically display information that a user could manipulate as they pleased by touching the screen
with a quill pen charged with mana. The mirror itself was also powered with mana and configured
with hundreds of complicated magic formulas. Cale supposed this was like a version of tablet in
this fantasy world. It was arguable to say he favored this type of device over the communication
orb, but at least it had a few distinct features which sort of piqued his interest.

“Why do you ask?”

Cale evenly asked back. He did receive one from Fletcher, but there was no need to tell these
scammers the truth.

“I’d like for us to stay in touch, young master-nim.”

“…why?” Cale had an ominous feeling as he observed Mae’s strangely determined eyes. “If you’re
trying to pull a new trick, just give up.”

But Mae only shook her head at that with a serious expression.

“It’s understandable that you won’t believe us after all the things we’ve done. That is why…”

Not even bothering to finish the sentence, Mae raised her thumb to her mouth and violently bit it,
bright red blood spurting out from the sloppy wound. Some of that blood even got on her glasses,
making the whole scene so absurdly dramatic.

“MAE-SSI?!”

“BIG SIS!”

“SLURP!”

Her comrades yelled after her with their eyes all shaking, absolutely horrified. However, Mae’s
expression remained unfazed as she raised her bloody hand up.

“I, Mae, upon offering my blood to the God of Misfortune, vow that everything I’m about to reveal
to young master Cale-nim inside this house will be the truth! I am aware that if I break the vow, I
will have to pay the price with my life!”

“What the-“

Cale, who’d been watching, was utterly flabbergasted. He had no clue why this woman suddenly
acted like this. She even committed a blood vow just to gain his trust?

A blood vow was, as Cale deduced, a version of the vow of death in this world. The procedures
were almost identical, save for only a few differences. For instance, a blood vow would require the
vower’s blood as an offer, and the god who bore witness to the vow was the God of Misfortune
instead of the God of Death. There was also this aspect that clearly distinguished the blood vow
from the vow of death: the blood vow didn’t always work. While that nosy God of Death would
stick his nose in whatever vows where his name was mentioned, the God of Misfortune rarely
responded. He would remain silent even when being called forth for a million times and would pop
in only if he felt interested. He was a picky bastard.

‘I suppose it is good that he’s so picky.’

There was a big chance that Mae’s vow wouldn’t work either. Nervousness was written all over her
face even as he thought.

‘Yes yes, there’s no wa-‘

Whooshhhh

“What?”

“My goodness! Yes!!”

A familiar aura washed through Cale’s body at that moment. Mae began to smile triumphantly as
she was also experiencing the same.

‘It worked? But why? She didn’t even know my full name!’

While Cale’s brain was working profusely to figure out for what sort of ridiculous reason the God
of Misfortune suddenly found interest in this particular case, a certain knight stepped up next to
him.

“Cale-nim, do you want me to cut off her tongue?”

Cale and the swindlers immediately whipped their heads toward Choi Han after hearing the man’s
vicious question. He was asking for permission to cut off someone’s tongue with such an innocent
expression on his face. Without sound, one would think he had just greeted his liege with a
harmless ‘how are you?’.

“…no, it’s fine.”

Though Cale didn’t like the fact that a god was probably observing him, he thought this situation
didn’t seem too bad. It wasn’t his life that was on the line, so there should be no problem.

Looking back at the woman who was still smiling brightly even when her thumb was bleeding
nonstop, Cale calmly beckoned her to speak.

“Go ahead.”

Mae’s smile broadened at that.

“Yes, young master-nim! I vow that I had no ill intention when asking for your contact
information. I vow that I genuinely wish to be of help to young master Cale-nim and his knight –
sir Choi Han!”

“…and why is that?”

Perhaps Cale shouldn’t have asked that question, because the moment the question left his mouth,
he could see the woman named Mae he’d known up until now transform into someone
pronouncedly different.

Someone who was definitely not so right in the head.

“I told you, right? Young master-nim? That I’d grown up in the church of the Prosperity God until
I was eleven?”

“…yes?”
‘Actually, it was Aelwen who told me, but whatever.’

“But you don’t know where I lived my teenage years after that, do you?”

“No, I don’t.”

Cale bluntly answered Mae’s latest question, wondering why this tight-lipped woman was
willingly bringing up the subject she’d previously avoided.

Yesterday, it’d taken Aelwen’s unfiltered mouth to prize open those tight lips. Even then, Mae had
been extremely careful with her answers and not revealed any more than what she’d been asked for.
According to Mae, the old church’s priests had bought her from her parents because of her look.
They’d been desperate and wanted to use a pretty girl with a good manner to attract visitors,
especially nobles, hence all the etiquettes she’d displayed. However, when the author of A Sinner’s
Confessions had shown up as a higher-up, the old priests had started to neglect her existence,
starving her and all. Eventually, she’d been kicked out after being caught peeking at the higher-
up’s face on her way to the kitchen in the middle of the night, an event that ended up saving her
life from the gruesome massacre taking place not long later.

But that was about all Cale knew. He had no idea what’d happened to Mae afterwards, neither was
he interested to know.

However, Mae seemed determined to let him know as she opened her mouth and began to narrate a
story she’d kept to herself since her teenage years.

“After being chased away, I ran to the Mythic Kingdom and got helped by the people in one of the
temples of the Misfortune God. The priests there were very kind to me. They even let me study
magical technology - the subject that I so love. However, I still left them in the end. Do you know
why?”

“No, and I don’t care.”

“It was because …” Ignoring Cale’s unimpressed response, Mae went on telling her story with a
fierce fire burning in her eyes. “It was because I received visions from the God of Misfortune in my
dreams!”

“Really, Mae-ssi?”

“That’s so cool, big sis! The God of Misfortune talked to you in your dreams!”

Mae’s comrades exclaimed in wonderment after hearing her revelation. Even Cale was a bit
surprised.

‘Does that lazy god take a liking to this woman or something?’

As previously stated, the Misfortune God was quite a slacker. He got two main jobs to do. One
pertained to the blood vow, and the other involved showing the humans visions of the misfortunes
leading to their deaths. Neither of them did he perform diligently, especially the latter. Such visions
appeared so rarely people had started to call them enlightenments of a lifetime.

‘But Mae received his visions? Like, in plural?’

“How are you still alive?”

Cale asked after a while. Most people tried but were never able to avoid their demises, so how had
this woman overcome multiple of them intact?

Again, perhaps Cale shouldn’t have asked that, because it seemed to have switched on some sort of
gear inside Mae’s head. With her eyes lit up, Mae proudly answered to everyone in the house.

“I’m still alive because none of those visions foretold my misfortunes.”

“Hm?”

Cale hummed in confusion, feeling as though a headache was cheerfully greeting and rushing
toward him from afar.

“I remember very clearly. During those days, I had dreams in which I saw the God of Misfortune
writing a story on his notebook.” Mae continued speaking with a meditative expression, not
minding the way everyone was staring at her with strange eyes. “At first, I dismissed it as a bullshit
story. However, the more dreams I had, the more immersed I found myself in that wonderful tale.”

“…Mae-ssi, what was the story about?”

As though having waited for that question all along, Mae raised her head up high; an excited smile
appeared on her face as she spoke.

“It was a legend of a hero who had sacrificed himself from time to time for noble causes. Together
with his comrades, he fought against the evil forces and protected his people.” Her eyes moved
from Cale to Choi Han at that moment. “And among the first people to join him was his knight,
who had sworn eternal allegiance to him and would give him the world if his liege ever
demanded.”

“…and?” Cale prompted hesitantly, not even sure what sort of answer to expect.

“And, one day when I was no longer blessed with those marvelous visions, I decided to leave the
temple. I wanted to see that noble hero and his loyal knight with my own eyes. However, this shitty
life ruthlessly destroyed that wish of mine, and before I knew it, I’d already forgotten my purpose.”

Sensing the bitterness in her voice, Cale belatedly realized he should have let Choi Han chop off
her tongue when he’d still had a chance. It was because as soon as that subtle taste was gone, a
fierce fire could be seen flaring frantically in her pink pupils.

“However, having received the true blessings today, I finally returned to my rightful path after
years of straying! This epiphany must have been set by God himself. And I, Mae, am delighted to
follow his guidance and support the divine hero and his knight with everything I have!”

“…”

Cale was totally at loss for words.

‘Clopeh Sekka? Joo Ho-Shik? No, this must be a new species.’

Though Mae was having such crazy eyes similar to Clopeh’s, Cale felt like this woman was even
more of a lunatic than that bastard for some inexplicable reasons, especially when her pupils
seemed to be oddly sparkling with heart-shaped glints whenever the image of Choi Han and Cale
together was within her range of vision.

“Yeou~?”
Cale covered Yeong’s eyes as he picked him up and turned away from the disturbing scene. He
was worried it would pollute his godson’s innocent heart. It was then.

‘Hm?’

Cale’s eyes met Choi Han’s at that moment. Cale’d thought with his knight all ready to cut off
Mae’s tongue and all, he would be even more agitated by the craziness she’d shown, but Choi Han
was actually pretty calm as if something in Mae’s story got a passing check from him. Cale did not
have any issues with that, of course, since to each their own. Still, it was quite odd.

Anyhow, now that Mae had proven her honesty, it was time for Cale to decide.

“Let’s say that you are being sincere, what can we possibly gain from being in touch with you
anyway?”

Why would it be beneficial to have their support? If they ended up being some baggage, then he
would rather cut his tie with them right here.

As it turned out, Mae’d already prepared her answers. Though they were mostly within Cale’s
anticipation, the benefits she listed out seemed sufficient. Plus the mint-haired man and his plant
appeared to be a key to find the power akin to his wood power, so it’d be nice being able to talk to
him later.

After taking everything into consideration, Cale accepted Mae’s request, and they exchanged their
contact information through the magical mirrors.

It was then when Cale heard a hesitant voice from behind him.

“…Excuse me, Cale-nim.”

“What is it?”

Cale turned around to see Choi Han was looking at him with the kind of kicked-puppy eyes he
always showed whenever being guilty or embarrassed. In Choi Han’s outreached hand was an
envelope with a lion-shaped seal at the center.

At Choi Han’s beckon, Cale took the envelope and opened it, feeling somewhat suspicious. He
then stretched open the smooth surface of the luxurious paper in his grasp; the edges were sharp
enough to almost cut his fingers. Together with the neat and splendid handwriting, Cale could say
the person who’d written this letter must have been from a wealthy and educated family.

‘But honestly, I didn’t expect it’d be from the princess.’

Cale’d heard of Choi Han’s heroic deed, saving the king and his daughter and so on. He knew the
king’d also repaid him with a formal letter. Still, it was amazing to think the second princess had
invited him to her birthday ball.

‘Is it because he’s the main character?’

Regardless of the novel not exactly being a novel, Choi Han was still that typical righteous main
character who would carry out justice and have himself known as a hero no matter what universe
he ended up in. Cale thought he could never ever understand how Choi Han did that.

Meanwhile, seeing Cale’s thoughtful eyes, Choi Han had a sudden impulse to clarify a few things,
if anything but just for the pure purpose of achieving clarity. If he were to be completely honest,
Choi Han had shoved away the memory of that day the instant it’d passed and left it be ever since.
He had no obligations towards the king nor his daughter anyway. It was just that there was an
important marked date in Choi Han’s mental calendar, and the princess’s birthday somehow
coincided with it. Now that the memory had forcefully made its way to the front of his head, letting
it quietly slide back to its place in the far end of the hippocampus without reporting to his liege just
didn’t feel right.

“Cale-nim, I told them I probably would not be able to attend, so we don’t have to go if-“

“What are you talking about?” Cale quickly cut Choi Han off with a relaxed smile. “It’s not every
day you get a chance like this, so why not?”

Truth be told, Cale would love to stay away from the royal family as much as possible, given his
special background. However, this was Choi Han’s reward for his good deed, wasn’t it? Cale had
already stolen the man’s spotlight in their old world. How could he be so shameless and rob the
chance for his knight to shine in this world as well? Even his trash self would despise him for
doing that.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner though? We don’t have much time left.”

The princess’s birthday was November 8th, but the party would be held the night before, meaning
they only had less than a week to arrive at the capital in time.

“I’m sorry, Cale-nim.”

Choi Han ducked his head apologetically upon hearing Cale’s questioning. Looking at the guilty
puppy face, Cale could only sigh thinking how there could be someone so selfless. This was for his
own benefit, his time to be recognized as a nation’s hero. If there were a person he should
apologize to, it’d have gotta be himself, not someone who’d been bossing him around like Cale.

“Have everything packed up. I plan to stop by somewhere else before that, so we better- hmm?”

“Cale-nim?”

For some reason, Cale’s order halted midway.

‘What the heck are they doing?’

Cale asked the question in his mind as he felt a floating sensation flood through his body, one that
resembled the slight dizziness an energy-depleted body would have to deal with. The sensation
wasn’t strong enough to knock him down on the ground, but it did cause him to stagger a bit, and
that was unnerving, given that Cale had no idea what sort of crazy things those people were doing
right now that could affect him this much.

Bothered by the sudden unease, Cale’s dazed eyes narrowed in deep thoughts. And since he hadn’t
been able to sleep much last night (mostly due to him feeling too excited with the newly gained
money), he was appearing a bit sick and tired as well.

Choi Han, whose biggest fear was seeing his liege suffer, wasted no time hesitating and
immediately stepped up next to Cale. His two solid arms, one wrapping neatly around the skinny
shoulders, the other concurrently going under the long and delicate legs, carefully lifted up his
precious one and held him close to his chest. This abrupt action startled Cale. In a thoughtless
moment, he sort of put his arms around the man’s neck, mostly for balance. As the initial shock
slipped away, Cale sternly raised his head upward to face his knight, his red lips parting, ready to
let certain disapproving thoughts come out in the form of words.

However, those words ended up stuck halfway in Cale’s throat before being swallowed down and
vanishing into a mysterious void. Cale didn’t know why. No, he didn’t even have the mind to think
about it because, right at this moment, looking at him so close-, so closely, was a pair of two black
orbs glinting mildly like the mirrored images of a starry sky. Cale disliked meaningless thoughts,
but for a brief second, as his own face could be seen reflected in those orbs, he wondered if an
actual universe was residing in there.

With that strange thought still hanging in his head, Cale continued to stare into the starry pupils
with a daze, his woven fingers subconsciously tightening, biting into the skin of the other man.
Unbeknown to him, such an act made on an impulse had prompted an unknown urge burning
wildly inside the other man’s heart.

And that man, Choi Han, though still occupied with concerns for his liege’s health, had no choice
but to do something, anything, to somehow ease that urge before it burned out all the remaining
oxygen in his two lungs.

Slowly, so slowly, as though to wake an angel from his slumber in the sweetest way, Choi Han
brought his face quite a space closer to Cale’s face, to the extent their steamy breaths started to
mingle. Ever so little, he channeled some more strength to his grasping hand around Cale’s
shoulder, as if fearing dropping a gorgeous yet fragile piece of gemstone but also afraid of breaking
it with those rough fingers of his. It was probably done reflexively, but Cale did nestle a bit in
response. His head thus rested on Choi Han’s shoulder. It was strange, but upon seeing the strands
of his red hair scattering over the man’s firm chest and teasingly tickling his veiny neck, Cale
thought that, whatever the man was about to do next to him, he would not really mind.

However, as much as he would love to, Choi Han could not go all the way. A slight turn was
made, and a brake was put on just in time for the line to remain uncrossed. Eventually, there was a
gap of one inch lining between Cale’s ear and Choi Han’s lips. As those lips started to move, Choi
Han’s misty warm breaths could be seen gently enveloping the helix of Cale’s ear, and his
uniquely calm voice came out along those breaths; whispering words thus took forms and began
caressing the eardrums of the person in his embrace.

“Get some rest, Cale-nim, I will take care of everything for you.”

With those words, Choi Han reluctantly withdrew his head; the peaceful smile fixedly stayed on
his face.

For a split second, Cale didn’t feel like responding, his dreamy eyes still dazedly lost in the night
sky in Choi Han’s black orbs. A universe was indeed in those, wasn’t it?

But very soon, he had to snap out of it. It was because, from the corner of his eye, Cale could see
the scamming group was throwing at him and Choi Han those odd looks again. Mae was literally
on the floor smiling like a maniac with a freaking nosebleed.

Yeong was the only one with a normal expression – an undoubted evidence of why childhood
purity ought to be protected.

“Hold on.” Cale hurriedly spoke to Choi Han, who was already heading toward the door, his legs
lightly kicking the air in annoyance. “Don’t leave yet. I still have things to talk with these guys.”

And so he talked with them, whilst still in Choi Han’s arms, of course. Admittedly, it was really
embarrassing, but Cale was annoyed and decided he had to bully the man who’d initiated the whole
thing a bit. That bastar- person brought it on himself, didn’t he? It was too late to regret it now.

But there was this one thing bugging him so much: Choi Han didn’t in the slightest seemed to
mind. Forget regretting, the man was openly enjoying it as his eyes unexaggeratedly adhered to,
probably, Cale’s soft lips moving gracefully every time he spoke.

That and the way the swindlers’ blatant weirdness kept increasing its severity as their conversation
continued on irked Cale to no end.

‘At least Yeong isn’t any different from his usual self.’

Cale could only be thankful his little fox wasn’t showing abnormal behaviors amid this mess.

However, Cale just didn’t know that behind his innocent fox face, little Yeong was actually having
certain cute thoughts about his adoptive parents. Well, Cale wouldn’t at all want to know what they
were anyway.

An hour later, Mae’s group was still staring at the foggy spot where the young master and his
people had disappeared into, dazedly reminiscing the way the red-haired young master had been
protectively held in those admirably strong arms of his knight until the very last second. They felt
as though they could squeak every time that image reappeared in their heads.

But they couldn’t let themselves be confined in that memory forever. It was about time they
regathered their spirits. All the members save for one began to fidget awkwardly.

“Arg big sis, snap out of it, will you? I can believe you told that basta- young master our secrets.”

Aelwen quickly adjusted her words upon seeing her big sis’s look of disapproval.

“The young master-nim and his knight are trustworthy.”

“Because of the visions you told us? C’mon sis, there’s no guarantee they are the ones you’re
looking for!”

Aelwen was a bit nervous thinking Mae would be angry at what she’d just said, but contrary to her
worry, the woman’s face only turned sympathetic as though she was a patient teacher about to
explain to her disciple every bit of an obvious answer.

“Close your eyes, Aelwen.”

And Aelwen obediently closed her eyes.

“Now, think, my poor little sister, think with that head of yours! Think of sir Choi Han’s gentle
eyes he gave young master Cale, and just young master Cale alone! Think of the way he was so
ready to destroy everything on his way to his liege! Then think of those dreamy eyes of young
master Cale as he hesitantly leaned on his man’s shoulder! If all of those are not enough of a proof
to you, I don’t know what is!”

The Misfortune God never revealed the characters’ names nor their appearances in those visions,
but Mae had a hunch, no, a certainty, that the people she’d just met were definitely the ones she’d
been searching for.

By the time Mae was done with her passionate preach, Aelwen had thoroughly been through an
enlightenment of her life.

“Sniffle. Big sis. Sniffle. I still don’t quite get it, and I still don’t like them, but …”

“But?”

“But I think I can totally understand your feelings.” And she started crying out her delighted tears.
“Thank you, big sis!”

“Good job! My sister!”

And they hugged each other, happy tears all over their faces.

Behind them, a certain mint-haired man was looking at them with a nervous smile as he held his
plant friend. He perfectly understood where they came from, but it didn’t stop him from worrying
about their group’s future now that he was the only sane person left.

Meanwhile, at the Raging Lake, Cale was calmly watching Choi Han clean a shoreline boulder, a
bouquet of colorful camellias in his arms.

There was this excerpt near the end of the strange book.

<Perhaps because I killed the others right in front of her eyes, or because my eyes had turned so
desperate. I don’t know. Maybe it was simply her instinct as a mother, but she let me help her out.

We went to the lake. It was where she’d searched for from the start, I believe.

She disappeared white and bright. The barrier that was her covered the cub and dived into the
water.

That was when I knew, she’d sacrificed herself for her child.>

Yi Chin-Mae had said this as well.

‘Gumi also has a shielding power, but it’s just for herself. If she wants to use it on someone else,
her soul will have to become one with it.’

The sunset brown hue in Cale’s eyes dimmed mildly as the truth was painfully displayed among
those records.

“Yeong-ah, come and say something to your omma.”

Cale called out to the timid Yeong in the back as he carefully laid the bouquet on the boulder in a
respectful manner.

Hearing the call, Yeong jumped in and stood next to Cale. Looking closely at the delicate flowers,
he closed his eyes and let his soul wander to the realm of memories. In that place, two loving
voices of a man and a woman would ring by his fetal ears every so often, waking him from the
hollow darkness. He would listen to them and start imagining the world. He had been loved. He
was loved. Even at that very last moment, he had been protected. His mother had protected him. He
remembered. He hadn’t been able to see, but he could sense and hear.

‘Yeong-ah, omma will protect you. I will always be here with you.’
 Yes, he remembered, from the gory air that had greeted his first breath in life, to the gentle and
warm bite on his nape as his body had been moved across the sleeping town and the ancient forest,
and even the wild wind blowing through his still-wet fur and casually cutting by the fragile skin.
Though his mind had been too young to put all the puzzle pieces together, a lot of things were still
there, firmly registered, as noticeable as a red light in white fog.

“Yeou~! Omma, I’ll be back!”

With that, the fox brightly opened his eyes and turned toward his godfather. He’d spent thirteen
years dreaming the world. Finally, that mere dream had come alive, and from now on he’d live it.

Cale nodded to the child and beckoned Choi Han to begin moving, his vision unwittingly taking
the frontal scene of that moment.

In front of the beautiful camellias, the Raging lake had stopped raging, and the cold wind was
stirring the unyielding flower petals.

Once upon a time, in a different universe, at a lake much like this one, a love story of two beings
had begun. Whether it was an ongoing story or a story with a tragic ending, nobody could ever tell.
If anything, one could only pray that, though separated by the worlds, may the souls of those two
lovers still find each other in the afterlife.

End Chapter 8

Chapter End Notes

(*) From chapter 178 in the novel.

My small and dumb brain sort of went through a medical crash course for this chapter,
so now I’m sure that though a scratch doesn’t penetrate the lower tissues, bleeding can
still occur.
 Chapter 9
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

Have a good one!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The current king of the Mythic Kingdom – King Jeremy Lewis – had two daughters. The first
princess – the crown princess Julianna Lewis – was brave, strong, and bright. She totally lived up
to the mighty lion symbol of her honorable kingdom. On the other hand, the second princess –
princess Janessa Lewis – was more of the gentle type. Unlike her sister, who would not hesitate to
roll around a dusty training field with the knights or stay day and night in her study room for a
political research, Janessa preferred more ladylike activities. She only enjoyed reading fairytale
books and having tea parties with other noble ladies around her age.

Though their personalities were quite opposite to each other, just like the sun and the moon, both
princesses were equally loved by their people. If Julianna was admired for her bravery and
intelligence, which she must have gotten from her mother the queen, Janessa was praised for her
tender and benign look that resembled her father greatly, as well as her kindness and the way she
would talk in her lovely soft but clear voice.

However, tonight, everyone noticed that that lovely voice of the second princess seemed absent,
and bizarrely so.

It was bizarre because after tonight, she would officially turn eighteen, and a grand banquet was
being held in the great hall to celebrate this event. Representatives from all the noble families in
the kingdom were invited, and the entire celebration had been broadcasted on a large screen for any
citizens interested to see. Naturally, the princess should have been happy right now being
surrounded with congratulations. However, even though Janessa still acted composed and smiled
as she talked to the guests, everyone could tell by the way her azure eyes would seem slightly dull
and unfocused whenever she had a moment alone, that the beautiful princess wasn’t enjoying the
ball as much as they’d expected her to. Murmurs started to emerge as the noble guests watched the
second princess wistfully staring at the entrance door. She wasn’t even trying to keep her
somberness subtle anymore.

“Did something happen? Is her highness unwell?”

“I don’t know. … But I guess, you know, because of that incident last year?”

“No way, it’s been a year. And didn’t you see her bright smile when she walked in. She was fine
not long ago.”
“I heard from the knights that it was actually because o-“

“Shhh”

The quiet murmurs that at some point had grown considerably both in number and volume
instantly died down as the guests and servants alike reminded each other of where exactly they
were at. From the highest position, the king and the queen already appeared rather displeased at
their inappropriate behaviors. However, both of them remained silent. It seemed they were so
concerned about their daughter’s far-from-happy state that they couldn’t be bothered by such
empty whispers.

But the silence was scary as well, especially when it came from the most powerful couple of the
kingdom. The king, in particular, looked as though he wasn’t at a banquet right now but the
vanguard of a battle ready to fight and take down a neighboring country just to get back a smile
from his daughter.

Glancing between her husband and daughter, the queen barely held back a sigh. Unlike the others
who could only guess, the queen knew exactly what was dejecting the second princess this much at
such a delightful time of her life.

‘A young and handsome hero, is it?’

After the trip three weeks ago, the king had spent most of his free time praising a young man
named Choi Han, who had saved him, Janessa, as well as the knights and servants from a group of
bandits. It would have been nothing worth noting if the queen hadn’t noticed the way her
husband’d glanced at his second daughter meaningfully as he’d talked, and the way Janessa’s
entire face had turned tomato red whenever the particular name’d touched her ears.

The queen was a sharp person and had experienced romantic love herself. There was no way she
couldn’t figure out what was going, especially when this was something even some servants knew
about, so she’d made up her mind to personally test that young sword master when he arrived at
the banquet. The queen had prepared everything deemed challenging enough for a man to
overcome and prove his worth, all so that she could make sure her second daughter didn’t fall for a
bad guy disguised in a hero outfit. The king didn’t think it was necessary, but she insisted, because
she viewed it as one of her responsibilities as a queen and as a mother.

The test hadn’t even started, but to the queen, that man had already failed. The reason was simple:
he hadn’t even shown up yet.

Just how arrogant must a person be to disregard a princess’s invitation?

Looking back at the second princess, who was still staring at the entrance door with sad eyes, the
queen couldn’t help but be angry on behalf of her daughter.

Just when she was about to step down and console the princess, however, the entrance door was
swung open, and the figure of a young knight could be seen as the lights rushed to focus on him.

“Who’s that?”

“My goodness! A knight? He looks so cool!”

“Which family is he from? How can someone be late for the princess’s birthday party?”

Murmurs once again filled the great hall as the people present couldn’t hide their curiosity about
the mysterious man who had just come in in a pretty impressive way. This young man was daring
enough to arrive late at a royal ball, which was already quite shocking, but what caught their
attention even more than that was the man’s fascinating appearance and charisma.

Clad in a black leather armor and a grey cape, the black-haired young man who seemed barely
eighteen fearlessly strode into the great hall with his back straight and his face as calm as a lake’s
surface. Together with the sword by his side and the admirably muscular body, it didn’t take a
genius to deduce just how extraordinary this young man must be.

Even the queen found herself breathless for a minute.

It was then when everyone heard a benign voice echoing from the highest position.

“Finally, you have come!”

The king, who had been wearing an expression of someone ready to wage war, hurriedly stepped
down from his seat as he shouted eagerly. But the present people didn’t even have time to be
surprised by this sudden change in the king’s mood because their attentions were quickly swept by
the bewildering scene unfolding before their eyes.

Taking off the face of someone locked in a lightless cage, princess Janessa abruptly stood up with a
blindingly bright smile as she fixed her gaze on the mysterious young man.

Watching this unprecedented scene, the guests and servants widened their eyes in realization.

Meanwhile, the queen had just overcome her shock and now was in an extreme state of
determination. Not far from her, a certain golden-haired knight was busy clenching his fists as an
enormous anger clouded his eyes.

This was what’d happened thirty minutes ago at the gate to the West castle, by the way.

***

“We’re sorry, but for security reasons, we can’t let anyone whose name is not stated in the letter to
attend the banquet.”

One of the guards said nervously as he eyed the group of three in front of him.

An armored young knight, a beautiful young master wearing an elegant crimson cloak, and a little
master clad in a cute white cloak. The trio certainly had the vibe of a noble family, but strangely
enough, the invitation letter they’d shown the guards only had the name of the young knight in it,
and it was a name they’d never heard of too. Not to mention these people had arrived late for such
an important event, which meant they were either some suspicious folks dangerous to the royal
family or just some dumb guys from a suicidal squad so eager to die. Whichever the case, the
guards still had to perform their duties accordingly, meaning letting the uninvited ones in was
absolutely out of the question.

“…Please reconsider! They are my family!”

The young knight, Choi Han, pled with a disconcerted voice. Right now he was madly angry at his
own imprudence. If he had known this situation would happen, he would’ve buried the letter
somewhere his liege would never know of. It was at that moment when a familiar voice reached
his ears from behind.

“Choi Han.”
Choi Han immediately whipped his head around at the call. Facing Cale, who was holding
Yeong’s hand with a relaxed expression, he belatedly realized how stupid he’d been.

“… Yes, Cale-nim?”

“I and Yeong will be waiting at the inn. You go and enjoy the banquet.”

‘Knew it.’

Choi Han thought, dismayed. This man wouldn’t be his Cale-nim if he couldn’t even predict
something so obvious.

Breathing in the winter air so cold it almost made his lungs freeze, Choi Han barely uttered.

“I am here to protect you, Cale-nim.”

He was someone who served Cale. That was the only reason he was there. If the circumstances
didn’t require otherwise, he would prefer being by his liege’s side as much as possible.

But it seemed his liege was a bit oblivious to that simple wish of his.

“Choi Han.” Cale called his knight’s name again, his voice as indifferent as ever. “I will be fine.”

And Cale smiled, relaxed. The Cale-nim Choi Han knew always smiled like that when he made
this kind of statement, which would turn out to be more or less inaccurate later on as the man threw
himself in some sort of large-scaled stuffs.

Even so, Choi Han still found himself unable to disobey his orders.

After crouching down to gently ruffle the white hair of little Yeong, Choi Han raised his head to
take a meaningful look at his liege before turning away and slowly heading toward the gate
following a guard’s instruction, his large shoulders hunched slightly as he did.

It was then.

“Choi Han.”

As though it’d become a conditioned response of some sort, Choi Han looked back at the instant
he heard his name called by his precious liege once again.

During the momentary pause when he patiently waited for Cale to resume speaking, Choi Han
quietly observed his liege and wondered if he was just hallucinating, but there seemed to be
something different in Cale’s usual stoic expression. It was so subtle even Cale might not notice
himself, but Choi Han did.

At that exact moment, from somewhere up high, cotton-like snow started to fall. On the sunset hair
some landed. Cold white ice cuddled hot red flame.

Choi Han took the sight before him into his vision, enchanted. His eyes involuntarily wandered
from the tiny frost on Cale’s lashes to his cold rosy cheeks, meticulously noting the way the fluffy
snow would caress those cheeks every so often.

Just like that, the moment of silence passed by, faster than a breath, slower than a blink. With an
unusual hesitation, Cale’s red lips parted slightly, forming words blending in the white steamy
breaths.
“Hurry back.”

He let out, finally. A confused undertone could be heard somewhere in those words.

“Yeou~, appa, back!”

Next to Cale, Yeong in his human form was also trying to say goodbye to his appa in this world’s
language that he’d just learned enough to babble one or two simple words.

For a second, Choi Han felt like he’d been stunned, unable to move or react, but Cale’s gaze
quickly pulled him out of his bewilderment. As his concentration returned, Choi Han realized this
was the first time Cale had shown him such complicated eyes. It was as though right now even the
man couldn’t understand his own actions.

Choi Han wasn’t sure if he understood either. Regardlessly, his body automatically moved.
Ignoring the insignificant call from the guard, Choi Han ran to Cale and stopped just two feet away
from him and Yeong.

“I’ll be right back.”

Said Choi Han, softly, as he raised his hand and gently touched Cale’s cold cheek with his fingers.
He honestly had not expected a response from the other man as he did that, so when Cale
peacefully closed his dazed eyes and leaned his face deeper against the callused palm as though
demanding to feel more of the warm touch, Choi Han’s heart couldn’t control itself and began to
beat so wildly the loud pounding sounds were so close to tear his chest open and escape.

“O-oi, do you still want to go inside?”

Asked the guard who’d been assigned to lead Choi Han’s way, hesitantly, before starting at the
dagger looks sent to him by the other guards. His fellow guards were literally glaring at him with
hostility as if he’d committed a sin so severe he should be sentenced to death right at this instant,
but when the poor guard caught a certain bloodthirsty aura hovering around him coming from a
certain man, he thought an instant death might not be so bad.

Meanwhile, woken up by the guard’s call, Cale opened his eyes and awkwardly straightened his
posture whilst Choi Han reluctantly (and annoyedly) pulled back his hand. He lightly patted
Yeong’s head in an assuring manner before walking back to where the guard was standing. This
time, his shoulders no longer were hunched, and he was making firm strides with a much calmer
expression. It was because Choi Han had made up his mind that he must attend this ball and
behave appropriately as Cale’d ordered him to, and then he would return to his family right after.
Choi Han was having this confidence that everything would turn out just fine this time thanks to
the warm gazes from his liege and his adopted son still following him even as the gate was closed
behind his back.

Outside the castle, Cale observed the closed gate for a moment longer before pulling his and
Yeong’s hoods up to cover their faces as they both turned on their heels and began to walk away.

Behind them, a certain group of guards was watching them leave with guilty faces. They were lost
in a bottomless abyss of guilts thinking they’d mayhap just had a hand in this heartbreaking parting
of such a lovely family.

***

Anyhow, that was how Choi Han ended up attending the banquet alone. All eyes were currently on
him as he walked straight to the seats the royal family was at, but he didn’t at all mind the stares.
His steps came to a stop an appropriate space between him and the king who had descended at
some point, and then he inclined his head respectfully in greeting.

“My apologies for being late, your majesty.”

Of course, as he was the king, King Jeremy Lewis wasn’t happy when a commoner hadn’t
considered his daughter’s birthday ball worthy enough for him to push whatever trivial matters
he’d gotten aside in order to come here in time, but this man was practically his and Janessa’s
savior, so in this specific case he would be generous and pardon the mistake that must have been
caused by the lack of thoughtfulness seen in any typical youngsters.

“No, it is fine. You must have your reasons. I am glad you were able to make it. And no need to
worry, the banquet has just started, actually.”

Everybody except for the princess collectively blinked at the welcoming attitude the king of all
people was showing the young guest. Then they all began to goggle with dumb faces as the
majestic king was literally guiding said guest to his precious daughter’s seat.

Standing in front of the second princess, Choi Han once again slightly bowed his head and offered
a small wrapped box to her in a polite manner.

“Happy birthday, your highness the princess.”

“T-thank you!”

Receiving the present from the man she’d been waiting for, the second princess felt her face
burned hot. She could tell the people’s gazes were all on her and Choi Han, and though that was
indeed embarrassing since she was still a princess, Janessa had to admit that she actually liked it
very much.

This was something she’d been searching for all along.

“Ahem!”

From the seat next to the princess, the queen audibly cleared her throat, effectively snapping her
daughter out of her own reverie.

It was also thanks to her that King Jeremy finally noticed Choi Han had started to eye around rather
uncomfortably after handing Janessa the wrapped box. Somehow it seemed as though the young
man had come here for a mission, and now that he’d got it done, he was trying to pave his path out
of this place.

But that was just him overthinking it, of course.

“A-ahem.” Feeling the attention and curiosity from the guests, the king quickly adjusted his
expression and calmly spoke to his queen and then Choi Han. “This is the young hero Choi Han I
have talked about. Choi Han, this is her majesty the moon of this kingdom – Queen Judie Lewis.”

At the introduction, Choi Han respectfully greeted the queen, and the queen simply nodded in
acknowledgement. Her eyes quickly scanned over the young man being guided to his seat
ridiculously close to the royal’s seats as her ears paid attention to the stealthy whispers resonating
inside the hall.

“Did you hear that? His majesty called him a hero!”

“So this is that hero from the rumors.”

“He’s so cool!”

The queen almost chuckled at the awed exclamations of the young ladies.

‘A cool and handsome hero indeed.’

If she were to be completely honest, this young man’s appearance totally scored a hundred,
especially for those pure yet deep black eyes. And though the tardiness he’d displayed earlier had
taken off one third of the points, his attitude so far had been rather acceptable.

But the queen wasn’t going to let this young man pass so easily just yet. She still got plenty up her
sleeve to be tested out before this lad could ever step a foot nearer to her child.

“Second Princess, do you perhaps wish to open that present right now?”

The queen calmly suggested, her eyes half-glancing at Janessa’s fidgeting fingers around the little
gift box. Now was the time to see how genuine this Choi Han was to her daughter.

Startled by the queen’s question, Janessa shook her head embarrassedly and answered with her soft
but clear voice.

“No, your majesty, I will open it at a more appropriate time.”

“Just do it now if you want to. For this one time, I’ll overlook it.”

Save for Choi Han, everyone including the king was gaping at the queen’s statement in absolute
astonishment.

It was deemed discourteous to openly unwrap a present right in front of the person who’d given it,
so all the princess’s birthday gifts except for the one from Choi Han had been stored somewhere
else the moment they’d arrived at the ball. Those gifts would then be examined carefully before
getting to the hands of the princess. That was, if they passed the examination, of course. With this,
security would also be guaranteed.

But the queen was asking princess Janessa to open this newcomer’s present right here? This spoke
a lot of how highly the queen must think of this young man. It was indeed the case because in spite
of her denials, weeks of hearing her king rambling about the ‘good nature’ and ‘tremendous
strength’ of the young man and watching her second daughter dreaming of the handsome hero had
steered quite a bit of the queen’s favor toward said hero without her even realizing it.

Receiving the surprising consent from the queen, Janessa was more than delighted. She then
glanced at Choi Han hesitantly as she asked.

“Is it ok if I open it right now?”

Choi Han, who had been quiet, collectedly nodded.

“Yes, your highness. Please do as you please.”

With a shy smile and two pink cheeks, Janessa happily unwrapped the small box in her hands.
Hundreds of eyes focused on the box as everyone was utterly eager to know just what kind of
grandeur the young hero had prepared.

“My goodness! How do you know that I like blue topaz? This is so pretty!”
The princess almost exclaimed as she observed the beautiful bracelet embellished with a blue topaz
stone dangling on her fingers. Her words instantly drew a hail of gawking eyes toward her.

‘Princess Janessa likes blue topaz?’

It was a common knowledge that blue was princess Janessa’s preferred color, but the bit about
topaz gemstone wasn’t, so the nobles who had squeezed both their brains and treasure chests out in
the process of preparing the most splendid presents for the princess found her joyful reaction to the
normal-looking bracelet incredulous.

Choi Han didn’t say anything to the princess in response. He only smiled warmly as though
gratified. It was then when he heard a majestic voice from the queen’s seat.

“It is indeed a beautiful gift. I don’t mean to be rude, but could you tell us the reason you chose this
particular bracelet, young hero?”

A thin tension arose in the great hall as everyone waited for an answer from the young man. Some
petty nobles were even smirking. The punk managed to charm the princess with that cheap thing
because the princess was still young and inexperienced, but it’d be a different story with her
majesty the queen. (*)

‘If he admits that he picked the bracelet without knowing about Janessa’s favorite gemstone, he
can be seen as honest, but at the same time he’ll certainly disappoint the princess. On the other
hand, if he says it’s not a coincidence, then he will have to explain how he got his hand on the
information even most nobles don’t know of. As expected of the queen!’

Thinking so, most people were curious, a few of them became nervous, and some were secretly
eager to see the flustered face of the jerk who had stolen the show.

However, that jerk, Choi Han, still appeared unfazed at the queen’s sharp inquiry. He was totally
calm as he looked straight at the queen and spoke confidently.

“I certainly could, your majesty.” Said Choi Han, eyes dead serious. “I chose this bracelet because
I’ve learned that the meaning of a present is the most important thing about it.”

“Ohhhhh!”

There was a surging wave of admired gasps following Choi Han’s simple yet solid statement. The
king was stroking his chin approvingly, and the princess’s face was now identical to a ripe tomato.
Even the queen was impressed.

‘Not bad.’

The queen mentally noted, rather pleased herself. This man was still a teenager, but the way he
thought was already as mature as an adult. His answer was both clever and sincere, and it was
succint enough to leave no room for mistakes. Moreover, the queen also liked that the young man
didn’t mindlessly throw the money away for tons of useless so-called presents like all the fools out
there always did just to show off their rich asses, but instead he focused on the meaning of the
present itself. Undoubtedly it was the stone that added the fancy dazzling to the simple bracelet,
which meant the stone held the meaning of this present, and obviously this meaning was based on
the fact that the second princess liked blue topaz, and apparently the young man was meticulous
enough to have carefully researched about the princess’s preferences to somehow obtain this
information.

Looking at the genuine smile on the young man’s face, not only the queen but the guests could
also clearly see the sincerity in this young man. Furthermore, this practically served as a proof to
them that the young hero probably had special feelings for the second princess as well. Why else
would a man try so hard to impress a beautiful girl around his age and then be so sincerely satisfied
when his efforts finally paid off?

Unbeknown to them, the reason for Choi Han’s smile right now happened to be within the ‘else’ of
that question.

This was what he was thinking about at the moment, by the way.

‘As expected of Cale-nim!’

Because they couldn’t just attend a birthday party empty-handed, Choi Han, Cale, and Yeong had
decided to visit a jewelry store to pick something as the present.

‘The most important thing about a present is its meaning, Choi Han, not the price.’

Cale had said so. And he’d also said this.

‘Every citizen in this kingdom knows the second princess is fond of the color blue.’

And that was how they’d selected this bracelet. Choi Han wondered if his liege had pointed at the
topaz stone knowing it was the princess’s favorite, but it certainly had come as a plus.

In any case, the present he and Cale had picked together was bringing about these positive
reactions. Seeing them, Choi Han felt his heart smothered in a warm pride. When he returned to his
liege, he’d definitely tell him about it, hoping to see the beautiful smile on the man’s face as he
listened to him.

Around that time, outside the West castle, Cale was watching a group of children rolling
energetically in the snow, feeling more grateful for the warm crimson cloak wrapping around his
body than ever.

After confirming that Choi Han had safely entered the castle, Cale had wanted to immediately go
back to their inn and casually laze off with Yeong while waiting for the knight. However, Yeong
somehow had caught the sight of these kids who had been playing around and begun to stare at
them longingly. The timid Yeong hadn’t dared voice his wish, but his eyes had loudly spoken what
he’d wanted, and ignoring those eyes would make Cale even worse than trash.

‘Try to learn the language as you play with them.’

Cale had said so before letting Yeong join the kids. At first, they’d been playing not so far from the
gate, but just a few minutes into the hide-and-seek game, the kids had all ended up gathering
outside the West wall where the biggest magical mirror of the kingdom was located.

Though a grand event was being broadcasted, the number of people watching wasn’t
overwhelming. It was understandable for several obvious reasons. First and foremost, it was
freaking cold out here. If the freezing air weren’t enough to make a person wish to bury themself in
blankets and stay there forever, the snow that was being gradually piled up and the chilling winds
definitely would. And as Cale raised his gaze to look at the large screen on the wall, he saw the
second reason.

‘What a lousy technology.’

In this world, magical mirrors were used as a means of communication, and the preferred method
to communicate was to send written messages. Unlike with the video communication orbs, users
couldn’t directly talk to each other with this kind of device because the magical mirrors weren’t
capable of sending sound waves, and even the moving images on the mirrors were in an extremely
poor quality.

‘Watching that awful thing hurts my eyes.’

Cale massaged the area above his nose, frowning. With only two colors: black and white, the
screen was showing the scene at the ball in a 144p quality at most. Cale reckoned the actual sight
was magnificent, but through this screen he could only distinguish a person from an object.

‘There is one person I can easily recognize though.’

And that one person was the only reason Cale still laid his tired eyes on this terrible mirror every
one or two minutes.

On the black-and-white screen, the image of a man dressed in a black leather armor had been
shown rather regularly ever since the man’s impressive arrival. Seeing that Choi Han seemed to be
acting all cool and confident at the party, Cale nodded to himself.

‘That armor is indeed worth the price.’

The truth was that Cale’s group hadn’t come to the capital in a complete rush. They’d got a bit of
time to rent a room at the inn just so that their next bed wouldn’t be the forest’s ground, which
would surely be a pain, given this harsh weather. Then, out of the blue, Yeong’d transformed into
his human form, smiling brightly as he’d proudly announced his newest achievement. Since it’d
turned out that way, the family had decided to stop by a tailor store to get some kids’ clothes, and
coincidentally, there’d been a weapon store selling fancy leather armors right next door. Time had
passed way too fast while Cale’d been occupied with choosing stuffs for the child and the man
who, somehow, possessed a sense of fashion even more boring than Cale’s.

The armor wasn’t exactly expensive, but neither was it cheap. Cale’d bought it anyway. He
considered it an investment since Choi Han needed to be strong to protect the group, and though
Cale’d expected the guards wouldn’t allow him to enter the royal’s residence, just in case those
guards got drunk or something and let him in, having someone outshining him at the party would
guarantee Cale’s goal to stay low and not attract so much attention to himself.

Also, Choi Han was deadly handsome in that armor, but never mind that.

Turning away from the dizzying screen, Cale looked at the human Yeong getting along incredibly
well with the other kids even though he could not communicate with them fluently and once again
wondered just how this kid had gotten his current appearance. Yeong’s human form was without a
doubt adorable, but it was also a big surprise. He didn’t look much like his biological parents,
instead his face seemed to be half-Western and half-Asian, which was odd considering both Chin-
Mae and Gumi were Asian. Moreover, while Yeong’s overall facial features seemed to have been
made from the exact same mold with Choi Han’s, his sharp eyes and pale skin unmistakably
resembled Cale’s. If one didn’t know it for a fact, they would think Yeong was Cale’s and Choi
Han’s son rather than his real parents’. But then there was that white hair mixing with a few red
streaks that none of the parents, not even Gumi, had, so Cale supposed this was just one of those
mysteries about a mythical creature’s abilities, and thinking any more about it would simply be a
waste of time.

‘It’s getting late.’

The chilling night was falling down on the capital as he thought, so Cale was considering taking
Yeong back to the inn before he actually froze right at his spot (which probably wouldn’t happen
since he had Yeong by his side, but he’d love to avoid having to use the last resort if he could).
Based on his observation, Choi Han was doing just fine by himself and wouldn’t be back any time
soon. The socializing lessons he’d subtly given Choi Han during their trip to the stores seemed to
be yielding fruitful results. But above all, Cale just wanted to fall into a deep sleep right now to get
over this gloomy mood he was having. He’d been annoyed for a while actually, due to his own
words. He couldn’t understand what the hell had gotten into him when he’d told Choi Han to hurry
and be back. Just a few seconds before that he’d been so determined to let the man go and have his
fun while he’d be safe and sound in the warm bed at the inn, which was the only appropriate
scenario, but then he’d just had to call the man back and spew out those useless words at the end.
Was he bipolar or something?

Brushing off the snow atop his shoulders with a sigh, Cale slowly walked toward the group of kids.
A few of them had already been dragged home by their moms and dads while some others were
being dragged away at the moment, whining as they tried to yank their arms out of their parents’
grabs. From the look of it, these brats’ parents were most likely laborers from poor families,
working overtime and having their children look out for themselves. Every time those parents’ eyes
met Cale’s eyes, they would jump slightly, glance at Yeong, and proceed to pull their kids away
even more forcefully. It was an unnerving pattern and certainly worsened Cale’s annoyance.
Having had enough, Cale grumpily tightened the large white bow on his cloak’s fur collar and kept
his voice even as he spoke.

“Yeong-ah, let’s-“

“STOP WHINING FOR FUCK’S SAKE, CAN’T YOU FILTHY RATS JUST STOP BEING
SUCH A PAIN FOR ONCE?”

An angry shout shot up then, cutting off Cale’s sentence. The owner of the shout was an old man
clad in a rather fancy coat. At first glance, one would think he was a noble, but on second thought
they couldn’t help but question why he wasn’t at the banquet right now if it were the case. The
answer came right after.

“S-sorry, sir, we will leave right away!”

“Hey, stop it, don’t you see you’ve displeased merchant-nim? Do you want us to lose our jobs?”

With those words, the poor parents soon left with their now-crying kids, leaving the rest of the
children in a worried state, not sure if they should continue to play.

The old man scowled ferociously at the disappearing families before returning his attention to the
screen. At that moment, his scowl instantly faded, and the corners of his lips curled into a twisted
smile, exposing a set of rotten yellow teeth having been hidden behind the thin lips.

“There, there, someday, I’ll definitely be there too. I’ll become one of them - the esteemed nobles
serving his majesty the king for generations.”

The man’s voice as he mumbled those words was thin and shaky, and his hollow eyes showed just
how immersed he was in that fantasy of his. It was a really unpleasant sight to look at.

The people witnessing that sight started to whisper sneakily.

“That’s merchant Famegreeder right? The geezer who’s crazy for a noble title?”
 “Yeah, that’s him. Always camps around this place whenever the royal family holds an event then
yapping nonsense about being a noble one day or noble loyalty shit.”

“Shh, he can hear you guys!”

“Then what? We’re not working for him. No need to be afraid!”

“But still …”

Listening to them, Cale could roughly guess that this old geezer was just a somewhat rich lunatic
obsessed with nobility, and someone like that was within the group of people he would never want
to involve with.

“Yeong-ah, we’re leaving.”

Yeong, who was still mesmerized with building a snowfox, jerked his head up at Cale’s call and
hurriedly ran back to him whilst waving goodbye at his new friends.

Just when Cale started to move his legs, however, a commotion broke out from the small crowd of
watchers.

“Hey, what’s that?”

“Oh my gosh, what the hell’s going on?”

Hearing those questions spoken in such confused and panicked tones, Cale involuntarily turned
around, feeling as though his peaceful sleep tonight had left him before it even came.

“Fuck.”

That was the only thing he could verbally let out at that moment. On the gigantic screen, a chaos
could be seen rising inside the great hall of the West castle.

End Chapter 9

Chapter End Notes

I apologize in advance if some parts sounded awkward.

(*) Not the most expensive, but I wouldn’t say topaz is cheap either. What are you
talking about?
 Chapter 10
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

I was being dumb and kind of messed up a bit in the previous chapter. I sincerely
apologize for that. To make it easier to understand, please just see the royal residence
as a very large estate with a palace and multiple castles. (I don't know if that is
common either, but I quite like the idea). The princess's banquet is being held inside
the West castle.

Have a great one! <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Their first impression of the newcomer named Choi Han could be described in two simple words:
‘strong’ and ‘handsome.’ But then they’d heard of the man’s good deed, and ‘brave’ had been
added. Lastly, having listened to the man’s prudent yet genuine answer to the queen of all people
and seeing his sincere attitude, they couldn’t help but collectively put ‘smart’ and ‘honest’ atop all
those characteristics. Facing such an admirable person, everyone at the ball, whether they liked it
or not, had to admit that ‘young hero’ was indeed a fitting title for this young man. Furthermore,
with him effortlessly gaining quite an amount of favor from the royal family in such a short time,
the guests were having the suspicion that if things continued like this, the king might just entrust
his precious daughter to him in no time. In that case, it would not be wise to get on his bad side,
meaning they should either stay put or try to approach and befriend the hero. The former option
was easy, but the latter one seemed no longer available.

“What’s with the young hero? He suddenly looks so down!”

“Maybe he gets a stomachache? Or a headache?”

“Aww, he looks like a cute abandoned puppy. Can I adopt him?

“I don’t think so …”

At some point, the young hero, Choi Han had abruptly concluded his dinner after only a few bites
and started to yearningly stare at the entrance door like he was seriously considering marrying it.
Seeing that the young man was wearing an expression even more sombre than the princess’s
earlier, forget befriending, none of the guests would even dare take a direct look at the man.

But of course, people with plenty of authority and boldness had no reason to fear a commoner, no
matter how physically strong that commoner might seem. The queen, for example.

“Why, young hero!? Is the food prepared by the best chefs of this kingdom still not worthy of your
taste?”
Snapped back from his musings, Choi Han jerked up his head to see that other than the dancing
couples, almost everyone at the ball was paying suspiciously close attention to him. Shaking his
head slightly, he opened his mouth and sheepishly responded.

“The food is wonderful, your majesty.”

There was absolutely no problem with the dishes. It was Choi Han who wasn’t in the mood to
enjoy anything at the moment. For a while now, his mind had been occupied with this one
question.

‘Can I leave yet?’

His original plan with Cale was to come here, greet the king and his daughter, hand the present to
the princess, perhaps stay for a bit for courtesy’s sake, and then leave right after. Since there was
that part about staying, Choi Han reckoned he must sit here for a little longer before bidding an
ultimate farewell to the royal family and returning to his precious liege. However, the longer he
forced himself to remain at this place, the more suffocated he felt. It was as though he was being
confined in a locked chamber with water gradually filling up, and his only choice was to kick open
the damn door and escape before being drowned in the cold water to death. Harboring such heavy
feelings inside, Choi Han found his useless self unable to maintain his patience and eventually
gave in to the restlessness in his heart. And before he knew it, he’d already let those feelings be
displayed all over his face and through his actions.

“I apologize for being distracted, your majesty.”

And he meant it. The royal family had no faults in this. They by no means deserved this disrespect.
Still, Choi Han couldn’t bring himself to play pretend and be all smiley. It wasn’t like his acting
would ever allow him to do that anyways.

“… No need to apologize. Please make sure to help yourself and enjoy the banquet to your heart’s
content!”

“Thank you, your highness.”

“… Good.”

It appeared even the queen couldn’t resist the power of Choi Han’s sad puppy eyes as the hard
features on her face went rather softened upon seeing them.

The king, however, didn’t have the heart to pay attention to neither the queen nor Choi Han. He
was busy watching his daughter dancing and kind of feeling bad for her partner, captain Philo.

“Ouch!”

“Ah! I’m sorry!”

“… N-no, it’s nothing, your highness!”

Since Choi Han wasn’t a noble, he very unlikely knew how to dance, which must explain why he
could do nothing but just sit still and watch Janessa being asked by another guy for a dance. Being
a princess, Janessa could not possibly turn down the nobleman’s request, especially when that
nobleman was also her personal knight, so she took his hand with her eyes still longing for the
young hero. As the result, her poor partner was suffering from her absentmindedness.

“Ouch!”
“I-I’m sorry!”

‘This is the tenth time. Poor guy.’

Everyone couldn’t help but feel a little pity for the knight captain who’d got his feet stepped on for
like ten times within less than two minutes. But there was another man drawing significantly more
sense of sympathy from the guests toward himself.

‘I see. He must be so sad right now because he can’t dance with the girl he likes.’

‘What an honest boy! He doesn’t know how to control his emotions, so he stares at the door to hide
his sad face.’

‘It must be too unbearable for him. Just look at the way he seems to rather leave at this instant.’

‘Who needs dancing? Can I just come sit next to him and replace the princess in his heart?’

… The people present thought they had connected the dots and were being certain that Choi Han’s
gloomy mood must have been due to him not being able to dance with his crush. Even the king and
the queen seemed to have been convinced of that and were pondering whether they should do
something about this. Should they just cancel the dancing part and make it into a sparring session
instead? Or should they invent a new dance style simple enough for everyone to learn at their first
attempt?

As the powerful couple was busy beating their brains out for a solution, they noticed some people
were approaching Choi Han in an admirably relaxed manner.

“Hello, Choi Han! Remember us?”

Being casually called by his name, Choi Han turned sideward to see three familiar faces smiling at
him.

“Ah! You are …”

Slightly gasping in surprise, Choi Han recalled the people he’d saved three weeks ago. Aside from
the king, his daughter, and the irritating knight captain, only these three had initiated a
conversation with him.

‘Hoo. This is the first time … Say! What was so happy that it made you smile like that?’

‘Is that your girlfriend?’

‘Definitely his girlfriend!’ (*)

They were the old knight, the young knight, and the younger maid who’d inquired Choi Han about
the reason behind his smile as he’d thought of Cale during that short time they’d traveled together.

“Yup! It’s us! How have you been sir?”

Greeted the cheerful maid with dark purple hair. Then the young knight standing next to her
followed suit.

“Yeah! How have you been?”

Finally, the old knight who had called his name earlier added.
“We saw your expression didn’t look good. Are you feeling unwell?”

Choi Han blinked at the old man’s concerned voice before raising up his lower arms and waving
them denyingly.

“No, I’m perfectly fine. Thank you for worrying about me!”

“… Ok then.”

“If you need anything, just tell us!”

“That’s right! I’m a great maid. You can count on me!”

Choi Han subconsciously smiled whilst looking at the people genuinely cared for him even though
they weren’t that close to each other. Thanks to them, some of the restless feeling pulling down his
mood up until now seemed to have gone away somehow. He mentally wrote down a note on his
mind to tell Cale about these nice people later.

“Did you get to meet with your family?” The old knight asked, curious.

Hearing the word ‘family,’ Choi Han’s mind immediately went back to the image of his liege and
adopted son getting further away with each of his step closer to the castle’s gate; his eyelids
drooped slightly in disheartenment.

“I did. They’re currently in the capital too.” He said; his tone was low and longing. His gaze
unconsciously wandered back to the entrance door. An ‘and they are waiting for me’ trailed behind
his statement, unspoken.

Choi Han’s expression along with his answer threw the royal couple for a loop. The queen, in
particular, felt a strange wave of doubts gradually sweeping away all the conclusions she’d been
gathering. Her experience in life was urging her to flip them all over and search for the hidden
truths beneath those so-called conclusions. Just in a blink of an eye, everything suddenly demanded
a second or third look.

The trio talking to Choi Han didn’t appear surprised though. The old knight put his hand on Choi
Han’s shoulder in a consoling manner as he invited.

“It’s a good thing you were able to reunite with them, isn’t it? How about you taking them to our
house later? We’d like to pay you back for saving us too!”

“… I can’t promise, but I’ll tell them about it.”

As always, his liege should be the one deciding their next stop. Choi Han was more than content to
just stay by Cale’s side wherever the man went. If Cale deemed going to the old knight’s house
was unnecessary, then be it.

The trio nodded understandingly. Before they could say anything else to him, however, a grumpy
voice interrupted their conversation.

“Why! If this isn’t our cool and admirable hero Choi Han? He’s being so friendly with the hyenas
that I almost mistook him for one!”

Turning to the source of the voice, Choi Han saw the golden-haired knight – captain Philo –
hobbling toward him with a sneer. Several minutes dancing with the distracted princess had left
way more damage on his feet than years of battling, it seemed.
Choi Han’s expression stiffened at the captain’s offending attitude toward the people being nice to
him, but then the whispers from the guests caught his ears, and his eyes widened.

“Look! Look! That knight captain is at it again!”

“A street dog picking on a cackle of hyenas. What a fun sight to watch!”

“Aww I wish I could take the young hero away from that mess. Just looking at that lowly maid
approaching him irritates me!”

“Shhh! Not too loud! The Reachazais still hold a duke title. Better not touch them!”

Choi Han hadn’t noticed back then, but apparently there was some beef going on here, and this
beef seemed to have been stewed over quite a long course of time too.

In that case, though the captain’s attitude did not sit right with him, Choi Han decided not to take
the obvious bait.

‘Choi Han. Hurry back.’

Not when Cale’s order was still echoing in his mind, reminding him he still had a pleasant mission
named ‘return’ waiting to be done. This was a mission he could not afford to fail or delay for any
longer than he had to. Therefore, Choi Han refused to let something so trivial hinder his steps
home.

If anything, the lack of response from Choi Han only made the captain tenfold more agitated, and
that was not to mention his mood had already gone through a dramatic drop when those accursed
guests had casually poked at his old wounds. With these reasons serving as ‘perfect’ excuses,
captain Philo set his mouth loose.

“Now, why is our hero ignoring this lowly captain? Is this Philo not worth talking to? Or is it
something else?” And he smirked. “Or is our hero really one of the hyenas? Or could he be a
mongoose? Look, it’s close!”

Loud gasps were heard everywhere inside the hall as the people present couldn’t hide their shocks
at the blatant insult. Even the royal members found themselves wordless.

Choi Han, however, was completely unfazed. It was as though such rudeness, to him, was
weightless.

This nonchalance drove the captain’s exasperation to a new peak. Gritting his teeth, the knight
captain ran his mouth once more.

“Ah, knew it! I must have guessed it right. Then let me guess this one too. That man, that family or
something of our hero I mean, he must be … um … a meerkat?”

There was a pregnant pause, during which the people found their ears deafened with buzzing.

It wasn’t like Choi Han had grabbed the captain’s neck and punched the hell out of him or
something. No, he was still standing still. However, the man’s tightly clenched fists as well as his
expression that had suddenly turned stone-cold told the people he was just barely holding himself
back. Then when the young hero opened his mouth at last, they felt their spines grow cold and their
hair stand on end.

“Take it back!”
For some reason, the young hero’s voice sounded like of someone ready to murder.

“What?”

“What you just said about my family, take it back!”

A cold tension pressed down, and the air shrank like it was being compressed. Everyone, that was,
all the people watching the scene and the knight captain also, felt their breaths ripped apart by the
threatening undertone.

But the captain refused to back down. His provoking finally worked. He absolutely would not let
this rare chance to humiliate this jerk of a hero to slide by that easily.

Or so he thought.

“That’s enough! Captain Philo!”

With a harsh note seldom heard in his normally benign tone, the king effectively stopped the
captain from adding any more fuel to the fire. Captain Philo, who was clenching his fists and
glaring at Choi Han with furious eyes, winced and reluctantly took a step back.

The king then turned towards Choi Han, who had turned into a completely different person within
a heartbeat, and sternly said.

“You too, Choi Han. Calm yourself down!”

His daughter was looking at him with eyes he didn’t want to look back into, but king Jeremy
thought if there were such a dangerous beast inside this young hero, it would be better to put a
control over him when he was still young. He’d missed Choi Han’s early childhood – the most
ideal time – to shape his temper and loyalty, but starting from the teenage years wouldn’t be too
bad.

Well, if only he’d known he was already decades too late to carry out this brilliant plan of his.

“My apologies, your majesty.”

Choi Han apologized, and he simply looked sorry, as though he only felt bad that he was causing a
scene at someone’s birthday party, and his apology had nothing to do with the fact that he was
being berated by a kingdom’s ruler.

In other words, it appeared even a kingdom’s ruler could not frighten him in the slightest.

Nodding his head slowly, King Jeremy wondered if he should laugh. After all, it was this side of
the man that’d gotten his approval on that day when they’d first met.

At the same time, someone was being rather flabbergasted on the inside.

‘He isn’t intimidated at all…?’

Others might not notice, but the queen hadn’t missed the odd note in Choi Han’s response.
Narrowing her eyes, queen Judie recalled her younger time serving in the royal knight brigade. She
had also been fearless like that, not because of her strength but her unwavering loyalty to the Lewis
family.

‘A master … this young hero’s loyalty already belongs to someone?’

Though rather vaguely, an enlightenment was at last dawning on her…

‘N-no way! I’m just being oversensitive.’

… But she refused to acknowledge it.

Meanwhile, Choi Han finally returned to his calm self thanks to the three people from the
Reachazai family cheering him up. The young knight and the maid were really good at that. As
they talked, the entrance door was carefully opened, and two servants entered in an well-trained
manner, trays of drinks held skillfully in their palms.

As for everyone else, in fear of the king’s rage, they had no choice but to tear their eyes from the
scene and submerged themselves in their own conversations. Of course, it was just a pretense. With
their sneaky peeks, they could still see the way princess Janessa was stepping toward Choi Han
with her head raised high and cold eyes contrary to her well-known gentle demeanor. Though she
might seem collected, the princess’s hastened steps and eyes dimmed with displeasure visibly
expressed her not-so-comfortable feeling at the moment.

‘That lowly maid deserves it.’

Most nobles saw the purple-haired young maid as an eyesore because she dared act casually close
around the two knights and the handsome hero, so they were excited to see the second princess put
the maid to her place. A kind person or not, princess Janessa was still a young girl in love – most
likely– for the first time. She probably couldn’t look at another girl nearing and being dubiously
natural around her man as if she’d known him for centuries, and just pretend not to notice.

However, the princess didn’t get to say whatever she intended to say. It was because the man
owning her heart wasn’t laying his eyes on neither her nor the maid. Instead, he had his head turned
away from the both of them as he addressed the king.

“Pardon me for asking, your majesty.”

“… Yes?”

The king, who had been in a dilemma whilst watching his beloved daughter striding toward the
poor maid with a solemn face, almost jumped at Choi Han’s call. Seeing that the young hero
wasn’t so much as batting an eye at the sight of his beautiful daughter approaching him, the king
wondered if this punk was playing dumb and attempting to change the subject in fear of Janessa’s
outrage, but he had to dismiss that thought when he saw the young man’s wary gaze pointed at two
certain servants.

“Is it normal here for the servants to have the strength of a sword master?”

“… What are you talking about?”

Choi Han’s question coming out of the blue successfully threw the king as well as most of the
people present into confusion. Even the two knights standing next to him were giving him
questioning looks.

That didn’t mean no one was able to answer his question though.

“We do need to have the strength to work, but the level of strength these guys possess is way too
high for just some regular servants.”

With a blink too fast to be detected, Choi Han briefly glanced at the purple-haired maid whose
voice he’d just heard.

‘She can feel it too?’

It was odd that this young maid who didn’t seem to be strong at all was able to detect something
even the knights at the ball weren’t able to. However, Choi Han quickly pushed that question aside
to focus on the matter at hand.

“I’m certain that these two servants are as strong as a sword master, your highness.”

“What are you even trying to say? Get straight to the point, will you?”

King Jeremy didn’t like the fact that a maid was grabbing the situation better than him – a king –
and began to grow impatient.

It was then when the confused gape of the royal deputy butler rang in the hall.

“Eh?”

Normally the deputy butler would never dare cut off the king’s sayings even if bribed with a
mountain of gold coins, but for a moment he forgot the basic etiquettes, for he finally noticed
something odd about the two servants in question.

“Aren’t you two still in training? Why are you here? Training servants shouldn’t be allowed in the
great hall!”

The royal servants and royal maids must finish their training before they could serve in big events,
but these two newbies were already serving in the princess’s birthday party. Something smelled
rather fishy.

“I’m sure these drinks were assigned to some people else to bring in. This is strange! The butler
went out and hasn’t come back either!”

With a growing anxiousness coiling in his stomach, the deputy butler forgot the king’s presence
and continuously spouting whatever thoughts that came to his mind.

“You two. Explain!”

King Jeremy ordered, his voice raised high in urgency. He, too, was feeling uneasy with how
things were going.

At the king's stern voice, the two interrogated servants immediately got down on their knees.

“We plead for you mercy, you majesty! The two servants supposed to serve these drinks felt
unwell, and the royal butler was in a hurry, so he asked us to help out. We’re only doing as we
were told.”

“Two servants got sick at the same time?”

“That was what the royal butler told us, your majesty!”

It seemed that these two didn’t know anything and were just doing their jobs as asked by the butler.
Though rare, situations such as this did happen sometimes, so the king nodded and ordered the two
shaking servants to stand up. Seeing so, the guests also breathed out their worries.

However, aside from Choi Han’s group, there was another person whose suspicion had not
lessened one bit.

“It would be best to be extra cautious, your majesty. I suggest we hear from the royal butler before
resuming the banquet.”

Though surely not as strong as Choi Han, the queen was still a knight. She had long learned that a
swordsman’s ability to measure the strength of another individual was nothing to be taken lightly.
If only Choi Han out of all the knights here could detect these servants’ strength, then these two
must be incredibly strong and dangerous.

King Jeremy, who had trained with a pen more than with a sword, couldn’t fully understand what
his queen was thinking of but still decided to listen to her advice.

“Go and find the royal butler!”

“Roger, your majesty!”

Following the king’s order, some of the guards started to move.

The smothering nervousness that hadn’t completely faded quickly returned to the air inside the
great hall. Everyone was hoping the situation would be cleared soon so that the party could
continue.

Unfortunately, their little hope soon crumbled.

“What the-“

“N-no!!!”

With a speed naked eyes could not capture, the two servants split up and ran in two different
directions, sharp daggers shining with dark green lights pulled out from the inner side of their
jackets. It seemed being cornered had led them to give up on their genius acting.

“Protect the king!”

“Protect the princess!”

“Protect the queen!”

The knights and mages urgently shouted and rushed to defend the royal family. However, their
agility appeared to be no match for their opponents’. Before they could get a glimpse of the two
fake servants’ movements, the distances between the fake servants and their targets had narrowed
to only several feet.

“NOOO!!!!”

The loyal vassals screamed desperately amidst the chaos where the guests frantically ran for their
lives. Their king’s life was at stake, but it was too late for them to do anything about it.

Well, it was too late for them, not for a certain man.

“Urghhhh!”

“Urrgh!!”

Two painful groans could be heard among the sea of panicked shrieks, and dark red blood could be
seen splashing all over the place.

The blood was, unsurprisingly, from the two fake servants.

“Wow!!!”

“Is that a sword aura?”

“How fascinating!”

Despite the urgent situation, the people present couldn’t leave without sparing a moment for
themselves to admire the glowing black aura around Choi Han.

Just a few seconds ago, when one of the fake servants was all ready to strike at the king while the
other’s dagger was aimed at the princess, Choi Han, dominant in both speed and strength, stepped
up and blocked the two fearsome attacks at once using his sword and aura.

With a loud thud, the one slashed by Choi Han’s sword fell to the ground, unmoving. Then
suddenly, his body lying at the center of a blood puddle started to change: his skin turned green,
his ears grew pointy, his nails lengthened and sharply punctured his gloves, and his entire frame
became so much bigger it tore the servant suit covering his body.

“Oh my gosh, isn’t that a …”

“Go-, go-, go-“

“A GOBLIN!!!!”

Right after that horrified scream of one of the guests, the already-chaotic hall officially became a
complete mess. Everyone was screaming and pushing each other like possessed as they desperately
searched for a way out.

The only people who didn’t try to escape were Choi Han, his three new fellows, the royal family,
and the vassals loyal to the king.

At some point, captain Philo had successfully led the princess to where the royal couple was, and
now he was holding his ground with the other knights and mages to protect the royal members. It
was a shame, but no teleportation portals had been installed inside the great hall of this castle, so
the entrance door was also the only exit. However, with all those cowards frantically stepping on
each other toward the door, escorting the royal members out unscathed didn’t look like a doable
task right now. But obviously staying in the hall was also an option full of risks, especially when
the remaining assassin had managed to dodge the full blow of Choi Han’s aura and, though injured,
still seemed to have plenty of energy left to fight.

Boom!

A blinding explosion erupted as the assassin’s dark green aura clashed against Choi Han’s glowing
black. Without a sign of warning, the green aura shot up, breaking the ceiling right above the heads
of the royal family and their vassals. Thankfully, no one was severely hurt by the collapsed ceiling
thanks to the shields the mages casted. However, relief didn’t come to them, for they soon noticed
a monstrous figure rising from the ground.

“GRUHHHHH!”

With a deafening roar, the goblin lying dead on the ground abruptly jumped up and stroke at the
three royal members with his claws. Perhaps because he knew he was on the verge of death, the
goblin was determined to muster all the remaining strength of his life into this final strike. Not
wasting a second, the knights immediately circled around the royal members, ready to receive the
full brunt of the deadly attack to protect those three.

In that brief moment, Choi Han belatedly realized the assassins’ intention: the goblin was trying to
force Choi Han to abandon his fight with the remaining fake servant so that the servant could
escape. Based on his rough measurement, none of the knights here was outstandingly strong. Even
captain Philo was only comparable to Bud in terms of strength. If he just let them confront the
goblin’s direct attack by themselves, it would surely result in a dreadful number of casualties.

In all of his plans, Cale had always tried to keep the number of casualties to a minimum.

Having no other choice, Choi Han tore himself from the current fight with the fake servant and
rushed to save the people in danger. By the time he chopped the goblin in halves and confirmed
that everyone was safe, the assassin bastard had already broken one side of the wall and
disappeared from it.

“No, Choi Han, it’s dangerous! Don’t go!”

The princess shouted after Choi Han, who was about to jump through the hole on the wall, in
horror, her face pale blue as though drained out of blood.

It wasn’t clear whether Choi Han had heard her, but his steps didn’t pause for even one beat, and
his large back was everything she and the other people in the hall could see before his figure
vanished from their field of vision.

‘Do I have some unknown affinity with capital terrorism?’

That was all Cale could think of whilst watching the chaos unfolding itself on the gigantic screen
of the West castle’s wall.

After taking over Cale Henituse’s body, he’d found himself with some rather weird affinities. For
instance, he’d pretty much got a zoo in his hand in his previous life thanks to his affinity with
animals. That one was ok because he’d benefited from it a lot, but this one … Just why was it that
every time he visited a royal residence for the first time, he would without fail encounter some
incident like this?

“Yeou~! Omma, appa …, fighting alone! Worried!”

Yeong shakingly tugged Cale’s sleeve and cried out in panic. His golden pupils trembled as he
watched his appa fight two frightening opponents until the very last moment when a debris from
the collapsed ceiling fell on the recording mirror and broke it.

Admittedly, having seen what’d happened, even Cale felt his stoic expression twisted.

<All goblins are born strong. If trained properly, one can reach the level of a sword master within
only three years of training. Some of them can be quite cunning as well. They know how to pick
the right time to counterattack. If you see them, run as quickly as possible.>

Though the goblins were only mentioned in several excerpts, Tina’s adventurer’s guide made it
clear that they were not the kind of creatures normal humans should mess with.
‘But why the hell are they at the banquet?’

Without sound, Cale could only guess the situation. Based on his observation, it seemed Choi Han
had somehow got his heroic ass up against two assassins right at the princess’s party, and assuming
the transformation of the slashed servant hadn’t been a side effect from watching this crappy
screen for so long, then, even with the blurry facial features alone, Cale would still be able to tell
that the servant was actually a goblin.

Most people didn’t seem to notice, but using his recording ability, Cale had been able to carve the
entire sight of chaos on the screen into his mind before the connection had been broken. That was
why he hadn’t missed that last second when the supposedly-dead goblin had risen up all of a
sudden. With his brain working at full throttle, Cale was analyzing the situation at an insane speed
to decide which actions he should take right now.

‘Choi Han was finding a strong opponent who could counter his attacks to some extent. That
goblin was aiming for the group behind Choi Han. There would be two possibilities: one is Choi
Han leaves the goblin to the knights and focuses on his current opponent.’

Should this be the case, Cale would have to drop Yeong off somewhere safe and come to see Choi
Han by himself. Of course a weakling like him shouldn’t get involved in the fight directly, but
some support from afar would do. And even doing so was already a bit out of his character. It just
couldn’t be helped. The one Choi Han was fighting against appeared to be even stronger and more
cunning than the other. Cale was suspicious that that fake servant was also a goblin in disguise. If
the royal knights failed, Choi Han would have to face two powerful goblins at once while trying to
protect the survivors. In that case.

‘He will win, but not without injuries.’

And Cale hated to see his people get hurt.

‘But the second possibility is more likely.’

Knowing Choi Han’s character, Cale highly expected that the man would prioritize saving
innocent people instead, meaning he would pause his current fight and run to defeat the goblin
instead. Cale didn’t have any doubts that his knight would successfully send the goblin to hell this
time. The only problem was the remaining assassin. Would that bastard run for his life or would he
attack Choi Han from behind his back?

‘No, it doesn’t matter.’

Cale concluded that in whichever case, he still had to go and see his knight in person, and should
the need arise he would help him out using his ancient powers. To do that, he and Yeong must first
get out of here. Having either his or Yeong’s powers revealed to the public would only spell
troubles. With that thought, Cale unhesitatingly grabbed Yeong’s hand and said to the child.

“Let’s leave.”

Though still worried, Yeong showed no signs of disobeying. But then he slightly hesitated when
his eyes met the other kids’ he’d played with earlier.

“Omma, them?”

Turning to see not only the children but the grownups were still staying in this dangerous area,
confusedly talking to each other about the scene as though they couldn’t believe it was real, Cale
barely held back a sigh.
“It’s unsafe here. You guys should go home.”

Cale coldly spoke to the kids, one of whom responded to him in a shaking voice.

“B-but my dad works in the castle. My dad, will he be ok?”

Seeing the little girl’s expression, Yeong started and looked up at his godfather nervously. Cale
didn’t look back at the child, but judging from the tightened grip on his hand, he could tell his
godson was worried a great deal for his new friends.

It was troublesome. If the little girl refused to leave, the other kids wouldn’t either, and Yeong
would continue to worry about them.

With a tone still as cold as before, Cale answered the tearful child with whatever coming to his
mind.

“I can’t give you a solid answer. If you want to know, stay safe for now and go see for yourself
later.”

Cale thought those words were quite harsh to say to an anxious child, but he was in a hurry, so he
didn’t mind being seen as heartless as long as the desired results were ensured. What sort of
reputation could a trash like him loose anyway?

Thinking so, he turned away from the group of children, not knowing the way both the children
and the adults were looking at him after hearing what he’d just said.

Seemingly having come to a resolve, the little girl wiped her tears and nodded to her friends. Just
when they scattered and were about to run home, however, one of them bumped into someone,
and, to Cale’s endless annoyance, a stupid fuss ensued before he and Yeong could completely
disappear from the area.

“YOU FUCKING BRAT!! HOW DARE A FILTHY RAT LIKE YOU BUMP INTO THE LEG
OF THIS GREAT NOBLE??”

The coarse yell was, rather unsurprisingly, from the old geezer Famegreeder.

“HIS MAJESTY THE KING IS IN DANGER, BUT YOU COWARD ONLY CARE FOR YOUR
OWN USELESS ASS?”

It would be great if only his mouth were utilized for the purpose of expressing his anger, but no,
his aging limps had to join also.

Violently gripping the boy’s collar, the devious man bared his rotten teeth covered in stinking
saliva at the terrified child. A kick was thrown to the child’s legs, followed by bashes on his back
with the geezer’s cane. The hitting sounds were too audible to be ignored, and the sight of the other
children crying out while trying to yank their friend out of the man’s clutch was the final straw.

“Yeou~!”

Yeong, who was physically fast by nature, appeared in front of the old man in no time and firmly
grabbed him by the wrist. With a groan, the man let go of the cane as every ounce of his strength
was drained out from his grasp.

He still had lots of energy to work his filthy mouth though.

“Urrghh! W-what the fuck is wrong with this kid’s hand? It’s fucking strong! It’s fucking burning
my arm! L-let go of me already, you lowly peasant!!!”

“Shut your mouth!”

And the old man shut his mouth.

He wasn’t the only one.

‘W-what’s this?’

‘I-Why do I feel like I’m just an ant before an elephant?’

‘What’s going on?’

With only half an extent of his Dominating Aura, Cale effectively silenced not just the old geezer
but the whole crowd.

There were several things Cale absolutely would not tolerate. He despised the bastards who used
violence on children. And one just couldn’t insult his people and get away from it. This shitty old
man had committed both. Cale never wished to stand out, but there should be a limit to everything.

“Ah … ah …”

True to his unlikable nature, the old man fell on his butt but still didn’t learn to close his stinking
mouth. However, no matter how much he’d tried, meaningful words failed to come out.

Seeing the man seemingly had gone mindless due to the excessive fear, Cale withdrew his power
and icily said to the kids.

“All of you, go home.”

Having wasted enough time, he turned away without so much as a glance at the damn geezer;
Yeong immediately ran after him.

Unfortunately, he was a second too late.

CRACK! BOOM!!!!

At that moment when a thundering noise shook the air, thousands of debris pieces could be seen
scattering among a huge cloud of dust and snow.

“GET OUTTA THE WAY!”

A coarse voice then pierced the cloud, and a bulky figure soon emerged from the ugly hole on the
wall said figure had just created with, probably, the dark green aura surrounding him.

“Fuck!”

Cale cursed loudly as he subconsciously pulled Yeong behind him, rather annoyed by the strong
wind that caused his hood to fall down and his fully exposed face to be slapped by the cold and
powdered air. However, his loud curse got completely swallowed in the crowd’s terrified screams.
Time kept running as his vision confirmed his suspicion.

‘So he’s really a goblin too! That asshole!’

Cale would have cursed that assassin bastard some more had he got one or two other seconds for
the task. Sadly, facing the titan-like goblin about to strike his daggers and aura on a large scale, he
knew he only had one choice.

BANG!!!!

Another thundering sound slit the air in halves, inflicting an enormous pressure on the eardrums of
the crowd. With their eyes squeezed shut, the people clutched their heads tightly and hopelessly
screamed. However, their screams came out soundless, and their limbs grew numb as though
paralyzed. They could sense that death was knocking their door, and even if they refused to open
the door, it would still stomp in nonetheless.

‘Hm?’

But somehow, a miracle happened.

A silver ray lit up their visions that had long given in to darkness. And when they reopened their
eyes, they saw two beautiful silver wings spreading out above their heads. It was such an
otherworldly sight, and they genuinely thought they had arrived at heaven.

But soon they were brought back to reality.

“URGHH … WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?”

The grumbling coarse voice of the goblin once again broke the peace. The people whose calmness
hadn’t recovered even one bit anxiously moved their eyes to search for the specific spot where the
voice came from. It was then when the true heavenly scene appeared into their view.

“W-wow!”

A deep red cloak fluttering elegantly in the wind.

Bright red hair flying in the cold air like flames that were living.

Long fingers from whose tips stretched out a thin silver thread.

And a silver shield meeting that thread at its end.

‘An angel?’

‘A god?’

‘He’s ethereal.’

Momentarily forgetting the assassin’s presence, the people lost their souls in wonderment at the
sight of the man standing firmly amidst the chaos. He was the same young master who had just
stepped in to save the kids and shown off an aura no one here had ever seen.

But their time of admiration couldn’t last for long as they saw the goblin crawling on the top of the
translucent shield raise his daggers that were solidly covered in the dark green aura. It appeared his
crash against the shield had hurt him quite a bit. The mad goblin had lost his reason and decided to
attack on the shield one more time.

“N-nooo!”

The people shrieked in fear whilst witnessing the dark green daggers stabbed down on the shield.
No one closed their eyes this time, because they doubted they could even move a muscle. But
thanks to that, they didn’t miss a single thing that was happening.

At that exact moment when the daggers hit the shield, the shield contracted by a paper-thin layer.
Then the people saw the red-haired young master sway his body, and they thought that was his
limit.

They thought the shield would break.

But no, it didn’t.

Other than a small crack, the silver shield showed no sign of yielding.

Unfortunately, the crowd had no time to feel relieved, for a painful sound soon reached their ears.

“Urgh … cough!!!”

One drop, two drops, and many more. Blood spilled out and dripped down from the young
master’s mouth like it was meant to. The fluid that spelled both life and death soaked the snow-
covered ground beneath his feet with an eerie black red color.

“Omma!”

“Stay bac- cough cough! And don’t use your powe- urgh cough!”

‘Damn all this blood!’

The young master, Cale, was in a super complicated state of his mind right now. Due to the
goblin’s attack on the shield, he was suffering coughing out the blood. And because of the
coughing, he was having a hard time telling Yeong not to reveal his power. Now that he was
showing off his fancy Indestructible Shield, there was no going back for him, but at least nobody
had found out about Yeong just yet, and he’d love to keep it that way.

It was a good thing Yeong was a good listener, and the idea somehow had gotten across his mind
even with all the coughs in the process of delivering it. The child was worried, but he obeyed Cale
and halted his steps forward. The other kids cried out and hid behind his back whilst the old man
Famegreeder, who had been on his four, desperately raked the snow with his fingers like a mad
man as though trying to dig a hole and escape into it.

That sight of the crazy old merchant certainly disgusted Cale, and the sense of the people’s eyes
focusing on him irked him beyond measure. But what bothered him the most right now was the
wounded goblin outside the half-transparent shield. The asshole was hitting on his shield like he
wouldn’t be able see tomorrow without breaking it.

‘Why can’t he just give up and run? I won’t even chase him if he does that.’

The goblins weren’t exactly known for having a bad temper, but they did have their own vicious
ways to blow off their steam.

‘Damn it, I’ve coughed up the discarded blood, but my body is feeling even worse.’

With the help of his Vitality of Heart, comfort should’ve returned to him by now. However, all he
could feel was pain and dizziness.

He felt like he would loose his consciousness at this instant.

The voices of the super rock and the glutton priestess soon filled his mind with urgent warnings.

Cale! Stop using the shield!

Cale, I’m sorry! I’m working on both the shield and the heart as fast as I can, but the damage
from the final battle is holding me back!

The Vitality of Heart had fused with the Indestructible Shield, and now the glutton priestess was in
charged of it along with the wood power. After the final battle, all five of Cale’s ancient powers
keeping his body balanced had been severed to some degree, and so far only the Fire of
Destruction had been fully restored. In other words, neither the heart nor the shield was working
with their full strength, and pushing them too much would result in his plate getting cracked one
more time.

He would definitely not survive a plate crack with the current state of his body.

‘But I can’t withdraw the shield just yet.’

With a determined expression, Cale lowered one of his arms and felt his power channeled into it.

Shhhhh_

Most lighting devices on the wall had been broken when the goblin had drilled through it, and now
the main light sources were from the silver shield, and also the wicked lights from the goblin’s
dark green aura, which the people weren’t at all grateful for. But then, with a pleasant sound, a
strand of rose gold light was seen emanating from the young master’s palm. The young master,
whose feeble body was so close to collapse on the snow awash with his blood, swung forth his
right arm that was shaking visibly, and the rose gold light shot up like a spear towards the goblin.
The light was so brilliant that the people involuntarily squeezed their eyes.

When they reopened their eyes, the holy shield was gone, and the goblin’s body was seen buried in
a mix of bloody snow and debris. At the same time, the young master limply slumped on the
frozen red puddle of his own.

“Yeou~! Omma!”

Yeong held on to his arm in panic. Cale could feel the air around him turned slightly warmer, but
he didn’t have the strength to comment on that. His ancient powers were also making a fuss in his
head.

The heart!! We need the heart to work faster!

I know! I’m doing my best!
Calm down! Cale’s plate did not break. He’ll be fine.

The super rock’s confirmation calmed both the other ancient powers and Cale down. But then the
Sky Eating Water chimed in, and Cale’s frown deepened.

With the healing ability, our Cale would survive even if he received a full attack from the
goblin, but he put on the shield to protect the people till the end. Our Cale is such a good
person.

Miss water was talking in such a gentle tone different from her normal full-of-swearing style.
Somehow, Cale wished she’d just cursed like she always did. He’d be much less annoyed, really.

‘I am not. I just didn’t know if the weakened Vitality of Heart would be able to save me in time if
my body got wrecked by the goblin’s full blow.’
There was a small possibility that his healing ability would fail him.

‘And the goblin was striking indiscriminatingly too. I don’t care about the others, but Yeong was
right behind me.’

Yeong was his family. Of course he could not watch him get killed and do nothing.

In that case, wouldn’t it be wiser to contract the shield to a smaller size just enough for you
and the fox?

‘…’

With the Sound of the Wind, you and Yeong could even run away right after.

‘…’

There’s no way you didn’t think of that. Just admit you wanted to save all the people here.
It’s not that hard.

Cale was speechless upon hearing the super rock thoroughly counter his words. If his mouth hadn’t
been so full of blood, he would’ve clicked his tongue in annoyance.

It was at that moment when a familiar voice rang by his ears.

“Cale-nim!”

Jumping down from the hole on the wall, Choi Han stepped on the goblin’s head and rushed
toward his liege with a pained expression.

He’d thought Cale and Yeong had already gone back to the inn, and because the inn was only five
blocks away from the West castle, Choi Han had wasted a bit of time double checking it from one
of the windows of the castle. He’d resumed his chasing right when he’d heard the explosive sound,
not in the slightest expecting his family was somehow at the center of it.

“Everyone calm down!”

Coming from afar was a troop led by queen Judie Lewis. With the blood of a knight running in her
veins, she’d refused to just sit back and get protected when her people could be in danger, so she
led a few knights out through the hole the assassin had made and gathered some of the guards on
her way. The rest of the knights had stayed with captain Philo to protect the king and the second
princess.

“Young hero!”

The queen called out as she saw the figure clad in the black leather armor. All of the peasants
collectively flinched and flopped down on their knees upon seeing her. However, the young hero
Choi Han didn’t give the queen so much as a glance. It was as though at this moment, nothing in
this world mattered to him anymore.

Correction. None but one certain person.

‘W-who is that?’

A dozen feet away from the snow-buried goblin was a sickly young man breathing heavily on the
reddened snow. Black blood was trickling from the corners of his mouth down his chin and to the
ground. His body was in such a terrible state, but somehow the queen felt that using the word
‘terrible’ just didn’t feel right.

Something about this man was just too extraordinary to be paired with that word.

“Cale-nim!”

Seeing Choi Han was calling the man’s name and supporting him in a way one would think he’d
done it for a million times, queen Judie realized this must be the family member the young hero
had talked about.

“Take care of the goblin’s body and guide the people to safe areas!”

The queen gave out an order before approaching Choi Han and the man called ‘Cale-nim.’ Choi
Han finally noticed her presence and looked back at her. At that moment, the queen froze at her
spot.

Cold and solemn, the purely sincere eyes the queen thought she knew very well had turned into a
bottomless ocean. But then someone grabbed her foot, and she subconsciously jumped.

“Your majesty … hah … the moon of our kingdom … hah … it is this lowly noble’s pleasure to
meet with you … hah …”

An old man was slithering on the snowy ground with great difficulty whilst trying to hold on to her
foot. His thin lips twisted creepily in an attempt to show off a crooked smile, and his voice was like
the sound of large pieces of ice being broken down.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Some guards immediately pulled the old geezer away from the queen, causing him to start yanking
his arms and yelling angrily.

“Let go of me you filthy guards! This great noble must greet her majesty the queen!! Your majesty,
please listen to this Famegreeder’s simple wish!”

“Famegreeder? Merchant Famegreeder?”

The old man looked so much like a beggar with his disheveled appearance, so the queen hadn’t
recognized him, but she did now.

The old man’s eyes shone upon hearing the queen say his name. He was about to speak his wish to
her when a young voice interrupted him.

“No! Your majesty, please don’t listen to him! He’s a bad person! Mom, he hit me! He’s a bad
guy!”

It was the boy who had bumped into the merchant. The boy’s mom and the other kids’ parents had
finally come, and they were checking on their kids with teary eyes.

Then the other kids also joined him.

“He’s right! That old man hit him just because of a light bump!”

“The pretty young master told us to leave this place to be safe, but we couldn’t because that wicked
old man stopped us!”

Some remaining adults who had witnessed everything also added.

“The kids are right. We saw that too, your majesty. The young master and the little master stepped
in to help the kid! That geezer attacked and insulted the little master!”

“The pretty young master put him to place!”

“Then he also saved all of us from the goblin!”

“The pretty young master, his power was extremely beautiful!”

The queen’s brows furrowed at the way the crowd was addressing the feeble young man, but those
brows quickly stretched away from each other as many realizations dawned on her at the same
time and in so many ways.

Such facial features so striking no darkness could ever hide.

Such eyes so tranquil no fears could ever shake.

And such an aura so elegant no one could ever compare to.

No one. Not even a royalty.

And the queen wondered if even a god had to yield.

Whilst the queen was lost in her thoughts, the old geezer was busy clearing his name with
shameless lies.

“W-what are you saying? Don’t you dare slander this old man! I didn’t do no such things! That
red-haired guy let his kids run carelessly. I only gave them a little bit of scolding!”

“Liar!”

“Yeah! You’re lying!”

“You rascals, shut u- urgh!!”

The old geezer who was telling the children to shut up ended up being the one who had to shut his
mouth. It was because even if he tried to yell his throat out, no sound could possibly be formed
when his throat was being painfully choked by Choi Han’s jet black aura.

‘W-what’s that?’

‘A sword aura?’

The people wondered, but none of them dared make a sound. The armored knight choking the old
geezer was wearing an expression that said ‘come near me or my liege, and you’re dead.’

Even the queen found herself pressured by his rage. The one at the ball was nothing compared to
this. Still, as a queen, she had to be responsible towards her people, even to the obnoxious ones
such as this old man. Though this old man had committed a crime, there should still be a trial for
him before his punishments could be decided.

“Young hero, please calm down!”

The queen was showing a polite attitude, but her tone was stern, if not even intimidating. However,
Choi Han didn’t even budge. Just like how the king’s reprimand could not fear him, the queen’s
words, to him, meant nothing.
As the situation was getting worse, the queen had no choice but to order the knights to stop Choi
Han. But just when she was about to do that, the red-haired young master put his hand on the
young hero’s shoulder and spoke tiredly.

“Choi Han. Calm down.”

His voice was hoarse and faint after coughing and throwing up blood, and it sounded like it held no
strength. But, to the queen’s utter disbelief, the young master’s words worked like magic.

“Huff … huff …”

The black aura returned to Choi Han at that instant, and the old man fell down, writhing on the
ground like a dying worm. The guards immediately took him away following the queen’s
command.

Meanwhile, Choi Han, who could not care less about the damned geezer’s condition, turned
towards his precious liege and gently said.

“I’m sorry, Cale-nim.”

And the queen felt as though cold water had washed over her, rinsing her eyes clearer than ever.
She doubted the royal knights who had been present in the great hall noticed it, but she could see
that the difference between Choi Han’s apology to the king and this apology was as plain as day.

Unlike the one the king had received, this apology gave off the pure and absolute respect that a
knight would show to his liege, and no one else.

But if only respect were the only thing found in his statement.

‘Wait, is that … n-no way, but-‘

In her whole life, queen Judie had met all sorts of people. She’d long learned how to read their
emotions, subtle or not. But perhaps years of sitting on the queen’s throne had dulled her
sharpness. Just how had she not seen through this blatant truth?

“Cough. Cough.”

Two painful coughs emerged, and the queen startled. The young master’s condition didn’t look
good. She was worried he’d not be able to make it.

The truth was that, Cale was actually feeling pretty good right now after those two coughs. Though
slower than before, the Vitality of Heart had done its job properly. The unbearable hunger and
sleepiness Cale was feeling served as proofs. If he could have a choice, Cale would love to eat
first. He didn’t want to go to sleep with an empty stomach. Unfortunately, his body decided that
such an option was too fancy for him and one-sidedly dismissed it. It was when he felt a heavy
darkness engulf him from head to toes. Then his body fell forward, and he knew no more.

“Cale-nim!”

Choi Han skillfully caught the falling Cale with his arms. With just one neat movement, he picked
the shorter man up and held him gently against his chest. As his gaze moved down, the image of
the peacefully sleeping Cale entered his vision, and Choi Han wished he could remove all those
dark red stains that spoke more loudly than anything of the pains his liege had been through.

And that wasn’t all. They also spoke of his own uselessness, of his incompetence as Cale’s knight,
for he’d failed miserably to protect him – the most precious person and the only reason Choi Han
still hadn’t gone insane after all those tragedies buried deep inside his memory vault.

Lowering his head slightly, raising his right arm a little more, Choi Han carefully laid a soft kiss on
Cale’s forehead. The kiss was very light, and if one blinked their eyes in that brief second, they
would very likely miss it. But to those who didn’t miss it, they could only stand still and let
themselves be mesmerized by this beautiful yet emotional scene unfolding in front of their eyes.

Ignoring all the gazes, Choi Han beckoned to Yeong and began to walk away with Cale naturally in
his firm arms. He didn’t even spare a moment to bid farewell to the queen. However, the queen’s
majestic voice rang in, and Choi Han’s steps stopped. It was because she was offering something
helpful for his liege’s recovery.

“Take him to the palace! We’ll provide him with the best treatments possible.”

Though rather reluctantly, Choi Han nodded.

“-uman!”

‘Hm?’

“Sniffle! Human! Please wake up!”

‘…’

“Nya! He’s fainted for so long this time.”

‘…’

“My noona is right. He’s fainted for so long, nya.”

‘I see. I must be dreaming.’

Cale thought that as he slowly opened his eyes. A long time ago, hearing these voices in his dream
had meant he was about to gain back his conscious. Now though, the situation was completely
reversed.

“H-human!!!!”

“Meowww!”

“Meowwww!”

The moment Cale ‘woke up,’ a tearful dragon and two cats closely surrounded his face. They
jumped on him and stuffed his mouth with slices of apple pie whose taste came to his senses in
form of memories. And Cale didn’t really know if he was smiling the way he wanted, since the
stuffs in dreams were always rather vague, but the three children did smile cheerfully at him in
return.

‘This is really just a dream huh.’

It was just a dream because there was no feeling of touch even when he patted the children’s heads
with his hand. When he turned to the side, many people he hadn’t seen since forever were inside
the room, and they spoke the lines he’d heard them speak before.
And they were all smiling at him.

And that hurt, kind of.

‘Guess it’s time to wake up.’

He was never good at dealing with pain anyway.

‘I’ll just close my eyes and reopen the-‘

CRACK! KENG!

“Ouch!”

‘Ouch?’

Opening his eyes with a jolt, Cale returned to his reality, and a rather unexpected one at that.

“Omma!”

“He woke up! Yay!”

Exclaiming excitedly from one side of his bed were Yeong and the little girl from his friend group,
but the additional presence of the girl wasn’t what concerned him now.

“Where?”

Cale uttered in confusion. He was sure his room at the inn didn’t at all look like this. It should be
much smaller, and there shouldn’t be this much furniture. And why did everything here have such
extravagant appearances? They gave off the feeling of a noble’s chamber.

‘Wait, don’t tell me …’

“Yeong! Where’s Choi Han?”

Cale asked Yeong with a hasty note in his voice. He’d forgotten to use Korean, but the child
seemed to have picked up enough vocabulary of this world’s language to understand what he’d
said. His golden pupils shone as he was about to respond to Cale, but a voice chimed in from out of
nowhere and beat him to it.

“Your knight will be right back with you, young master-nim!”

Instantly sitting himself up, Cale frowned as he observed the person owning the voice in question.

Clad in a maid outfit, a purple-haired girl around the age of a high schooler was flat-sitting on the
floor, her hands busy threading a rod through the large holes of a beige velvet curtain. When the
girl met Cale’s gaze, she smiled sheepishly before quickly standing up.

“Forgive this maid for interrupting your rest, young master-nim. My name is Agnes Greta. I’ll be
your personal maid servant for the time you stay here at the royal palace.”

The maid, Agnes, slightly bowed down in the posture of a curtsey, but compared to Mae’s curtsey,
this girl’s looked a little clumsy as though she was years behind Mae in practice. As she talked, two
canine teeth in her mouth could be visibly seen, as sharp as the fangs of some predator. Her skin
was tanned, and her two big pigtails were quite disheveled, if not even out of place. Her appearance
was rather wild for a royal maid.
However, Cale didn’t have the heart to think any more about those small details. His mind had
almost stopped functioning the moment he’d heard two certain words.

‘Royal palace? This place is inside the palace?’

Cale remembered falling into Choi Han’s arms during those last seconds before he’d lost his
consciousness. Had Choi Han not brought him back to the inn after all? And also, where was the
man now exactly?

Wasn’t it strange that Choi Han didn’t guard by Cale’s bed this time like he always did?

“Where’s Choi Han now?”

Not beating around the bush, Cale asked the maid the same question he’d asked Yeong. He needed
to get a grab of the situation now.

“No need to worry, young master-nim! Sir Choi Han had been with you ever since last night when
he’d brought you here. He only left not long ago to take care of a few things at the inn you stayed
at. I think he already returned and is now in the kitchen to prepare some stuffs.”

The maid cheerfully answered him whilst carefully placing the curtain back on the window,
blocking some of the blazingly red rays from the outside of the room as the sun slowly set.

“But really, your knight is so protective of you, young master-nim. I had to resort to a blood vow
just so that he would entrust you to me for a bit.”

And Agnes raised her bandaged thumb up for Cale to see as if proving. Cale’s eyes narrowed
slightly at the sight, but he said nothing.

“Hey Yeong, let’s go tell your appa that the pretty young master is up!”

The little girl energetically suggested, and Yeong turned towards Cale with eyes that seemed to be
asking for permission. Cale simply nodded at him and looked after them as the pair happily
skipped out of the door.

“Her dad works as an assistant in the West castle’s kitchen. Most of us the staffs have to
temporarily move from that castle to the palace or other castles during the time of investigation.”

The maid explained thoroughly without being told as if she deemed it was also her job. Cale
thought it was nice to have a well-informed person narrating whatever he’d missed, so he decided
to inquire her further.

“Why did I end up inside the palace?”

But he soon had to regret asking that question.

“Why, sir! Of course you should be welcome to the palace! You’re the hero who saved the
kingdom's citizens from an evil goblin after all!”

If Cale felt like a lightning had struck down on him, he refused to express the feeling to the surface.

“I am not a hero.”

Even Cale was amazed at the level of self-control he possessed, for he was miraculously able to
hold back the screaming in his mind at this moment. But perhaps his tone still sounded a little hard,
causing the maid to blink before she nodded as if agreeing.
“That’s right, young master-nim. I and many others don’t see you as a hero.”

“Really? Good!”

For the first time in a long time, Cale smiled a smile that was truly delightful, if not even a bit
childish. He reckoned he’d need to thank the God of Death the next time they met. Intentionally or
not, the god had sent him to this world where people certainly had common sense. Really, who
would praise a trash as their hero just because that trash conveniently saved them in the process of
saving himself anyway?

‘Yes, yes, the people here are walking in the right direction. They certainl-‘

“Instead of a hero, the title of a god would suit you much better, young master-nim.”

And Cale’s mind froze at that instant. He thought if there were a magic to unhear what one’d
heard, he would definitely learn it. With tremendous difficulty, Cale parted his lips and uttered one
single word.

“Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why,’ young master-nim? Your spectacular power is something no one in this
world has ever seen. For someone who possesses such a peculiar power, you must be a god or at
least someone who has received the will of gods!”

When Cale met the God of Death again, that god would never hear the end of it.

“I’m not a god either. I’m just a trash. My only dream is to live as a slacker, and nothing else.”

“Very funny, young master-nim!”

Agnes waved her hand and laughed like what he’d so passionately said to her was the funniest joke
she’d ever heard, but the moment her laughter stopped, something in the air suddenly changed.

“But I heard, sir, that the divine being in the Cave of Lights had been released recently, and he is
said to be beautiful and with a knight as well.”

Then the maid went quiet. She looked straight into Cale’s reddish-brown eyes with her own
amethyst orbs. A deafening silence engulfed the air before Cale casually broke it, his voice as
nonchalant as ever.

“Really? That must be quite a topic for the myth enthusiasts.”

“You’re not interested, young master-nim?”

“Why should I? My only concern is how to achieve my slacker life as quickly as possible.”

“Pfft”

Agnes covered her mouth in that brief second as though to suppress her laugh. She then bowed
down in a more respectful manner than before and excused herself.

“Then I will take my leave, young master-nim. If you need anything, please just call for me. I’ll be
with you shortly.”

At the moment she opened the door, Choi Han was also striding into the chamber. Their eyes met,
and though the maid only bowed and smiled, Cale was certain some strange tension rose. There
wasn’t anything like disliking or hatred though. Choi Han was simply wary, and Cale understood
why he’d felt that way.

The royal had sent him quite an interesting maid, it seemed.

“Cale-nim.”

Choi Han called him then, and he looked up. The knight had taken off his fancy leather armor and
was wearing his usual attires, a silver food tray in his hands.

“Where’s Yeong?”

“He’s staying with the little girl for dinner in the kitchen.”

Cale nodded. Yeong was doing very well and enjoying his new life. It was a good thing.

“What’s in here?”

Cale inquired as he knocked on the silver dome covering the tray. From the look of it, inside it was
probably his dinner.

Choi Han didn’t speak his response and only smiled warmly as he carefully removed the dome and
bowed to Cale in a style mimicking a butler’s bow.

“Happy birthday, Cale-nim.”

“Hah!”

Cale was speechless, but not because of Choi Han’s butler bow. Well, maybe a bit of that too, but
not much. Not because of the birthday wish either; he knew well what day today was. What truly
baffled him was the teacup occupying quite a space on the tray.

‘… This scent … this color … don’t tell me …’

Light brown in color and sourly bitter in scent, the liquid in that cup was undoubtedly …

“It’s lemon tea, Cale-nim. It’s been so long since you last had one.”

Choi Han confirmed the suspicion that Cale so dearly wished he’d been wrong about. Outside the
chamber, the bright red sun was gradually dying down behind the far-off mountains, and Cale
thought he might as well join it and just disappear.

‘Look, Ron, it’s your legacy.’

Thanks to Ron, everyone around him in his previous life had somehow believed that Cale’s
favorite drink was lemon tea like it was a matter of fact.

‘But I won’t let it happen this time.’

In this world, Choi Han was the only one having said belief, so all Cale had to do was to correct
him. Choi Han was different from Ron. He would understand and-

“Today is your birthday, Cale-nim, so I especially made the tea for you myself. I asked the chefs
for some tips, so I’m sure it won’t be so bad.”

“…”
“… Of course it’s alright if you don’t want to drink it …”

‘Sigh.’

Cale mentally sighed as he looked at his knight embarrassedly scratching his head whilst forcing
an awkward smile on his face as though trying to hide the disappointment in his heart. And was
Cale hallucinating? Since when had Choi Han grown puppy ears and tail? And why the hell were
they drooping so pitifully like he was a scolded pup?

‘Urgh, dang it!’

Klack.

Refraining himself from grimacing at the bitter smell, Cale picked up the teacup and gulped half of
the liquid down his throat.

It was then when his slightly wrinkled forehead gradually relaxed.

‘Hm? It’s not bad?’

The tea was still bitter and sour, but those two accursed tastes seemed to be weakened thanks to the
overwhelming sweetness.

“It’s good.”

Cale commented out loud, prompting the knight’s smile to broaden. And were the ears and tail
actually some props? They were literally twitching and waggling excitedly as if real.

'At least he has the talent to make good lemon tea.'

It was possible that Choi Han's incapability of adding the right level of ingredients when it came to
cooking had something to do with this unexpected result. Regardless, for making this sort of
beverage so enjoyable, he deserved a praise.

“I don’t believe you also made this?”

Cale pointed at the apple pie on the tray doubtfully. Scratching his head sheepishly, Choi Han
nodded as he sat down on the edge of Cale's bed.

“This was made by the little girl’s dad. He wanted to repay you for saving his daughter.”

“It’s delicious.”

Though not at the level of Beacrox’s food, this pie still certainly had its own charm, and the apple
was especially pleasant to the taste.

Choi Han observed his liege eating with a satisfied expression and calmly asked.

“Cale-nim, do you want me to report to you about what happened?”

“Go on.”

“Yes, Cale-nim.”

And so Choi Han told Cale everything he knew about the failed assassination at the banquet.
Apparently, after the poisoning incident that had put the crown princess to the coma state one year
ago, the security at the royal palace had been enhanced. They’d also stopped recruiting any more
servants since then, and the most recent recruiting event had been conducted just a week ago. All
the new servants had been examined for their identities before they’d been recruited, but a carriage
accident had been reported to happen to two of the servants in training on their way to the capital.
Their driver was dead, but the two had survived and safely arrived at the palace. Based on the early
results of the royal investigation team, the bodies of the two actual new servants had been found in
the forest not far from the site of the accident. It seemed the goblins had killed them, disguised
themselves as normal humans with some special devices, taken their victim's identities, and
infiltrated the West castle. The butler and two other servants in training had also been killed by the
goblins as they’d attempted to enter the banquet. Since both assassins were dead, the royal was
having problems identifying their real purpose, but it was suspected that the people behind this
could be the same ones who’d tried to assassinate princess Julianna last year.

Cale listened to Choi Han’s report with a pensive expression. There seemed to be much more
things going on in this Mythic Kingdom than met the eyes.

“Those two goblins must be much stronger than the bandit goblins you encountered.”

Choi Han firmly nodded, his eyes solemn.

“Yes. The goblins from the group of bandits were not exactly weak, but they were nothing
compared to those two.”

Cale took a slice of apple pie and brought it to his mouth as he nonchalantly asked.

“Did you get hurt?”

Widening his eyes slightly at the concerned question, Choi Han found himself smiling.

“A little. But I drank some potions, so now I’m fine.”

The church they’d stayed in had given him and Cale a bunch of potions. When else would Choi
Han use them if not now?

“Good.” And Cale paused for a bit. “Have you eaten?”

“I’ll eat later.”

Cale frowned at his knight’s answer, but he supposed the man would be able to care for himself
and simply continued munching on his piece of pie.

Choi Han silently watched his liege for a moment. Then he ducked his head low and said.

“I’m sorry, Cale-nim.”

Cale, who was still frowning, slightly moved up his gaze and looked at Choi Han with a face that
asked ‘what the hell are you apologizing for?.’ Choi Han, who was still keeping his head low,
didn’t see that.

“I promised you I’d protect you, but I ended up dragging you into this. If only I had just ignored
the princess’s invitation. If only I hadn’t left you behi- mm”

Choi Han’s rant that was getting more and more out of control abruptly came to a halt. Looking
down, he could see a slice of apple pie sloppily stuffed into his mouth. The other end of the slice
was being held by the flawless, slender fingers.
“Al im, is?” (Cale-nim, this?)

“Don’t talk when your mouth is full of food.”

“Ut-“ (But-)

“I said stop talking. And eat it. It’s good.” And there was a gentle smile blooming on the usually
stoic face. “Today is your birthday too, isn’t it?”

Even years later, Choi Han would still have no clue how he was able to stay alive after facing that
beautiful smile at such a close distance. But at this moment, he somehow could still move his jaws
and force them down on the slice. The juice flowed in and softened every corners of his mouth
with its flavor.

There was still a bit of the slice not eaten, and Cale was still holding it, expecting the man to finish.

“It’s full of your saliva now.”

Cale was saying so, but rather than annoyed, he seemed pleased with it.

Not wanting his liege to wait for any longer, Choi Han leaned forward, trying to take the whole
piece into his mouth in one go. It wasn’t much, but when his mouth closed, his lips did brush by
the tips of Cale’s fingers. The time was within a second, too fast to be noticed. And yet their
eyelids both fluttered at that certain moment, and then they had them fully retracted; their gazes
soon intertwined.

Suddenly, the chamber fell into a quiet state.

Cale wordlessly watched Choi Han slowly chewing and swallowing the piece of pie, deliberately
noting the way his Adam’s apple slid up and down every time the man gulped. Ever since the light
touch against the other man’s lips, the tingling sensation lingering on his fingers hadn’t at all
abated, but already a heating impulse arose in the tips of those, and Cale almost felt like reaching
his hand out for, well, whatever, because he just didn’t like to specify.

At the same time, Choi Han swallowed the last piece of his food; the mellow taste of the apple pie
still lingered at the back of his tongue, sweetening all five of his senses as he looked into his
liege’s eyes, ones that, albeit just for the time being, had him and only him inside.

“Heh.”

“What’s so funny?”

Cale asked Choi Han who had broken the silence with his chuckle, wondering if the man was
overjoyed just by tasting the food he’d brought in. Choi Han’s answer, however, was completely
different.

“This brought back the memories.”

“Memories?”

Cale tilted his head slightly. He thought Choi Han was talking about his time in the Birth of a Hero
world, but the man quickly elaborated as though he could see the question in Cale’s gaze.

“My memories on Earth before I was transported.”

“Oh.”
Nodding in understanding, Cale didn’t think much as he took another sip of his lemon tea and
inquired nonchalantly.

“What do they have to do with any of these?”

Had Choi Han also been gifted apple pie and lemon tea on his birthday?

Again, Choi Han’s answer turned out different from Cale’s thought.

“It’s a little embarrassing, but even as a high schooler, I still had a habit of hovering around the
kitchen while my mom was preparing meals for the family. My mom would then have to feed me
with something in order to shoo me out.”

‘For real?’

Cale couldn’t help but question his ears at what Choi Han had just revealed. Perhaps because his
first impression of the knight was from a novel in which Choi Han was a hero of absolute justice
and righteousness, he’d always thought the man must have been a model son back when he’d still
been with his family, so it’d come by a surprise to know this man could also be quite mischievous
as a teenager.

As though reminded that Cale didn’t seem to like the childish type, Choi Han sheepishly waved his
arms as if trying to refute his own statements.

“It was just a playful habit. My mom and I both considered it a mother-and-son thing, and we both
enjoyed and cherished those moments.”

“I see.”

Contrary to his stoic expression, Cale was actually immersed in deep thoughts. He’d always
thought of just how unlucky of a bastard Choi Han was. The man could have spent his past
decades together with his family, but out of nowhere a god had had him thrown to a hellish place in
another world, and he’d been through all kinds of hardships ever since. Now that he’d learned of
another Choi Han, one who could act all bratty and childish around his mother, Cale realized just
how little he’d actually known about his knight.

“What else?”

“Pardon me?”

“What else did Choi Han the brat demand from his mother?”

Choi Han blinked at Cale’s question and began to looked up at the ceiling as if recollecting his
memories, his right index finger lightly scratching the area near the corner of his embarrassedly
smiling mouth.

“Well, that’s pretty much all I did as a high schooler, but I remembered my mom also let me put
my head on her laps to sleep when I was still in elementary.”

“What a spoiled kid you were.”

Cale remarked with a playful sneer. Somehow, it felt nice learning about the new side of this old
man.

The atmosphere remained comfortable like that until Choi Han slowly lowered his gaze down. Cale
followed his gaze, and he believed Choi Han himself didn’t think much as he did so. He thought it
must be just a coincidence that before they were steered away hastily, the man’s eyes had lingered
on Cale’s lap for one or two beats longer. It was also just a coincidence that Cale was wearing a
nightgown without a trouser, and only a coincidence could explain why the lower half of his thighs
were being so brightly exposed. The sun had completely gone down the hills, and the moon was
rather waning tonight, and they didn’t even bother to turn on the lamps. Even so, miraculously,
every part of those pale thighs was still reflected on Choi Han’s eyes with glints and dazzling
lights.

As though too tired of the silence, Cale thoughtlessly blurted.

“… It won’t be as comfortable.”

That was probably the most random thing he’d ever said. Despite that, Choi Han still nodded in
understanding, his silent eyes serving as a sign that he was still listening.

“But if you want.”

He had no intention to specify what exactly was wanted.

“Only today though.”

Because today was a special day, of course.

As soon as Cale put a period to his sentence, the room rolled back to its silent state. Choi Han kept
sitting still without a clear expression as though his brain was busy working on some crucial
process. Awkwardness began to ooze out all over the air, to the point Cale started to think the
bastard staring wordlessly at him right now was actually demanding a few slaps.

Just when Cale was so ready to kindly grant that wish presumed to be true, Choi Han started to
move.

With a gentle movement, Choi Han leaned forward and flopped down before Cale, his head resting
on Cale’s pair of lap as his arms loosely encircled the lower part of Cale’s waist. Then, he closed
his eyes and took a deep breath. A refreshing scent akin to the scent of forest dew at the crack of
dawn filled up his nose. At some point, this particular scent had become Choi Han’s favorite.

In the quietness of the night, time flew by and took the loud awkwardness along with it. Perhaps
that was why Choi Han thought it should be fine to snuggle a bit closer, which turned out to be
right considering there was no response from Cale save for a slight startle. For a long time, they
stayed in that position without a budge. From outside the window, the dim light of the moon was
stealthily embracing them, not wanting to interrupt their intimate moment.

With his face buried and the absence of talking, Choi Han appeared so at ease it almost looked like
he was sleeping, but then, all of a sudden, his low voice could be vaguely heard as he called his
liege’s name.

“Cale-nim.”

Cale’d never heard Choi Han talk in such a sleepy tone.

“… What is it?”

“Happy birthday.”
 “Hah.”

‘I guess this is also one of those hidden charms of his?’

A character known from a book and that person in real life were forever different. One couldn’t
just read about someone else and boast that he already knew him inside out. It was the same for
Choi Han. The novel told his story with thousands of words, yet everything in there could only
touch the surface of his true self.

‘And all the things he has been through.’

All of Choi Han’s sufferings Cale’d read, they were probably just a small drop in the deep ocean.

Staring back at the black head whose breaths could be felt through the fabric of his nightgown,
Cale somehow felt a bit sorry. After all, Choi Han was just an unlucky bastard whose peaceful life
had been stolen for that stupid reason called ‘the greater good.’ Had it not been for that incident, he
would have most likely been with his family for a much longer time and celebrating his every new
age with happy laughter.

With that thought in mind, Cale lifted his hand and casually run his fingers through the black hair
strands, feeling the tingled fingertips softened the more he did.

For a split second, Choi Han nearly opened his eyes at the sudden touches, but he refrained himself
just in time and stayed unmoving as he felt the long fingers touch his soul and gently sooth it.

It wasn’t a song, but Cale’s fingers were combing his hair like they moved in an enchanting
rhythm. It was as peaceful as one belonging to a lullaby, and this lullaby was written for Choi Han,
and only him.

While ‘listening’ to it, Choi Han felt as though he could finally fall into sleep, one that was no
longer shallow nor filled with monsters.

Just before his conscious thoughts faded away, a quiet voice echoed by Choi Han’s ears, as
comforting as lyrics of a song.

“Happy birthday, Choi Han.”

The sunshine had gone, and the moon was still dim and waned, but in Choi Han’s dream tonight,
the world was certainly shining the brightest.

End Chapter 10

Chapter End Notes

(*) From chapter 1 of this fic.

Since the holidays officially left me, my writing time is much more limited now, so
I'm sorry if the waits between the future chapters will be long. Also, because
something in the future chapters might be related to a certain detail in the novel, I'm
thinking I should wait until our author-nim reveals it in the novel at least. If it doesn't
go as I think it will, I probably will just (continue to) make things up. :v

Also, really wanted to post this chapter on Nov. 8th, but ...
 Chapter 11
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

I noticed that I'd made quite a number of grammar/word choice mistakes in the last
chapter. I am really sorry for that. I hope this chapter will be better.

*Straightens posture*
Ahem, I also would love to give my biggest thanks to Fate-nim and carnationsharks-
nim for their gorgeous arts.
Thank you so so much! Your arts are so beautiful. I'm really grateful for them. ❤️

carnationsharks-nim's beautiful ChoiCale art:

https://twitter.com/kr_3plus/status/1360793720799461378?s=21

Fate-nim's beautiful art of our beloved Cale-nim:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/811521348761026561/811526643453263872/finalrecord.jpg

See the end of the chapter for more notes

With Cale's 'lullaby' soothing his old soul, for the first time in a long time, Choi Han felt like
having a true sleep. However, sadly yet unsurprisingly, blessed moments such as this just didn’t
seem to be very fond of him.

The first one was a healer. He came to check on Cale’s condition and deliver regards from the king,
who was totally up to his neck in work at the moment after the incident in the West castle. Then
two knights, one old and the other much younger, paid Cale a visit since they’d heard he’d
regained consciousness. After that, Agnes joined the two as she came to clean up the food tray.
And lastly, Yeong and his friend returned and played in the chamber until the little girl’s father had
to drag her out.

Eventually, when it was finally bedtime, Choi Han just smiled and went to stand sentinel at the
door, attentively watching Yeong, who was down for the count after all the playing, and Cale, who
was giving him a pointed look that seemed to ask what the hell he was doing over there.

“Guarding you is my way of resting, Cale-nim.”

That was his response to his liege’s silent question.

It wasn’t clear whether Choi Han had spent that whole night standing at the door, but the next
morning, he was seen with quite an intricate expression, one that was certainly refreshed and full of
energy, as though his body had thoroughly rested, but at the same time was also suspiciously
flustered and momentarily absentminded, as if his mind was too occupied with certain images he
forever wished to monopolize.
If the servants and some other staffs in the palace noticed anything, they only smiled and nodded
meaningfully with each other behind his back.

“It’s almost time. Young master Cale-nim, sir Choi Han, little master Yeong, please follow me!”

Agnes emotionally said to Cale, Choi Han, and Yeong as she stood at the door to their chamber,
patiently waiting for them to get ready with a smile a mother would lovingly give to her children.

This maid had been acting odd ever since this morning, when she’d arrived to wake them up for
breakfast. She had made sure to knock the door and certainly entered the chamber very calmly and
politely. Then, her amethyst eyes had casually landed on a certain scene on the bed, and the owner
of those eyes had stood like stunned for a good one hundred and two seconds; Yeong had counted.
When Agnes had finally seemed to get back her soul, she’d started to mumble strange stuff like ‘so
I was fucking right’ and ‘yes, I won the bet.’ From that moment on, she’d refused to take this
creepy smile off her face and served the family the way one would think she’d lost her marble:
breaking the curtain rod as she’d tried to open the window, shattering the teapot by laying it gently
on the tray, and so on.

Through the conversation with the knights yesterday, Cale had learned that this maid often only
caused a mess when she became too excited, but he just couldn’t figure out what sort of thing was
exciting her so much. And not just her, some other servants interacting with them for a long enough
time were also showing similar attitudes. It was as if they’d got themselves infected with some
weird disease whose symptoms included such displays of abnormal behaviors.

‘Choi Han was right. The people of the royal household all have something wrong in their heads.’

In Choi Han’s report about his first time meeting the royal group, the man had hesitantly added
that there’d been something definitely not normal about these people. Cale could see now that it
wasn’t an exaggerated comment. (1)

‘At least the royal family should be more sensible.’

Cale thought hopefully as he unconsciously raised his hand to rub his temple, legs moving
unhurriedly following the maid.

This morning, some members of the royal investigation team had been sent to Cale’s chamber,
which was to be expected.

Magic and swordsmanship were well-known in this world, but ancient powers weren’t. No mages
could create a shield with the holy appearance and the scope of strength like of the Indestructible
Shield. Moreover, suppose the shield had been made from magic, the royal mages would have
immediately sensed an enormous amount of mana being manipulated at the site of the incident.
And it wasn’t like Cale could say the rose-gold spear had been his aura. He was no sword master;
any well-trained knights could easily conclude that his body was too weak to even hold a sword
properly, let alone form sword aura. Since this world didn’t have ancient powers, the closest
explanation the people could come up with was that Cale had received the power through the wills
of gods, or the gift of gods for short. Cale hadn’t got time to do a thorough research on the
continent’s history, but with a few glimpses of the information from Tina’s book, he could tell this
was some sort of a long-lost power, only remaining in several royal lineages.

It was annoying, but Cale had no choice but to play along with them for now. After all, saying he
had inherited the gods’ wills would lead to much less troubles than saying he was a transmigrator
having escaped from another world. Had it been the latter case, he would have been sent to an
asylum by now.

‘The Reachazais have been a big help.’

The world was small, for it’d turned out the old knight visiting Cale was Zac Reachazai, the father
of Duchess Zara Reachazai, the current lord of the Reachazai territory in the Northwestern region.
After Choi Han had freed Cale from his seal, he’d brought Cale to a church there, and Duchess
Zara had been the one issuing Cale’s ID. Zac, who had said he owed his life to Choi Han, had
happily offered to help create a solid background for Cale, making him an orphan having grown up
in a church and all.

Things had become much easier thanks to that, and Cale always enjoyed it when someone else took
care of the jobs for him.

There was just one thing.

Zac and the younger knight, who was his disciple, having known the behind the scenes of Cale’s
mysterious advent into this world from the Duchess, who had actually only heard of it from the
three adventurers, had treated Cale the way they would treat a lord, or even worse, a deity,
throughout their visit. Even after they’d left, goosebumps had still remained on Cale’s skin for
several hours longer.

Their religious belief sure was no joke.

‘If only I could just act like a trash and get away from all this.’

That was indeed an option, and Cale had seriously considered going with it. But then, he’d changed
his mind eventually, and the reason for this change had presented itself in the form of certain types
of metal, whose mention had lit up the king’s boring message delivered to Cale by his servant, who
had come to the chamber not long after the investigation team had taken their leave.

The message had been unnecessarily long with all the ceremonious applauds from the king, but
basically it just listed out what the king had planned to award Cale and Choi Han for their heroic
deeds and asked if they needed anything else. Cale had crossed out almost all the enumerated
rewards, including a medal and a noble title, which would only add obstacles to his already-
arduous path to a peaceful slacker life. The only two things he’d accepted were gold coins and
silver coins. And he would’ve happily taken copper coins and valuable jewels too had any of them
been offered. Choi Han’s list was nearly identical with Cale’s, and, to his surprise, the knight had
made just the same decision Cale’d made.

Though Cale hadn’t felt the need to ask, Choi Han had willingly shared his new perception with
him.

“I am an appa now.” And he’d paused, as though wishing to add another role to himself but for
some reason couldn’t. Instead, he’d just scratched his head and sheepishly said. “You’ve always
been the one who puts bread on our table. I want to share that burden with you, Cale-nim.”

In his response, Cale had simply nodded at him. The richer their family, the better.

However, he reckoned their answers had piqued the king’s curiosity, because a few hours later, the
servant had come to their chamber again, presenting them a formal invitation to join the royal
family for today’s dinner.

‘If I act recklessly, my money could be in danger.’

Cale hadn’t met the king yet, so of how much calculating the king might be, he could only make an
estimation that could be inaccurate. But taking from Choi Han’s report and the way the public saw
him, at least one thing was certain: Jeremy Lewis belonged to the full of honor and dignity type of
royalty. In that case, showing him his trashy self, in regard to his reward, would do more harm than
good. That was why, as much as he would love to, Cale couldn’t risk it and switch on his trash
mode this time.

“Young master-nim, Choi Han-nim, we have arrived.”

Agnes cheerfully announced with a gesture of her hand. Cale’s eyes followed that gesture to see
they’d stopped in front of quite a large and grand door. But, to his utter annoyance, irking things
greeted him before he could even pass said door.

There were two knights guarding at this door to the king’s dining room, which was absolutely
normal. What was absolutely not normal was the way one of the two knights – the one with golden
hair – stared at Cale with an expression that would take all the words from a dictionary to be
described sufficiently. Roughly sketched, it was kind of like this:

At first, when he’d spotted the sight of the group rounding the corner, he hadn’t at all hesitated to
throw at them a glare full of hostility. With its reason and meaning pushed aside, that glare could
easily be considered perfectly conducted. From the overflowing animosity to the immeasurable
level of disrespect and unfriendly challenging, everything was so perfect one would think the
knight had dedicated his whole life to mastering the art of glaring.

The moment Cale’s figure had made it clear and bright in the knight’s vision, however, things had
changed. The hostility never left, but it’d stepped down. Then there was something akin to an
uncontrollable astonishment. Then his expression hardened, and his emerald eyes dulled to the
extent they became slightly hazel. Then sharpness returned to his dull eyes, and the man narrowed
them in focus as though trying to see through the deepest parts of Cale’s body. He truly looked like
his poor mind was seriously carrying out a vital judgement of some sort.

During that time when he struggled to process the new information input into his brain, the golden-
haired knight had his eyes remained fixed on Cale. He was being so persistent even Cale was
beginning to feel uncomfortable. But, as always, Cale never had to endure any discomfort for long
because, to his great satisfaction, his own knight was more than skillful at dealing with this kind of
situations.

With one step to the left, and two steps forward, Choi Han smoothly moved his body as if dancing,
expertly blocking the golden-haired knight’s view from reaching Cale. And that wasn’t all. As
Choi Han’s and the guarding knight’s gazes clashed against each other, even just in a split second,
the air seemed to crack, and the temperature dropped like it had never been meant to exceed zero.
That intense moment soon elapsed, of course, but the aftertaste was still there, stubbornly sticking
to every single particle in the air around those two. It was so palpable that even the servants were
having shivers running down their spines just by being near their zone of aura fighting.

Meanwhile.

‘This brings back the memories.’

Cale leisurely thought as he recalled his first encounter with the Whale King Shickler and his
Killer Whale Archie. That Killer Whale had also stared him down from head to toes, causing Choi
Han to get rather angry. (2)
‘Choi Han is truly the main character.’

Since Choi Han had the blood of a born protagonist flowing in his veins, Cale wasn’t surprised to
see the man got offended on behalf of his family and quickly accepted this newfound beef as it
was.

Unbeknown to him, however, this beef was nowhere near as simple as the one with Archie, nor
was it as new as Cale thought it should be.

Anyhow, that was a story to be continued later. For now, Cale’s group simply ignored the golden-
haired knight as they passed by him to enter the dining room. Naturally, the thick tension hovering
around them instantly dispersed the moment the door was completely closed behind their backs and
the exquisite inside of the room stretched open in their field of vision.

As it was the place where the king and his family dined, this room was predictably spacious, and
every single thing here had that luxurious-looking appearance that Cale believed would make the
original Cale Henituse, or the current Kim Rok Soo, go crazy if he ever saw it.

As for Cale, he wasn’t very much interested in them, since these extravagant stuffs probably would
never become his. Being the down to earth person he was, Cale deemed it’d be more worthy of his
time to envision the possible future scenarios beforehand. For this upcoming lunch, Cale had four
main goals:

1. He must ensure the safety of himself and his people.

2. His monetary rewards should be made secured while the other useless ones had to be erased.
3. It would be best to find an excuse and leave the royal residence as soon as possible.
4. He would make sure to enjoy his meal too, of course. How could one have their brain
function at its finest with an empty stomach anyways?

With those goals in mind, Cale slightly adjusted his stance, which was already aristocratic by
nature, and loosened his facial expression, which wasn’t at all nervous or uneasy to begin with, as
he and his group were led to stand in front of three people clad in distinctly sumptuous outfits of
the royalty.

The Dominating Aura was not in use, and no special powers were being utilized, but somehow,
Cale’s presence was still shinning vividly in the room like the brightest star in a moonless night
sky.

As soon as the young man, who by his burningly red hair could easily be recognized as ‘the young
and powerful hero’ Cale Henituse in the reports, entered the dining room and calmly walked
towards him as guided by the servants, the king felt a sense of bewilderment wash over him.

‘The queen was right. This man … there’s no way he’s just some commoner.’

That was the king’s thought as he recalled the conversation with his queen prior to this meeting.

***

“What do you mean by cancelling this dinner meeting?” The king asked his queen in a muddled
tone, frown grooves slowly forming on his large forehead. “You know that I already sent out the
invitation, and as a king, I should keep my words.”

“… Oh dear!” The queen earnestly responded, her face rather anxious. “Please trust that in no
circumstances that I wish to cause you any troubles! I only think that … perhaps we should give
the young master some more time for his recovery.”

“… Don’t worry, Queen.” Hearing his queen’s concern, the frown on the king’s face quickly
faded, his voice softened. “I’ve talked with the healer. He confirmed that, despite looking rather
weak, the young man’s body was actually very healthy and had an impressive healing speed. He’s
able to eat normal meals now. I heard he even asked for alcohol during his lunch.”

“Even so …” The queen muttered hesitantly before trailing off. Then, as though not wanting to
give in just yet, she carefully added. “Since you intend to discuss matters deemed serious with Choi
Han and his family, wouldn’t a formal meeting between you and them only be more suitable?”

The king’s brow twitched slightly as he listened to the deeper meaning in the queen’s words. It was
true he wanted to meet and talk directly with the young master rumored to be as beautiful and
powerful as a god, but there were always more than one reason for everything he did, and, in this
particular case, some had appeared rather unexpectedly.

During the first time they’d met, Choi Han’s determination not to take any monetary or fame-
related rewards had been unshakable. That was why the king had thought this time too, the young
hero would just do the same. However, contrary to his expectation, Choi Han had accepted every
single coin he’d been offered. That had certainly come as a surprise, but with just a simple
comparison, king Jeremy had soon been able to point out something remarkably noticeable.

‘Choi Han simply followed that young man’s decision.’

It was as plain as day that Choi Han’s change of mind was due to the influence of this so-called
family member of his. There was no other explanation to that as the two people’s answers were
pretty much identical.

Of course, to a king like him, whose fortune was as large as a sea, so much that it could drown an
entire town and half a village at once, such an amount of money was nothing worth laying an eye
upon. Therefore, what caused the king to be so closely entertaining this matter wasn’t the money
about to leave his vault, but the individual in question himself.

‘Taking all the money while rejecting both the medal and title. It was a peculiar choice, but not
exactly inexplicable.’

Undoubtedly, the fact that Choi Han had received the same offers must play a big role in this. Had
the man – Cale Henituse – taken the noble title, he ought to let Choi Han get his own one as well,
because questions and criticism would definitely arise otherwise. In that case, Choi Han would be
able to leave him and become a ruler of his own land. The king wasn’t sure to what extent of
sincerity Cale Henituse was taking this whole family play with Choi Han, but it was clear he’d
meticulously weighed the benefits of having Choi Han around before making a decision that keep
the younger man from gaining his own reputation and status.

‘It is very likely that Choi Han has been manipulated to serve this man.’

This wasn’t a baseless assumption. In fact, evidence could be detected all over their profiles. Choi
Han had been a free citizen having obtained the right to return to the mainland only recently, whilst
the so-called young master had been reportedly said to be living in this kingdom since birth with a
very low profile of an orphan growing up in a moderately small church. Up to this point, the king
could close his eyes and was still able to sketch out what was going on here.

People were putting Cale Henituse on a pedestal as though he was a deity, but the king could
already see that this man was just a mortal being who somehow had got his hand on a desirable
power by sheer luck. The dreamlike gift must have changed him, propelling the originally reserved
person towards the desire of gaining recognition and status, hence the rumored noble-like
appearance and his insistence on keeping a sword master under his wing as a personal knight. (3)

Even so, since his power as described in the reports was something rather mysterious and unique,
the king must at least check to see if this mundane being was aware that whatever he planned to do
with the power he’d been blessed with, he bettered be wise enough to draw a line and never ever
cross it. And this dinner meeting was a good opportunity for the king to do so.

However, if king Jeremy were to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that instead of a
dinner where they’d be surrounded by servants and easily distracted with food, a private talk in his
office would sound much more ideal. But he’d still chosen a dinner gathering over it. Why?
Because, though rather irrelevant to the main business, a hearty meal together would certainly
strengthen the bonding between individuals. In this case, ahem, he had his daughter Janessa and,
ahem, a certain black-haired hero in his mind that he would like to see them … b-bond with each
other a bit more than they already had. Moreover, unlike Julianna, who was used to handling
business talks, Janessa was hardly familiar with them. Thus, shoving this innocent daughter of his
into a serious and tiresome conversation revolving around such dry topics of rewards and money
would be equivalent to killing her with boredom, and the king would never in a million years want
to see that.

King Jeremy hadn’t revealed this intention to anyone, but as expected, his queen was as sharp as a
dagger.

“Ahem.” Bringing a loose fist to his mouth, the king made a fake cough as he perceived his real
intention had been seen through. “Queen, I see that you already noticed it, and I totally agree with
you. However, you also saw it, didn’t you? Janessa was willing to call off her afternoon tea party
with the noble ladies just so that she can prepare for this dinner with Choi Han. She’s been rather
down after the incident on her birthday. Imagine how much more disappointed she must be if I
cancel this meeting now!”

“… I understand, your majesty. Though not by blood, Janessa is still the daughter I raise and love,
so I too dearly wish for her happiness.”

“Then why?” The king didn’t mean to, but unconsciously he raised his voice quite a tad. He was
frustrated that his queen, who’d never opposed any of his orders, all of a sudden became so
adamant about this one request of hers. “I trust that you do not have anything against Choi Han just
because he’s a commoner?”

“Of course not, your majesty. You know well that to me, the core of a person always goes above
their origin.”

The queen firmly said, and the king didn’t in the slightest doubt her statement. Being a commoner’s
daughter herself, queen Judie had always looked at the matter of differences in status with much
more indulgence than most nobles often did.

“Then why?”

The king repeated his question, demanding a clear answer this time, but to his disappointment, his
queen only sighed and weakly uttered.

“No, I apologize. Please forget what I said about canceling the meeting.”
There was a note of finality in the way she said, so the king thought he shouldn’t dig in too much
further. Instead, with some hesitation, he inquired softly.

“Does this have anything to do with the so-called young master with the silver shield?”

The king didn’t miss the queen’s light flinch as his question made its way to her ears, which told
him he was right indeed. Then, with another sigh, his queen shook her head and gave him a vague
response.

“That young man, he’s rathe-, no, he is special.” And she turned away from her husband and
cryptically added. “You will know when you see him for yourself.”

Just like that, the conversation between the king and his queen ended, for neither of them bothered
to resume speaking. And even after the queen had left the office, king Jeremy still found himself in
a state of being completely dumbstruck.

Of all people, the queen, his queen, had made such a remark – or he dared say – a compliment in a
sense, about someone she’d only met once. Though already in his fifties, the king’s hearing was
still something he held confidence in, meaning it was highly doubtful that he had misheard any
parts in the queen’s statement.

But that didn’t necessarily mean he must take her words as an undebatable truth.

‘Though hard to believe, it’s possible that the queen misjudged it this time.’

Full of greed for money and hiding plenty of crafty schemes, all so that he could climb the ladder
to a position higher than he’d been given. How could a mundane man like that ever be considered
special? King Jeremy was more than eager to see the answer for himself. He would also make sure
to strip off every single layer covering this person’s true self during the upcoming dinner. And if it
turned out the man’s true self was just as earthly as everyone else’s, actions would be taken
accordingly to at least keep Choi Han, the true hero, and rather straightforwardly, the salt of the
earth, from associating any longer with the bad apple.

This might be a bit inconsiderate toward Cale Henituse, who was essentially a hero himself, but it
couldn’t be helped. Someone had to nip the bad influence in the bud in order to preserve the good
nature of the young knight from being tainted, well, tainted further, since a monster had already
begun to rise in Choi Han’s heart, as seen during the banquet the other day.

***

That was what the king had planned to do, but as a matter of fact, everything was easier said than
done.

Presently forgetting all the mental preparations he’d made, king Jeremy frozenly stood in his spot
as he couldn’t shift his eyes from the sight of the approaching young man.

The young man – Cale Henituse – kept his posture straight yet mannerly relaxed even when facing
the people of highest class. He was wearing a formal black-and-red suit, which must have been
prepared by the maid servant assigned to him, and though this was an outfit often only seen among
the noblemen, somehow it still seamlessly fitted the figure of this commoner, so naturally one
would think he’d actually been born to an aristocratic household, which was totally absurd given
his background.

But, what was even more absurd was this strange thought wiggling up from the deepest part of his
brain. Funnily enough, he – the king – was thinking that, dressed in an expensive outfit, or not,
Cale Henituse still would not appear any less elegant. What’s more? There was also this ridiculous
feeling clouding over his eyesight, whispering to his ears that he ought to treat this man with the
same, if not more, level of respect reserved to an aristocrat.

Then, even before the servants could give out a signal, Cale Henituse slowed down his steps and
readily stopped to stand at a perfectly appropriate distance between himself and the king. The
whole process was smooth, and his movement was flawless, and king Jeremy couldn’t help but
question this unusual familiarity.

However, the question had to be temporarily pushed aside as the king specifically traced his gaze
along the young man’s skinny figure, up to the slender shoulders, the defined jawline, the dreamy
blushes on his porcelain cheeks, the eyes that were keen in shape but warm in color, and the
pleasingly red hair that sent a wave of vigor to its beholder despite the man’s feeble body.

‘I heard he was good-looking, but this …’

In all the reports the king had read or at least skimmed over, whenever the battle against the goblin
outside the West castle came up, flattering words such as ‘beautiful,’ ‘elegant,’ or even ‘majestic’
would without fail appear in the witnesses’ comments. It was as though they were not depicting a
mere commoner, but someone who was on par with a royalty in terms of both appearance and
attitude.

The king had almost laughed at the ridiculousness of such overstatements.

Perhaps that, added to the initial intents, was why when the chance to behold the rumored beauty
finally came to him, king Jeremy sort of felt like he had been briefly knocked off balance.

“-hem! Ahem!”

At that moment, the queen repeatedly cleared her throat, and the sounds rang in from the king’s
right side, reverberating around the quiet dining room in spite of their relatively low volume,
effectively snapping the king from his reverie.

And when he noticed the slightly confused gazes Cale Henituse and his group were discreetly
sending his way, all the while waiting for a word from him, the king suddenly felt like digging a
hole and just jumping right into it.

In his over thirty years reigning the kingdom, this was the first time he became so publicly
distracted just by the mere sight of somebody.

It was really, utterly embarrassing.

However, as he expertly straightened his posture and took a few steps forward, ready to make a
decent greeting that would set the atmosphere back to how it should be, the king noted from the
corner of his eye that not only him, but the servants who hadn’t met Cale Henituse before had also
started at the queen’s fake coughs as though as well having been enchanted. Even more shocking,
his daughter Janessa, whose eyes should’ve rightfully been on the man two feet away from Cale
Henituse, had actually just torn her gaze away from the red-haired man with an embarrassed and
overly confused expression. Then, perhaps just to help the whole situation reach its peak of
laughableness, his queen, who had already known of Cale Henituse’s appearance, somehow was
still shifting her pupils in a sense of astonishment.

Admittedly, this result of observation kind of helped the king feel a tad better, knowing he wasn’t
alone in this bizarre encounter with the inexplainable feeling of being put under a trapping spell,
something that would never happen to him – a descendent of the Lewis family.

Feeling his wits had fully gathered back into his brain, king Jeremy, with all the stately energy he
could muster, majestically reached his hand out and initiated.

“Good evening! You must be the rising hero everyone has been talking about – mister Cale
Henituse.”

‘Hm?’

Was it just an imagination? Why did it seem like, albeit just fleetingly, the young master’s brow
twitched slightly upon hearing the word ‘hero,’ as though being praised as a hero did nothing but
pulling annoying stuff towards him?

‘Well, of course it’s just an imagination.’

Only when pigs could fly would someone ever not be walking on cloud nine after hearing a
kingdom’s ruler address him by such an honorable title, especially after the person had suffered
quite a bit for it. Even as king Jeremy thought that, the young master’s expression already turned
back to normal as he politely took the king’s offered hand in return.

“It is my greatest honor to meet you, your majesty. Cale Henituse greets his majesty – the sun of
our kingdom.”

He said, and a small smile bloomed on his calm face, making it tenfold more striking.

And, all of a sudden, the king was no longer sure what exactly he’d expected his first impression of
Cale Henituse would be, perhaps just some lad trying to imitate the noble way of dressing and
acting, and ending up between being snobbishly noble-like and magnificently stupid.

Now though, seeing the man in the flesh, king Jeremy couldn’t help but feel an immense urge to
immediately revise every single image of the young man built up in his mind prior to this meeting.

‘W-wait, that is not what I intended to do.’

He was here to unmask this man, who he suspected to have shrewd schemes up his sleeve despite
the heroic deed, and possibly pulling Choi Han away from him and toward his daughter, not to be
bewitched by the young master and admire his beauty, which, ahem, was actually pretty admirable
indeed.

Thinking so, the king put some more effort in controlling his facial expression and nodded to the
young master as a denotement of his acknowledgement, before proceeding to bestow a greeting
handshake on Choi Han and the little boy respectively, not missing those rare shaking eyes of his
wife as she in turn exchanged a formal greeting with the red-haired young master.

Having met a person before and still being this much amazed merely by his appearance, to the
queen, was something that had never preceded.

But what could she possibly do when during the last time they’d met, the young master’s figure
had been mostly covered in a large cloak, black blood had stained the lower half of his face, and
his hair had also been messed up badly, whilst now he was seen in a formal attire, with a clean face
and hair having been neatly combed?

‘Speaking of his hair, it surprises me she was able to do such a great job …’
Not only had it been neatened, but the young master’s hair had also been styled sophisticatedly,
with certain strands of it skillfully made into two small braids, which in turn were pulled back,
forming a small crown around the man’s head and joining their tails with a black ribbon. The
unbraided portions of the tails were set free to blend in the rest of his long hair, gracefully falling
over the delicate nape and shoulders.

Looking at Agnes, who was smiling proudly at the sight of the young master’s hair, the queen felt
a wisp of relief coming out along her breaths. She’d been slightly nervous after hearing the maid
had volunteered to serve the special guests, but it appeared the girl’s time of training wasn’t just for
show.

As all the greetings had been done, the two families moved to situate themselves at their pre-
arranged positions. The seat order caused Choi Han and the young master Cale Henituse to sit
separately, with the young master at one end of the long table, facing the king, the little boy Yi
Yeong on the nearest chair to his right, and then Choi Han. And the queen wondered if her king
had personally made this arrangement because, ‘coincidently,’ Choi Han and Janessa were now
facing directly with each other, a thing that would surely encourage conversations between them.

‘It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll be counting on you, Kara, Clara!’

Queen Judie sent out a silent message whilst swiftly glancing at her and Janessa’s personal maid
servants. For the sake of her second daughter’s fragile heart, the queen had no choice but to resort
to employing the cooperation of these maids.

Catching the queen’s glance, the maids sneakily responded with determined eyes.

‘Don’t worry, your majesty!’

‘We will make sure her highness won’t see or hear anything that may hurt her feelings!’

Though still anxious, the queen decided to trust in these maids for now as she controlled her
expression and joined the exchanging of pleasantries. She was dearly hoping this hearty meal could
end without any … sensitive subjects being brought up. But obviously, this dinner already held so
many more purposes than just meeting and eating.

“How is the food, mister Cale? I hope it is not too heavy. The Northwestern cuisine is always a tad
lighter.”

It had started.

“It is not heavy at all, your majesty. All the dishes are delectable. Our family has been traveling
around, so we’ve quickly got used to the tastes of different places.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

The king politely responded, a benign smile on his face.

So far Cale Henituse had perfectly displayed the table manners required when dining with high-
born individuals, to the extent it looked like he’d been to similar events many times before. But
that only further convinced the king that this man was truly obsessed with playing noble.

In that case, the king wou-

“Pardon my prying, Choi Han-nim, but what exactly is the relationship between you and mister
Cale? ... And, um, little Yeong over there too?”
The king and the queen almost spat out the steaks in their mouths as this question reached their ears
in a soft and clear voice.

‘J-Janessa?’

Their second daughter, who always acted rather reserved during mealtime and rarely initiated a
conversation with the guests, was inquiring one with such a straightforward, if not a bit urgent,
attitude?

‘Just how much does she fall for Choi Han?’

The queen wondered, astonished. Then, as though remembering a matter demanding her immediate
attention, she whipped her head to check on the young master’s and Choi Han’s reactions,
somewhat alarmed.

“Both Cale-nim and Yeong are my family.”

Choi Han responded, smiling softly, and the way he said made it sound like he’d imprinted this
answer on his mind for as long as he could remember. And, unsurprisingly, as he glided his gaze
toward the young master and the little kid, then uttered the word ‘family,’ his expression instantly
warmed up, as if reflected on his eyes wasn’t just two individuals, but the whole universe.

‘Huh? What was that?’

The king knew Choi Han had a family, which turned out to be this man Cale Henituse and the little
boy Yi Yeong. He suspected their bond had mainly been built upon the concept of loyalty. But then
what the hell was that melted look Choi Han was sending the other man’s way? Why did it seem
like it held more than just loyalty or friendship?

As king Jeremy was still struggling with the mismatched puzzle pieces, his daughter was already
on with another inquiry.

“Did you two know each other through the connection with Yeong’s parents? Yeong looks very
much like the both of you.”

‘Th-that’s right!’

The king wanted to give himself a few slaps, for he had been so focused on Cale Henituse that he’d
missed something so obviously questionable.

This time, it was Cale Henituse who replied as he put his glass of wine back on the table, so calmly
one would think he’d expected such a question way before it could ever be asked.

By the way, how did someone manage to make such a simple movement so elegant? If he hadn’t
been a king, Jeremy Lewis would have blatantly asked the young man for some tips.

“Yeong is indeed the son of my late friends. It was quite a complicated story, but to put it simply,
he is now my and Choi Han’s adopted child.”

The veiled respond didn’t really answer the question, and the king was sure Janessa still wanted to
know more of the details, because he, too, was feeling rather hooked on the subject. However, Cale
Henituse was clever to weave the mention of the deceased into his words. It was vague and
nonchalant enough for a kid like Yeong not to notice, but for adults such as king Jeremy and
Janessa, they ought to read the subtle implication and refrain themselves from prying farther, or
else they would turn themselves into heartless monsters, ones that didn’t hesitate to reopen the old
wounds of an innocent child.

And though the reason behind Yeong’s resemblances to the two men, who were possibly not
biologically related to him, was still a mystery, the king was able to unveil something else based on
the young man’s answer.

‘Cale Henituse, who lost his parents at young age, is taking an orphan under his wing. It makes
sense.’

With this realization, king Jeremy felt that his view on the young man had softened a bit. But of
course, a bad apple could still have its good portions, which still weren’t enough to make its
entirety good.

“… I see.”

From the side of the table, Janessa awkwardly nodded in response to the young master as she
raised her right hand to touch the bracelet embellished with a blue topaz on her left wrist, a recently
developed habit of hers. From the corner of her eye, queen Judie sensed a thoughtful and slightly
satisfied glint in the look of the young master as he glanced at the bracelet, and all of a sudden her
mind automatically pictured the heartfelt image of the family of three going on a shopping spree
and happily picking out this bracelet, ready to attend a birthday party together. Then she thought of
the fact that they’d been separated at the end and suddenly felt rather guilt-

‘Wait! No, what am I thinking?’

What sort of imaginations was she having in the middle of a formal meeting like this?

‘Pull yourself together, Judie Lewis!’

In an attempt to regain her wits, queen Judie stealthily made a hard exhale before skillfully
bringing up a new topic to the table.

“Young master Cale. Your battle with the goblin the other day has become the most talked-about
subject among the citizens these days, and understandably so. People are in utmost curiosity. They
wish to know your account of story. Some even say you might be a god yourself.” (4)

There it was again, the slight twitch of brow on the young master’s face. The queen hadn’t miss
the previous one either.

Why did this young man always seem to restrain himself from making an annoyed expression
whenever he heard praises directed toward him? The queen truly wanted to ask that, for the more
she thought of it, the more it didn’t make any sense.

“I am but a mere human, your majesty.” The young master said, his tone humble. “As you can see
in my profile, I was just an orphan, living a life every orphan does.”

“No need to be so modest! Seeing how you didn’t hesitate to sacrifice yourself to save our citizens,
I must say gods must have seen the good nature in you as they made their choice to bestow such a
great power upon you.”

For a brief moment, the young master’s face seemed rather blank. Then, with eyes that genuinely
showed a denial, he stated.

“I am flattered, your majesty. But I’m afraid I can’t take such compliments, for all I did was simply
what was needed to be done to protect myself and the people I care for.”
The young master’s voice was even, and none but the denial had been added to his expression, and
the queen thought she could see a pure honesty sparking deep inside his riveting reddish-brown
eyes.

‘S-such modesty!’

Queen Judie was no stranger to courteous pretenses, where people might deny it all they wanted,
but deep down they knew they deserved all the praises sent their way. Therefore, she could tell
whether someone’s humbleness was sincere or not. In this case, it was clear the young master truly
didn’t think of himself as someone special for receiving the will of gods, nor did he regard his
heroic deed as anything significant. Rather, he looked as though if possible, he would immediately
let someone else take the glory in his stead.

Then.

Gasp!

As she moved her gaze a bit to the left, queen Judie couldn’t stop herself from making an inward
gasp. It was because Choi Han, whose eyes had been on the young master as if that was their only
purpose of existence, was having such a proud and gentle smile on his face. This kind of smile and
that sort of look, they loudly screamed out love and devotion, and only the densest person in the
world wouldn’t notice such an apparent display of affection.

‘N-no! Janessa!’

Reminded of her poor daughter, whose love could be confirmed as unrequited at this point, queen
Judie urgently turned her head with a somewhat panicked expression, hoping against hope that her
daughter wasn’t looking at Choi Han at this moment.

“What are- Clara, why are you covering my eyes?”

“F-forgive me for interrupting your mealtime, your highness! But the … the light is a bit too
bright!”

“… Is that so?”

“Y-yes! Clara is not lying at all, your highness! The light in your direction is a bit too much, so
we’re worried it will hurt your eyes!”

“But …”

‘Good job! Kara, Clara!’

The queen breathed out a sigh of relief as she sent the two maids a mental thumbs-up. For taking
actions in time, they deserved a raise.

“They are right, Second Princess! I can see too that it’s a little too bright. You shouldn’t open your
eyes at the moment.”

“…I understand, your majesty.”

‘Phew.’

Too engrossed with backing the maids up, the queen seemed to have forgotten the others’
presences. By the time she finally returned her attention to the guests, damage had been done
beyond repair.

‘Ugh!’

The three guests were all staring at her and the two maids with eyes that she didn’t dare look back.
And the peak of it all was when the little boy Yi Yeong timidly glanced up, carefully checking the
balmy light from the chandelier. Then he glanced back at her, a prominent pity in his gaze.

For the first ever time in her life, queen Judie felt like her face was smoldering so hot it could
smoke, and the heat was so overwhelming it even stuck on her throat, not letting her utter even one
single word to perhaps defend her … sanity.

Meanwhile, someone else was also going through an internal struggle as the hard-cold truth
ruthlessly struck his brain at last.

‘D-don’t tell me …’

After meeting Cale Henituse in person, the king must concede that his queen wasn’t wrong to say
he was a special human being. However, until just now, something still hadn’t clicked with him.
What did the man being special have anything to do with Janessa? Why did his queen insist on
leaving Janessa out of the conversation? Now though, having beheld that look on Choi Han’s face,
one that was so gentle yet still plenty passionate, clearly spelling an uncontrollably fierce desire to
cherish and protect the being in his eyes, everything finally fell into place, and ridiculously so.

It was ridiculous because king Jeremy, not even in his wildest dreams, had ever thought that his
beautiful daughter – princess Janessa – would ever lose in the battle for love, and to a man at that.

The king suddenly wanted to clutch his head so badly.

‘No, I can’t just leave it like that.’

Even just for today, he must protect his daughter’s heart from being crushed into pieces, which
meant he’d got to cooperate with the queen and the two maids.

Thinking so, king Jeremy slowly opened his mouth and expertly took up what had been left off in
the talking that had gone awkward due to the interruption.

“Ahem. I heard from the witnesses that Yeong here also stepped up to protect other children from
the evil merchant. Good job, little hero!”

It pained him how he had to sort of butter up a kid in order to steer the conversation to a different
direction, but he was in an urgency, and this was the best thing he could come up with at the
moment.

Hearing the king’s praise, the boy startled a bit. Then a visible shade of pink spread out on his face
as he ducked his head shyly and stealthily glanced at the young master as if asking for his
permission. Receiving a nod from his adoptive father, Yeong timidly inclined his head at the king
and muttered in a small voice.

“… Thank you. Yeou~.”

‘Awww! How adorable!!!’

Watching the little boy cutely give his thanks, the royal family and the servants alike felt their
hearts collectively melt like ice cubes thrown on an open yard full of sunshine. There was a light
accent in his voice and an odd ‘yeou~’ sound tailing his words, but if anything, they only made the
boy’s reply tenfold cuter.

“Of course, little hero!” The king quickly replied to Yeong in an adoring tone. Then he paused for
a beat and added. “Honestly, I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that, considering little Yeong has been
raised by the two rising heroes of our kingdom.”

For a moment, king Jeremy felt as though he shouldn’t have said that.

And he was right.

As soon as he put a pause at the end of his sentence, the king instantly sensed a lukewarm air
surrounding a certain individual at the side of the table. That individual then proceeded to navigate
the pleasant air toward a certain young master through his twinkling gaze as he proudly stated.

“Cale-nim is the kindest person in the world, your majesty. He may pretend he doesn’t, but he
actually cares a lot for others. I believe Yeong has learned that trait from him.”

Naturally, everyone turned to check on the young master’s reaction, expecting to see his pleased
face, only to encounter with a rather annoyed expression, one that said its owner had long been
used to but still couldn’t come to enjoy his knight’s utmost compliment.

“I would beg to differ.” The young master said, and his calm voice felt a bit like a sigh. “This man
here is a nice guy, so he always tends to look for the slightest good in others, your majesty. If there
is someone Yeong learns that trait from, that person should be Choi Han instead of me.”

“But Cale-ni-“

“Yeou~, not only omma, not only appa, Yeong learns from both! Yeou~!”

And the little boy’s clumsy statement served as the conclusion, for both of his parents immediately
dropped their small lovey dovey argument to look at their son with doting eyes. At the same time,
the atmosphere around them seemed to have been blended with some sort of pinkish powder,
glinting and filled with all sorts of dazzlingly bright lights.

Meanwhile.

“… Is that Kara? Why are you covering my ears now? And Clara, can you uncover my eyes
already?”

Janessa, whose ears were now completely plugged by Kara’s fingers, inquired with confusion all
over her voice.

“The light is still too bright, your highness, and certain sounds in the room have become too loud
for human’s heart …”

“Yes yes, this is all to protect you, your highness…”

‘Just endure it for a bit longer, my daughter …’

The queen and the two maids almost bursted out crying as they perceived their mission’s level of
difficulty had increased tenfold within less than ten minutes.

‘I’m so sorry!’

Despite being a king, Jeremy Lewis felt an utter impulse to kneel down and beg for forgiveness
from his queen and the two maids. ‘Thanks’ to his effort, the situation had taken a turn for the
worse.

In an attempt to redeem himself, with his entire face covered in sweats, the king quickly tried to
change the subject.

“A-ahem, I heard you three were going to depart from the capital in a few days, is that true?”

As the king’s question reached their ears, the three guests seemed to (finally) pull themselves away
from their lovely zone and granted him their attention.

Damn them.

“Yes, that is true. Thanks to your majesty’s good grace, I was able to fully recover. In order not to
bother your majesty any longer, it is only appropriate for me and my family to resume our journey
now that we are no longer needed here.”

“Don’t say that! This kingdom always needs young heroes like you and Choi Han, mister Cale!”
The king put a skillful emphasis into his well-tailored exclamation. Then, with some curiosity in
his voice, he softly inquired. “Where are you heading to, by the way? Have you already had a
place in mind?”

Where was this man planning to take all the money to? The king was bound to find out.

“Yes, my lord. We are planning on visiting the church where we departed from.”

‘Huh?’

“You mean the church of Mother Nature where you grew up?”

“It is indeed that church, my lord.”

Why would this man want to go back to that small church after he’d gained so much wealth for
himself?

King Jeremy thought he’d figured out something important.

“… Is it what you and sir Reachazai talked to each other about yesterday?”

The king had been informed that the people of the Reachzais had come to Cale Henituse’s
chamber. He’d wondered what they’d discussed with each other.

“Yes, your majesty. Sir Reachazai did mention about it.”

The young master responded with a slight nod. His face was completely stoic, but the king thought
he could hear something akin to a subtle concern in his tone. Perhaps because he noticed the king
was still holding the silence, the young master added.

“It was just the brief mention, but from what he said, the church seems to be having a bit of a hard
time due to the number of orphans and elders newly admitted.”

‘Hoo!’

The young master’s elaboration caused the king to make an internal gasp.

‘So this is the reason!’

It wasn’t until just now when the church had been brought up that the king finally found the final
piece to the puzzle.

Why did Cale Henituse refuse the medal but still take all the money?

The answer was now clear to the king.

‘Not for himself, but for the church where he grew up. That’s the reason.’

Together with the fact that the young master was also taking care of an orphan at the moment, this
explanation made even more sense.

‘So he isn’t a bad apple after all.’

Forget being a bad apple, someone who held so much grace, kindness, and modesty inside his
heart such as this man ought to be a golden apple, no, like everyone had been calling him, a hero
who had received the gift of gods!

‘I was wrong about him all along …’

Even though this wasn’t a battle, somehow Jeremy Lewis still felt utterly defeated.

Suppressing a sigh as he took a glance toward Janessa, who in turn was coyly peeking at a certain
knight’s face after having her ears and eyes released, the king felt his heart coil painfully. His
daughter’s first love had turned out to be a taken man, and her rival was someone who could defeat
even him – a king – in so many ways. Just thinking about it pained him endlessly.

Even so, he still had to perform his duty as a host of this meeting.

“That is such a pity. I was hoping you could stay over for the Winter festival.”

In all honesty, the king didn’t actually hope it that much, but then some idea sparked in his mind,
and he quickly spelled it out.

“You know what, Choi Han, though the knight tournament doesn’t normally allow someone who
hasn’t been knighted, I can let it slide this time if you wish to join.”

“The knight tournament?”

Choi Han repeated the three words, confused. Seeing that, the king quickly elaborated.

“You might not hear about it since you are new to this kingdom, but to make it simple, the knight
tournament is one of the highlights during Winter festival. In this tournament, young knights
compete with one another for the Wreath of Glory, which they will offer to their respected liege or
someone they lov-, ahem, someone they love most ...”

King Jeremy suddenly found his voice weakened considerably near the end of his speech. Whether
it was a respected liege or a person loved most, clearly Choi Han’s choice had already been
decided, and this choice would very likely destroy his daughter’s beautiful dream of love.

‘Dang it!’

The king had only wanted to see the sword master show off his skills in the tournament. Who
would have thought an idea made on a whim had led him to opening another can of worms? Across
the table, his queen was already sending daggers toward him with her murderous gaze.
It was then when king Jeremy noticed Choi Han had turned to look at the young master in a
manner that said he was all ready to follow anything the man instructed him to do.

Was he secretly his pup or something?

Cale Henituse, not in the slightest surprised by Choi Han’s awaiting eyes, leisurely took another sip
of his wine; the liquid lingered on his lips, faintly staining them a pleasantly red shade. Those lips
then parted, and his deep yet gentle voice came out, as calm as the soothing sound of a balmy
breeze.

“It is up to you to decide.”

With that short response, the young master left the freedom to choose to his knight.

‘No, this is actually for the best.’

Choi Han, the righteous hero who only fought for justice, would not possibly find a reason to join
this tournament and fight the people he probably had never met before, not when it would
definitely delay his journey with the young master.

Or so the king thought.

“Will I fight captain Philo if I join this tournament?”

After the knight asked that with his uniquely calm voice, the whole dining room instantly went
quiet. Even the young master was looking slightly taken aback, but his face soon returned to its
relaxed state, as though he’d already seen something similar before.

King Jeremy suddenly had an ominous feeling.

“… As much as I wish to, I cannot promise you that. This is an elimination tournament, and the
competitors are paired randomly, you see.”

“But will the captain be in this tournament?”

“… Yes, he will.”

“Then please sign up for me as well, your majesty!”

“… Sure …”

Uttering the word with a strengthless voice, the king nervously whipped his gaze to check on his
daughter’s reaction, not even sure what he himself was expecting to see.

‘Hm?’

Whatever the king had expected, it surely didn’t happen, for his second daughter was literally
trying to hold back a bright smile, a shade of reddish pink invading her two cheeks.

‘She misunderstood it!’

Janessa, whose ears and eyes had been curtained during certain critical parts of the conversation,
was clueless of the truth and could only thread whatever she’d seen and heard so far together,
including the knight captain’s pronounced feelings toward her, his jealousy of Choi Han, and the
scene he and Choi Han had caused at the banquet. As the result, she’d stumbled upon a clumsy
patchwork of an assumption, which was surely far from the truth.
‘A-at least she is happy …’

Though they knew it wasn’t good for the princess to cling on such an unstable patchwork, the king,
the queen, and the two maids still couldn’t refrain themselves from feeling a wave of relief raining
over them as they observed their princess shyly bite her curling lips whilst taking sneaky peeks at
the young knight.

‘From now on, let’s just eat and then call it a night …’

To avoid complicating the situation any more than it already was, the king and the queen decided
they bettered focus on the feast from this moment on.

However, their plan couldn’t be carried out just yet.

“Pardon my impudence, your majesty! Cale Henituse wishes to ask his majesty for a favor.”

“… Yes, mister Cale?”

What was he going to ask for? And here the king had thought the man’s greed was only a
misunderstanding.

“Since it’s been decided that we will stay in the capital for the Winter festival, I would like to
challenge myself in the History Contest as well.”

‘What?’

“You mean you want to sign up for the Mythic Kingdom’s History Contest?”

“Yes, my lord. Since they usually only accept scholars from the noble households for this test, I
humbly ask for your grace to let me in without myself being a noble.”

“… That is not something hard for me to do, but do you really wish to participate? You know the
rules, do you not?”

It wasn’t as though this contest was violent or could physically harm the participants in any way,
but it was still a real bear in its own way. To become the winner, participants must answer all the
questions correctly, a task that relied heavily on their memorizing ability. All the information could
be found in the royal library, and though it might seem overwhelming, memorizing the main
contents wasn’t something impossible. However, it’d been almost ten years since this contest had
got its last winner, and the reason was because no one ever since had been able to answer the three
last questions – the true killers of the test, whose sole purpose was to fail the contestants with their
trickiness by the way they were always extracted from some tiny, easily missed sections in the
thick history books.

Different from the knight tournament, the History contest had a handsome prize of five hundred
necons given to each winner. However, before that, five necons were required from each
participant as a collateral, which would only be returned to them when they successfully completed
all the questions. Though to most noble households, five necons might not be much, money was
still money. No one would want to throw away their money year after year just to get a hard time
of boning up for a test they would very likely fail. Therefore, nowadays, most nobles participated in
the test mainly just for fun.

However, one could only do so when they had plenty of gold coins to spend. The young master
might get quite an amount from the king as his rewards, but wasn’t spending it in this way and at
this time a bit too wasteful? The Winter festival was already right around the corner. Was he even
serious about this test?

But it appeared he was indeed serious, for when the young man spoke the following lines, a smile
began to blossom brightly on his face, proving just how much delight the king’s consent had
brought him.

“I am grateful, your majesty! Yes, I’m well aware of the contest’s rules.” After a graceful bow, the
young master added. “And though I am not a noble, I hope I’ll still be allowed to the Royal Library
as a contestant.”

“… Of course! All contestants should be allowed to the library before the contest.”

“That is wonderful. Thank you so much, my lord!”

“… It is nothing.”

It was indeed nothing compared to the overloading admiration the king was having right now.

‘So what he actually aims for is the library?’

On regular days, the Royal Library, the ancient building every devoted scholar wished to visit at
least once before the end of their life, was only open for the royalty and noble guests. Those who
were born to commoners could only dream of this place but never be able to step their foot into it.

‘But by sacrificing five necons, the young master will become a contestant and obtain the right to
enter it.’

Taking a careful glance at the queen, king Jeremy could see by her expression that his wife was
also in a similar state of bewilderment.

A beautiful appearance, a kind and humble personality, and now the young master even had this
strong thirst for knowledge and wisdom.

Seriously, would this young man ever run out of his ways to amaze people?

Even as the king and the queen were wondering that, the smile on the young master’s face had
broadened, as though his mind was filled with plenty of pleasant plans to be carried out.

On a side note, a certain black-haired young knight was still looking at his liege with eyes as gentle
as ever, and a certain princess was still having the maids’ hands over her eyes and ears. She didn’t
seem to mind anymore though, since everything she could think of now was the image of said
young knight as he insisted on rivaling the knight captain for the person he loved most.

It was simply a dinner meeting, but the aftermath had been as exhausting as of a war.

The king was totally, submissively defeated, for more than one reason, while the queen and two
certain maids were in an extreme state of guilt and conscience questioning, also for many reasons.

Meanwhile, a certain princess was feeling a little dazed after the unprecedented dinner, of which
she had actually missed most parts due to the two maids’ strange behaviors. But it was fine. As
soon as she recalled that most important bit of the conversation, the princess could feel her heart
instantly raced in ecstasy.

Also, though not exactly involved, a certain golden-haired knight had been stuck in his own zone of
mental judgement ever since he met a particular young master, but this was another story.

‘None of the people in this palace is normal. None of them.’

That was Cale’s ultimate remark as he thought back of the dinner meeting he’d just returned from.
He’d hoped the members of the royal family would possess more sanity, but taking from their odd
reactions at times, Cale had completely given up on this hope.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter that much anyway.’

Scrolling down his magic mirror, Cale let his eyes leisurely scan over the messages sent to him by
an account named ‘Mae_the_devote_follower_of_the_legend_the_hero_ … _young_master_nim’
as he sat on a small couch in his chamber, Yeong in his fox form curling sleepily on his lap.
Outside the chamber, cotton-like snow could be seen through the window glass, drizzling from the
sky little by little. Amidst the darkness of the night, the small white snow seemed as if they were
haloing, much like the way the crimson cloak wrapping loosely around Cale’s shoulders was
reflecting a mild rosy halo under the candlelight at this moment.

‘I suppose it’s a good thing those scammers aren’t just some dumbasses.’

In spite of their craziness, Mae’s group was pretty decent at doing their jobs. In fact, most of his
information regarding the royal family and this kingdom’s culture in general had been provided by
Mae through the magic mirror. The Mythic Kingdom’s History Contest, for example, was one of
them.

As soon as he thought of the History Contest, Cale felt the corners of his lips twitched up into a
smile a certain dragon would tell him to show a certain crown prince the next time they met.

To most people, this test might be a gamble, or if not, a challenge in which they’d join for
experiencing purposes. However, to Cale, it was an event that would bring him plenty of benefits.

First, with his recording ability, he would definitely win it, meaning he’d gain a massive amount of
money within a relatively short time and without him having to do many hard works.

Second, he was planning on doing a research on this kingdom’s history to make his new identity as
someone born in this world more convincing, so a trustable source of materials was needed, and
what source would be more reliable than the books in the ancient royal library of this kingdom?

Earning more money while having access to valuable sources, by that way he’d kill two birds with
one stone.

The only pity was that participating in the contest would mean the third goal out of the four main
goals Cale had listed out could not be achieved for now, but it was worthwhile, wasn’t it?

Whilst feeling quite good at how things were going, as though suddenly remembering something,
Cale looked back slightly and randomly said.

“Did the princess say anything about the bracelet? She seems to like it a lot.”

Choi Han, who was standing guard a foot behind Cale, blinked at the question. Then, as always,
his eyes went instantly soft at the sight of his liege’s face, and he proceeded to reply with a proud
smile on his face.
 “Yes, Cale-nim. As you said, blue is the princess’s favorite color. In addition, she also likes topaz
gemstone.”

“That’s good.”

Cale nodded as he turned away from his knight, feeling gratified. That bit just now had confirmed
Mae’s talent as a hacker, for she was able to gain access to other magical systems without being
caught and obtain the information about the second princess’s preferences that only a few nobles
knew of. Apparently, there was no way she could create fake IDs that worked like real ones
without this talent of hers.

‘This is nice.’

Cale’s lips once again wickedly curled up as he thought of plenty of benefits he could get in the
future by putting Mae’s talent into proper use.

It was then when Choi Han’s voice reached his ears in a suspiciously flustered tone.

“Cale-nim, do you have a favorite gemstone as well? … Or any kind of jewelries that you wish to
be gifted on your birthday?”

‘He’s so obvious.’

Cale genuinely wanted to laugh at the way his knight, who was born unable to act, had just spoiled
his intention without him even noticing it.

Silly yet very cute, this puppy knight of his.

“If it’s supposed to be a gift I must keep and cherish, rather than jewelries, I would prefer
something more practical.” And Cale turned back his head slightly, letting Choi Han see the smile
on his face. With one hand raising to lightly touch the white faux fur on the hood of the red cloak,
he added. “You know, something like this cloak, which can wrap around me and warm me up any
time I need it to, just like now.”

It wasn’t a riddle, but Choi Han felt as though he’d just solved one.

It wasn’t a praise, but Choi Han felt delight blossom in his heart as if he’d received a compliment.

Then, with a gentle smile on his own face, one that was reserved to only one being in this world,
Choi Han whispered softly.

“Understood, my lord.”

And he returned to his guarding posture; his black eyes embracingly reflected the red shades of
Cale’s hair and cloak, burningly warm amidst the haunting coldness of winter.

End Chapter 11

Chapter End Notes

(1) Choi Han met the royal group for the first time in chapter 1, and he reported to
Cale in chapter 2 of this fic.
(2) Chapter 68 in the novel
(3) This king has the potential to become a fanfic writer.
(4) It kinda sounds like she was interviewing him. :v

I actually was struggling while writing the dialogues in this chapter. The royalty’s and
Cale's ways of speaking are really beyond me, who's normally only good at answering
yes/no questions.
 Chapter 12
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

Have a good one! <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

If someone asked Cale whether he enjoyed the feverish heat that spread out from his head every
time he used his recording ability, he would instantly strike a fiery thunderbolt down that person
before kindly asking back whether they loved it. Because, no, no humans in their right mind would
ever like to have their brains burned up from the core, unless, of course, they were a masochist.

However, fairly speaking, that heat was still pretty endurable in comparison to the pain of having
every single part of the body cut open, so between the two abilities he possessed, undoubtedly Cale
would prefer his recording one, which also meant he was quite okay with using this ability more
often than once.

And that was exactly what Cale had been doing in preparation for the upcoming History Contest.
For the sake of his money, he’d been camping in the Royal Library for almost a week now,
continuously recording every single word written in the history books and only leaving when it was
mealtime or bedtime.

Being a participant in the Knight Tournament, Choi Han was deemed to own a status similar to of a
knight. Thus, he was allowed into the library with Cale. The knight would spend his time reading a
book of his interest or just simply observing his liege as the man scanned through the thick books
from the huge shelves.

Yeong had been constantly with them at first too. After all, he was the adopted son of two
participants in for-noble-only events. The child would obediently sit down next to his appa and
attentively try to learn how to read. But then, reminding himself that being inactive all and every
day wasn’t a healthy thing for kids, sometimes Cale would leave Yeong to play with the little girl
instead. The kitchen staff seemed to adore the two quite a bit, and there were also the little girl’s
father and Agnes looking after them, so it should be fine. Still, most of the time Yeong went to the
library with his parents, just like this morning.

“Yeong-ah.”

Cale nonchalantly called his son’s name as he, Choi Han, and the child were leisurely heading to
the library. Surrounding them was a lukewarm air contrary to the stinging coldness enveloping the
capital as this year’s winter hurtled toward its climax. Though not far from the palace, the library
building was still located separately, and walking back and forth between the two places in this
weather surely was a pain in the neck. Therefore, Yeong’s power had been put in use to make the
treks more pleasant. They didn’t have to worry about other people noticing the oddly warm air
since the path appeared to be pretty deserted during this time of the year.

“Yes, omma?”

Hearing the call, Yeong looked up. His golden eyes reflected his godfather’s face as he waited for
the man’s next words.

“The book you picked yesterday seemed to be out of your league.”

Cale commented in an even tone. Despite having his face buried in pages of books, he always
made sure to flicker his eyes to the little fox every now and then when they were in the library. For
that reason, Cale could tell right away whether the child was doing well on his own. Apparently, it
appeared Yeong had had to seek help from his appa a lot more often than usual with the children
book yesterday. That book was fitting for children around Yeong’s age, and normally they
shouldn’t have troubles comprehending it, but that wasn’t the case for Yeong. The child only
started learning this world’s language not long ago, it was already a wonder he somehow managed
to get the hang of everything without being taught properly.

However, the child himself didn’t seem to be content with just that.

“I’m sorry, yeou~…”

With a weak nod, Yeong ducked his head low as though he’d just been scolded. The child had been
doing well with the elementary books and only encountered problems when he’d jumped levels
yesterday. He probably was disappointed that his study didn’t progress as fast as he wished it to be.
Cale could totally understand the child’s disappointment. However.

‘Why is this pun- person also like this?’

Next to Yeong, Choi Han was patting the kid’s head in a consoling manner, but Cale felt as though
this knight was the one in need of consolation the most with the way he lowered his head
powerlessly, the odd ears and tail drooping like he was a poor berated puppy.

Then, with some hesitation, the man casted a guilty glance at Cale, looking fully sorry.

“It’s my fault, Cale-nim. As his appa, I’m supposed to help him with studying, but I didn’t even
notice the book was beyond his level.”

‘Hah.’

It wasn’t until recently that Cale had realized just how serious Choi Han was taking this role to be
Yeong’s father. Then again, he was someone who had almost gone berserk seeing the wolf boy
Lock, who he’d considered as his dongsaeng, being in pain after only several days into knowing
him. (*)

“I’m not scolding neither of you.” Cale declared with a faint sigh, prompting the two trudging next
to him to jerk their heads up at once.

It was definitely just the damn hallucination that got into Cale again, because he was seeing these
drooping puppy and fox ears respectively on Choi Han’s and Yeong’s heads stand straight up at
that instant. He could always explain Yeong’s case, but Choi Han’s … Not to mention, the way
these two looked at him with innocent anticipating eyes while tilting their heads slightly, patiently
waiting for Cale to resume speaking was so miraculously in sync that, in a short moment, Cale
thought they actually were mirrored images of each other.
‘They sure are like real father and son.’

Cale thought that and suddenly felt like chuckling. A cute fox son acting in sync with his silly
puppy dad, that was rather cute.

Pat pat.

“There is no need to be disappointed or rushed.” Cale said simply as he reached both of his hands
towards the father-son duo, one lightly patting his knight’s shoulder, the other overlaying the
knight’s gloved hand on their son’s white head. To Yeong, he assured. “Even if we can no longer
use the library after the contest, there are always bookstores out there, so take your time. It’s
always better to slowly build a strong foundation than a quick yet fragile one.”

Cale was saying all that with his usual stoic face, but that sure was more than enough to boost the
silly father-son duo’s spirits back up.

“Yeou~ understood! Yeou~!”

Yeong nodded animatedly with an alight smile, his arms raised up, small hands clumsily holding
his dads’ fingers laying upon his head.

Next to the boy, Choi Han moved his free hand up to Cale’s on his shoulder. Reaching the target,
he made a loose grasp; the glove’s leather enclosed the slender hand a tender warmth. And, with
his gentle eyes never leaving the image of his liege, Choi Han slowly pulled the smaller hand
across his chest, a tiny bit downwards the left side. Two layers of fabric away, but the profound
firmness of muscles was still prominent to the touch as Cale’s palm glided over them. When the
motion came to a halt, Cale found his hand at the very place where a thumping heart was lively
doing its job inside. Choi Han held Cale’s hand right there, quiet, as though trying to send out a
message only silence could decipher.

Watching his hand inside Choi Han’s grasp, still against the masculinely hard chest, Cale himself
had no intention to withdraw it any time soon. Instead, he let it be, for this warm sensation of touch
was worth feeling.

A second passed by, and Cale looked up. When he looked up, he hid a smile, feeling oddly
gratified. He recalled that sometimes, Choi Han would answer him using actions like this. Cale
found them strange at first, but he never disliked them.

“Let’s go.”

With a quick motion of his chin, Cale eventually gave out a signal, and the other two happily let go
of his hands to follow.

Again today, the little family started their day overloaded with sweet fluff and cuteness.

Meanwhile, a few hundred feet away.

“Aw~ that was so freaking cute!”

“Did you see that? The way the young master put his hands on his two family members!!”

“Then the little boy put his hands over his parents’ hands!”
“T-then, the way the young knight held the young master’s hand! Ahh I’m melting!~”

“They, ahem, they’re out of sight now, so let’s get back to work ladies and gentlemen!”

With the final words from the housekeeper, the maid- and manservants hurriedly dispersed from
the terrace.

It’d all begun with Agnes and the other servants having been serving the young master’s family,
but now a considerable number of servants had got this habit to gather at this terrace every early
morning and late afternoon just to observe the adorable family interacting with one another as they
strolled back and forth between their chamber and the library every day starting from the beginning
of this week. The housekeeping lady had been indignant to find out at first, but her ire had instantly
vaporized the very second she’d seen Yeong cheerfully take wide strides as he’d walked between
his parents, little fingers holding on to the two men’s hands, arms sometimes swinging.

‘Ahem, just make sure not to attract too much attention. His Majesty won’t like it if this somehow
reaches Her Highness.’

Apparently after stating that, she’d immediately joined the servants in observing Cale and his
family, becoming the first to squeak every time there was even just the slightest sign of affection
displayed from afar…

So again today, the servants had enjoyed another most wholesome breakfast in their lives. Now
they were all full and energetic, ready to do all kinds of works for the whole day, no breaks
needed.

‘Such a total mess of a palace.’

Cale thought grumpily as he and his family stepped their feet on the Royal Library’s marble
entryway. He’d concluded that both the royalty and servants in this royal palace seemed to be
slightly touched in the head, but to think those servants would persistently wait for and peek at
them from the terrace every single day like that, this was another level.

‘At least it will end very soon.’

The History Contest would be held tomorrow. There was no need for any extra visit to the library
after the event, not that Cale would be allowed to, anyway. In addition, he also planned to leave the
royal residence right after the festival, which meant there was a high possibility he wouldn’t see
those servants ever again.

“Looks like we’re the first ones again today.”

Choi Han commented in a whispering tone, darting his pupils around. Cale simply nodded in
response, casually taking the crimson cloak off his body in preparation for the heat soon embracing
him.

The first time they’d come here, only five additional visitors had been spotted for the entire day.
They’d appeared to be contestants stopping by to make rapid double checks on their knowledge.
Since then, the number of visitors had been reduced by the day. Yesterday, aside from the
librarian, Cale’s family was the only faces present in this large building.
Not that it was a surprise. After all, before falling into a coma, the first princess was the only
royalty frequenting this place. Even the king preferred to send his orders to the librarian and have
his servants deliver requested books to his office instead. Among the nobles, only those who
participating in the contest would feel the need to come here more than once. Since taking notes
was out of question, the contestants tried their best to stuff as much knowledge into their brains as
possible at least one week before the festival, for since then most of their time would be engulfed
in the preparation for the festival itself.

Anyhow, that turned out pretty convenient for Cale. The less people present in the library, the more
freedom he got when using his recording ability.

Thinking of how convenient the situation had turned out for him, Cale leisurely let his eyes slide
over the desk where the lady librarian often greeted him from. She was a woman who seemed to be
in her late thirties or so, appointed to the position of the sole Royal Librarian only this year after the
former one had retired. The lady always looked from nonplussed to curious and annoyed about
Cale’s unique way of ‘reading’ but never voiced a question.

In one of his guesses, Cale suspected the king might have ordered the lady to monitor Cale’s
behaviors. He’d always displayed a friendly attitude toward Cale’s group, but a king wasn’t one for
no reason. He certainly was still more or less wary of them.

‘Not that it’ll matter.’

Even if the lady told the king of Cale’s special reading ability, and the king could deduce that Cale
was cheating with the power from the gods or whatever, there would be nothing he could do about
it without any solid proofs. Moreover, this wasn’t even a gift from gods or an ancient power, it was
a rightful ability developing into his soul during his dire time.

Different from usual, however, the librarian wasn’t at her station today.

“She’s probably in the inner section.”

Choi Han whispered to Cale, obviously noticing the lady’s absence as well.

Another nod. Cale was sure it must be the case. Normally the Royal Librarian rearranged the books
during this godly hour in the morning. Even Cale had never come here this early, and he wouldn’t
have today had it not been the last day before the test.

With relaxed steps, Cale, Choi Han and Yeong easily headed toward the bookshelf in the innermost
corner – the only one left for Cale to conquer before he went for the contest. The group kept their
footsteps as soundless as possible as they walked. An empty building or not, this was still a library,
meaning performing the minimum etiquettes was a must. Perhaps that was why, only when the
three already arrived at the innermost aisle, the individuals (as in plural) in there finally caught a
glimpse of their presences a second too late, having deeply been engrossed in their own ‘business.’

“OH!

“Oh?”

“Oh.”

“Oh…”

“Yeo- oh~…”
After a series of ‘oh,’ there was a pregnant pause, in which Cale’s group and a pair of people were
staring speechlessly at each other. To be more detailed, it was Cale’s group and a pair of people
who appeared to be Miss Librarian and an unknown young man. To be even more detailed, the
unknown man was standing suspiciously close to the lady with his arms around her waist and her
arms around his chest, and before their mouths were free to form the word ‘oh,’ they’d joined
together in an act that could be described in four letters, done by pressing the lips of one person
against another’s.

Time continued to tick away as the two parties carried on their staring contest.

Eventually though, the librarian seemed to have recovered from the suddenness of the situation and
urgently pushed the guy away from her.

“No! Young master-nim, it’s not what you think-“

But before she could finish, Cale calmly cut her off.

“Oh, wrong aisle.”

Cale said, his face perfectly indifferent, as though he hadn’t seen even the smallest glimpse of the
scene just now.

“Let’s go to the other side of the shelf first.”

He ordered and started to turn on his heels. The way he did it was so nonchalant that for a second,
the librarian truly believed the young master had missed the inappropriate thing she’d done with
the man standing next to her not long ago. However, almost immediately, she realized the young
master was just putting an act, for he was stealthily covering the little master’s eyes in a way
similar to when a parent covered their kid’s ears as they strolled down the street in order to prevent
the kid from absorbing vulgar language. In addition, even though he stepped back and began to
move following his liege’s order, it was obvious that the black-haired young knight had also seen
‘that,’ since there was a hint of flush evident on his cheeks.

Putting all the observations together in her head, the librarian quickly grew panicked.

“W-wait! Young master-nim and Sir Knight!” Despite being in the library, the librarian raised her
voice desperately as she tried to stop the group from walking away. If her indecency got to the
king’s ears, forget this title of a Royal Librarian, even her life would be in danger. “Please!” So she
had no choice but to beg. “Please don’t …! I mean … Please forgive me …!” Tears started to pour
out from her eyes as fear began to seep into her mind.

The young master’s expression had no changes whatsoever.

‘Damn it! Why did they have to come so early today?’

She so dearly wished she’d known in advance that the young master’s family would be here earlier
than their normal schedule.

Then, the librarian felt a presence stepping in front of her, and she looked up. The large figure of
the man she’d just done intimate things with was covering her small body. Perhaps it was foolish
of her, but she wondered if she could rely on this famous womanizer now that things had turned out
like this.

“Whatever you saw, erase it from your minds.” The young man curtly ordered, a tinge of
superiority in his voice. Then, he smirked, an eyebrow cocking up arrogantly. “Don’t you know
who I am? Well, I suppose people from small noble families like yourselves must have never had a
chance to see me in person, so I will be generous and let you know who I am.”

And he pointed a thumb towards himself, buffing his chest, the cocky smirk on his face widening.

“I am the future king of the powerful Sage Kingdom – crown prince Geno O’Valouse. For this
Winter festival or something of yours, I’ve come to grant your kingdom my precious presence.”

The prince’s introduction was unnecessarily loud and grand, to the point it made him seem more
like an immature teenager showing off his status than a grown-ass man only years away from
succeeding a king’s throne.

‘But there is no doubt. This man is that Geno.’

Cale thought tiredly as he suppressed a sigh. Whilst learning about this kingdom, he’d also taken a
look at the neighbor countries. Mae’d grown up in the Sage Kingdom, so she knew a lot about it,
including information regarding the Sage Kingdom’s royalty.

In one of the messages, Mae had said this.

<<The current crown prince of the Sage Kingdom is the second prince – Geno O’Valouse. He’s a
tall man with a fit body, fair and spotless skin, wavy black hair that is often tied up into a ponytail,
and of course, ruby red eyes unique to the O’Valouse family.>>

The man in front of Cale right now had all of those features. However, what confirmed the man’s
identity laid in these next lines in Mae’s message.

<<His handsome appearance is almost the only good thing about him though. Other than that, he’s
only famous for being overly arrogant, narcissistic, and obsessed with older women.

He enjoys flirting with any single women who are years older than him, playing couple with them
for as long as he likes, and then breaking up with just an unrepentant apology at most. However,
since he has both look and status, the ladies keep falling for him even though they know he’s just a
womanizing bastard.>>

‘That was some extremely accurate description.’

Seeing how the prince was acting just as described, Cale couldn’t help but admire Mae’s
effectiveness when it came to gathering information.

‘Well, anyway.’

A bastard or not, he was still a kingdom’s crown prince. Cale didn’t want any more troubles to
himself, so he gently pushed Yeong toward Choi Han and stepped up just in time so that the prince
couldn’t see the deadly gaze forming on his knight’s face.

“M-my goodness!” Putting a hand over his mouth, Cale exclaimed, looking truly flustered. Then,
with a slight bow, he added. “Please forgive us for being so ignorant, Your Highness! On behalf of
my family, I sincerely apologize!” Cale finished, his dazed eyes quivering pitifully. Anyone seeing
this expression of his would never suspect it was an act.

Cale believed this supercilious prince would leave his group alone after he paid him some respects.
However, no response whatsoever was heard from prince Geno. Feeling iffy, Cale moved up his
gaze. But, just as his gaze met the prince’s, that man’s expression seemed to distort somehow.
Adverting his eyes urgently, the prince suddenly looked baffled for some reason. Then, his face
turned miffed, and he clicked his tongue.

“What a mood killer!”

That was the last thing the prince said before rudely dashing by Cale and his family, too rushed to
even notice the murderous air Choi Han was emitting as he watched the prince stride away with
reverberating footstep sounds before completely disappearing from the group’s vision.

‘What a brat of a prince.’

Cale sighed, suddenly feeling relieved the God of Death hadn’t dropped him off the Sage Kingdom
but the Mythic Kingdom instead. Having such a childish person for the throne in the future, unless
a talented transmigrator possessed their crown prince or something, that kingdom would be
doomed the moment prince Geno took control over.

‘Actually, it’s rather intriguing, isn’t it?’

According to Mae, the O’Valouse had three sons. Originally, the first prince had been the crown
prince. After the first prince had been assassinated, however, Geno had been chosen to take his
place. That had caused lots of debates among the vassals. The cunning nobles pushed for Geno’s
succession to happen at all costs. In their eyes, Geno was none but a simple piece of chess easily
controlled and removed any time they wanted. If he became the king, they’d get a perfect puppet in
their hand. Meanwhile, the vassals loyal to the royal family strongly opposed it, fearing the
kingdom might fall in the hand of this good for nothing prince. Instead, they supported the third
prince, who was much more talented and well-behaving than Geno.

‘But this is where things get strange.’

It was strange because, despite himself doing every single task for his brother, the third prince had
no desire for the throne. In fact, he’d been the one who’d asked the king to make Geno the crown
prince with a promise to take care of everything on his brother’s half. There was a rumor he’d gone
as far as threatening to leave the kingdom if the king decided otherwise.

‘Well, none of my business.’

Cale just shrugged. People could play politics all they wanted as long as they left Cale and his
people alone. The crown prince probably made a visit because the two kingdom’s royalty were
known to be in good terms with each other, and that womanizer just happened to be hitting on the
new librarian and doing bold stuff as it was, after all, his personality.

Thinking so, Cale turned away from the others and approached the bookshelf to begin taking care
of his own business. However, Miss Librarian still appeared unsettled even after seeing Cale act
like nothing had happened.

“Um … y-young master-nim …”

Hearing her stuttered call, Cale looked back at her. She’d stopped crying, but her puffy eyes still
seemed anxious and worried. A few feet away, both Choi Han and Yeong were observing her with
sympathetic eyes.

“I won’t tell anyone. I promise.” Cale stated simply. It wasn’t like he’d gain anything but troubles
from telling someone else about the librarian’s secret affair. “And neither will they.” He motioned
his chin toward his family members, and the two wholeheartedly nodded in affirmation.

The easygoing response brought an elation to the woman’s face, but soon that elation diminished
considerably as she lowered her head in shame.

“Thank you, young master-nim, Sir Knight, and little master-nim. And I sincerely apologize for my
misbehavior. To have done such things with a man years younger than myself, I’m ashamed.”

It was obvious the lady was talking about herself, but for some reason, Choi Han was looking even
more troubled. Cale didn’t notice that as a small frown appeared on his face as if he was genuinely
mystified.

“Why are you ashamed being with a man younger than you?”

“Pardon?”

“The prince is an adult too, isn’t he? He’s an unmarried nor engaged adult, and I presume so are
you. I don’t think you need to be ashamed for having a romantic relationship with him as long as
neither of you is forced.” Cale then turned to face the bookshelf once again, lips moving to utter
whatever comment that came to his mind. “Still, this is a library, so please refrain yourselves a bit
if possible.”

And Cale waved one hand to indicate the end of the topic while taking out a book using the other
hand. He was in a hurry since the earlier incident had pulled back his schedule a bit.

“I-I understand …”

After stuttering the response with an embarrassed face, the librarian silently stood in her spot, so
stunned that even her facial muscles forgot how to move. Then, as though perceiving that she’d
been a bother, the lady held her hands together as she suggested to Cale in an earnest voice.

“My inappropriate action might have interrupted your study, young master-nim. To make up for it,
please let me know if you need more time to prepare for the test, and I shall gladly let you stay a
bit longer even after the library’s closing time.”

“There should be no need, but thanks.”

Cale said curtly without turning back to face the woman, his eyes already busy running over the
pages.

The librarian didn’t find that offending, however. Instead, she bowed again, this time with a smile
full of gratitude.

“Then I shall take my leave, young master-nim.”

With that, she nodded respectfully to Choi Han and Yeong too before returning to her counter at
the front of the library. Still, she didn’t miss the warm look on the young knight’s face as he took
the image of his beautiful liege into his own eyes, all the while smiling in a way one could
confidently declare that the young man was deeply in love.

‘How great to have someone who would look at me the way Sir Choi Han looks at young master
Cale.’

The librarian thought with a sad smile. She’d never got a lover in her life, and the first man
approaching her just had to be that irresponsible jerk of a prince.

‘Damn that jerk! I won’t fall for him ever again.’

Her heart had been weak before the charm of the prince, but after seeing him leave with not so
much as giving her a glance, the lady realized she’d been risking her career and life for an
undeserved person.

‘From now on, I’ll just focus on my job.’

She’d only focus on performing her duties as a Royal Librarian from now on.

‘Well, there is another job I need to take care of as well.’

She would have to present a report of her observation on the young master very soon. Originally,
she’d portrayed the young master astonishing reading power in a rather negative way. Now
though, she suddenly felt like adjusting her words a bit to make it a little more neutral. She couldn’t
have the nice young master be put into any unnecessary accusations of cheating now, could she?

An hour had passed since the little encounter this morning, and Cale was already working on the
third book from the last shelf, cold eyes calmly running over the pages, carefully not to miss even a
single note or excerpt.

Frankly speaking, if it were just about events that had happened in this continent, the number of
books Cale had to go through would be reduced by half. But, just like how education was on Earth,
there were always people who liked to deeply analyze, research, comment, and raise various
opinions on the same topic, and that was how the other half of these history books were born.

‘I guess this is why most contestants can’t pass the test.’

Having to memorize all the contents that could be contradictory to one another was never a
cakewalk.

‘But it is indeed a cakewalk to me.’

Cale internally remarked, his lips that had turned considerably red curled up slightly. With the
Record ability, he’d only need to bear the heat for one more day, and five hundred more gold coins
would be guaranteed to join in his magic bag.

As Cale thought that and continued scanning the pages, in one corner of his mind, the records he’d
gathered for that past six days were being reopened simultaneously. Like a model student before
their final exam, Cale decided to make a quick review over all the stored knowledge of the Jewel
Continent’s history so far.

‘God of Death you son of a bitch, can’t you just send me to a peaceful place for once?’

The more those records were displayed in his head, the more Cale felt like cursing that bastard of a
god, who for whatever reason just seemed to be dearly in love with seeing Cale crawl on piles of
dogshit to survive. That motherfucker had literally swapped Cale’s and Kim Rok Soo’s bodies
without even asking for his consent and then had the audacity to play the role of an observant for
the whole two years, only ever popped his cryptic ass out for his own benefits. For that reason,
even though strictly speaking, that god had indeed saved him by bringing him to this world, Cale
still couldn’t help but feel immensely dubious.

‘There’s no way he just randomly threw me into this world.’

The God of Death must have some errands that he expected Cale to run. And, by the complexity of
this world’s setting, that guess seemed about right.

‘The Winter festival, the event to celebrate the nationhood of the Mythic Kingdom.’

Though the dates might be different, all major countries in this Jewel Continent had been officially
established in the same year. It’d been the year when the Nàdar Dynasty – the most powerful party
ruling over the continent back in the days – had finally fallen.

Excluding all the biased notes written in the books, Cale could tell the Nàdar Dynasty had used to
be greatly respected by its citizens, at least before the reign of the last king. There was even a
saying that the Jewel Continent would have crumbled to pieces without the Nàdar.

The story had it that, over one thousand five hundred years ago, when the continent had been on
the verge of self-destroying after decades of civil wars, a legend had appeared and united all races
and species. It was said that Mother Nature had gifted him the powers to become the hero who
would bring back peace to the world. People had worshipped that man and made him their king.
He was Nàdar I – the first ruler of the Jewel Continent.

Nàdar I’s gifts were diverse, and they’d been passed down the generations. In the meantime,
Mother Nature had become the most significant divine figure to the people in the ancient time. For
over five hundred years, the Jewel Continent had been blessed with absolute peace and prosperity.
No crops had failed. No wars or even large conflicts had arisen. All children had been able to go to
school, and no families had suffered from poverty or joblessness. Magic, swordsmanship,
medication, education, etc, had rapidly flourished under the reign of the clan receiving blessings
from Mother Nature.

However, nothing lasted forever, and neither did the Nàdar Dynasty.

After five hundred years of peace, the biggest villain and the most resented king in the continent
history had shown up and destroyed the glorious legacy that his ancestors had tried so hard to
enlarge and protect.

He was Nàdar VI – the last ruler from the Nàdar Dynasty.

‘Actually, that bastard had it coming to himself.’

One reaped what they sowed. Nàdar VI, who wasn’t satisfied with ruling only a continent, had
sought a way to reach his hand to the unknown lands somewhere outside the continent. He had
been blinded by his greed for power and ignored the warnings from his loyal vassals and Mother
Nature herself.

As a descendant of the Nàdar, Nàdar VI had inherited certain gifts from his ancestors. However, no
matter how strong he’d been, he couldn’t possibly conquer the world all by himself. Without the
support of neither his people nor his god, Nàdar VI had got no choice but to resort to the help of
any other god out there. Eventually, one god had heeded his pray.

That god was a god of the Demonic Race.

Not many details were known about how he’d been able to contact with such a god under the gaze
of Mother Nature, but Nàdar VI’s betrayal had surely severed the vital bond between the living
creatures on the continent and the core of Nature to an extent beyond remedy.

With the power of Nature being weakened, the Demonic God incited Nàdar VI to carry out a ritual
that would summon him into this world.
Of course, the people couldn’t just sit still and let a demon demolish their homes, so they’d
grabbed their weapons and fought. The Jewel Continent’s Great Revolutionary War had thus
begun.

Unfortunately, their efforts had been to no avail. With the power of the gifts running in his blood
and the aids from the Demonic God, Nàdar VI had remained untouchable whilst the number of
deaths amongst the soldiers had turned uncountable. Due to the rift in ‘the bond,’ the land had also
started to wither. Gone had the blessings of Nature; only inclemency and calamities awaited all life
forms.

It was then when the eight legendary heroes of the continent had finally made their first official
appearance. These heroes, seven of whom had received a gift of gods, had joined hands together
and successfully sent the tyrant king to hell at the end of the war.

After the war, the eight heroes had chosen to walk on their own paths, forming the Six Great
Realms and ruling the beings who were willing to serve them.

The reason still remained a mystery, but most gifts bestowed upon the eight heroes had appeared to
be altered or modified after the first generation. Many theorized that it was a small sacrifice to save
the mainland and the two most significant islands from the cruelty of nature that had been
enveloping the Forest of Dreamers ever since Nàdar VI’s unredeemable sins.

‘The Demonic Race …’

Cale pondered over the three words he’d already heard of not just once in his old world. Whether in
this world or his previous one, there were always such fools who would fall into those demons’
traps and become their perfect pawns.

‘But it has nothing to do with me.’

Cale inwardly shook his head, reminding himself. If the God of Death truly had stuff for him to do,
they better be something as simple as reading a book, or else he’d make sure to riot into that
bastard’s realm and destroy everything with his Fire of Destruction.

“Hah hah …”

Imagining the scene of him turning the God of Death’s realm into piles of debris, Cale felt an oddly
triumphant sensation stir up his inside, and he subconsciously let out the soft chuckling sounds
mixing in the heated panting breaths, having no clue that such sounds he was thoughtlessly making
were bringing crisis to a certain someone’s heart and mind.

From the central table, that certain someone noticed the sounds and quickly looked up from the
book he was reading to check on his precious liege. Due to the angle, he could only see the side of
Cale’s body as the man continuously ‘read’ through the books with an unbelievable speed. That
person would see a part of Cale’s face covered in glistening sweats, the entirely reddened ear, the
fluttering long lashes, the quivering lips, and the blush on the cheek that had gone from light pink
to hot red at some point. Then, if that person shifted his pupils just by the slightest, the image of a
delicate back would certainly be taken into his vision. That back that was normally carefully
hidden behind layers of fabric could now be dimly seen through the thin layer of white cotton, all
wet and sticking to the pale skin drenched in sweats inside. Just looking at it caused the person’s
heart to leap uncontrollably just by the mere thought of ever tracing his fingers down that back, and
then perhaps a tad lower, lower, until they reach-.
‘Still, this is a library, so please refrain yourselves a bit if possible.’

“Gah!”

That certain person, of course, was Choi Han.

‘This- I’m so sorry Cale-nim! I’ve failed you!’

Choi Han, who finally came back to his senses after being entranced (again) by the beauty of his
liege, recalled the thing his liege had told Miss Librarian not so long ago. Powerful waves of guilt
swept over him at that moment. If his Cale-nim knew he was having these not-so-innocent
fantasies in his head right inside the Royal Library, he would hate, no, despise him to death.

‘I’m such a shameful piece of shit.’

Choi Han continued to apologize in his head with an expression of a sinner ready to get on the
guillotine all by his own will, not knowing someone was observing him with a mixture of
sympathy, understanding, and a bit of pride in his gaze.

‘You’re doing a great job holding back, appa.’

That person, apparently, was Yeong.

Yeong had half a mind to say that sentence out loud in an attempt to console his appa, but
eventually he decided against it. By the look of it, receiving pities from a child in this situation
would only make the poor man feel like killing himself at this instant.

‘Sigh.’

The child sighed internally, glancing between his depressed appa and his godfather, who was
displaying such an appearance so defenselessly.

His appa sure had it difficult, didn’t he?

“You are leaving already, young master-nim?”

The librarian asked, her tone surprised. Since today was the final day before the test, she’d
expected the young master would need that extra time she’d offered him, but reality obviously said
otherwise.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work, Ma’am.”

Then the young master slightly inclined his head; the other two immediately followed suit.

As always, the young master left with a feverish-like flush on his face and dazed eyes from fatigue.
However, his expression today looked confident, if not even excited, as though he was all done
with preparing for any kind of challenge coming his way, and now all that was left was for him to
confront it head-on. Behind him, the black-haired knight was gently watching his liege like usual,
a proud smile on his face. Seeing so, the librarian found a smile automatically bloom on her own
face as well.

“Of course.” She replied, feeling strangely proud herself. “May your efforts yield a fruitful
outcome, young master-nim.”
“Ah, thank you very much.”

Cale politely nodded and was about to walk away when he heard footsteps and voices that seemed
to belong to two men, one of which sounded rather familiar, come near from the front.

“I told you, it’s just an apology, I can do it by myself!”

“Of course you have to apologize to Miss Librarian by yourself, but I have to make sure you do it
properly, hyung-nim!”

“Tks, you’re such a pain in the ass.”

“Hyung-nim, languag-“

One of the two approaching people halted abruptly upon seeing Cale and his group.

“What?! You guys again?”

The other one of the two – prince Geno O’Valouse – inquired with wide eyes. Naturally, he didn’t
expect to see those early birds that had ruined his fun this morning again after so long into the day
already.

“You know them, hyung-him?”

“No.”

Prince Geno answered without delay, but just right after that, he suddenly made a brief dash toward
Cale.

Klang.

“Hyung-nim!”

“M-my goodness!”

The guy who was with the second prince and the librarian exclaimed at once, and rightfully so.
After all, they were seeing a prince being threatened by a sharp blade in front of their eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The second prince drawled in a grumpy voice, startled and uneasy upon sensing the icy air coming
from the blade and the eyes of the daring punk blocking between him and the red-haired young
master.

However, the punk – Choi Han – said nothing in response. It was only his immovable stance and
those jet black eyes gazing unyieldingly that told the people present his answer.

He was protecting his liege, that was obvious. And it was also obvious that he would only step
back once he was sure the area was cleared from threats.

“Hyung-nim, please!”

The other guy, who appeared to be the second prince’s dongsaeng, hurriedly grabbed his brother’s
arm and pulled him back worriedly, perceiving that this stubborn brother of his, though clearly
afraid, still refused to yield. Then, to Cale’s group, he apologized with an awkward smile.
“Please pardon my elder brother’s unsightly act! He might have acted unbefittingly, but please
believe me that he meant no harm. He probably only wanted to have a word with the young master
here.”

Hearing his younger brother’s apology, the second prince looked visibly annoyed, but he didn’t try
to refute his words.

Meanwhile, both the younger prince and the librarian were having their eyes on the shining blade
in the knight’s hand with anxiety.

Glanced.

Choi Han took a short glance at his liege as though to ask for permission. Receiving a nod from
Cale, he calmly put his sword back in his scabbard, respectfully returning to his guarding position
right behind Cale.

Making an eye contact with Choi Han, Cale smiled brightly as he answered the prince in a friendly
manner.

“No need to apologize! My knight was a bit over-precautious as well.”

His cheeks were still slightly flushed, raising up ever so slightly following his smile. Perhaps that
was why as soon as he finished his response, a hail of unexpected reactions from the three present
people aside from his group arose in union.

“Woah!”

“Woah!”

“Urg …”

“… What is it?”

Feeling iffy with such overreactions, Cale inquired back, trying to make his voice as courteous as
possible.

After his encounter with Prince Geno, he’d suspected that the third prince should also be here, for
there was no way the Sage Kingdom would send their bratty prince to another kingdom without a
reliable babysitter.

‘His appearance matches the description from Mae’s messages too.’

Smaller than Geno in figure, wavy short black hair, young and bright facial features, and the same
red eyes shining like rubies amidst the night. That was the third prince of the Sage Kingdom –
Girvan O’Valouse. The third prince was said to have a hawk pet always with him, but it appeared
he couldn’t bring the hawk here because of the library’s rules.

“I-it’s nothing …” Prince Girvan shook his head, hands waving sheepishly. “Sorry for the
interruption, sir.”

And he tugged his elder brother’s sleeve, seemingly urging him to hurry and do what they’d come
here for. However, instead of listening to his dongsaeing, prince Geno just quietly yanked his
sleeve away and slowly shortened the distance between him and Cale once again. Behind Cale,
Choi Han already put his hand back on the hilt of his sword, his eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Noticing Choi Han’s deadly gaze, the second prince hesitated, rolling his eyeballs irritatedly before
stopping quite a far distance between him and Cale. He then opened his mouth and started to drawl.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes, your highness?”

Cale politely responded, the bright smile fixated on his face. The prince was blatantly looking
down on him, but Cale just couldn’t care less about it.

“I will say this only once, so listen carefully.”

“I certainly will, your highness!”

The way Cale said it was encouraging, and he looked patient too, but for some reason, the second
prince suddenly seemed like he was in big big troubles.

After a short moment of complete silence (but long enough to make Choi Han feel the need to
unsheathe his sword for the second time), prince Geno, with great difficulty, finally uttered, his
whole face a total twisted mess.

“I’m straight.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hyung-nim?”

Everyone in the library gawked their eyes in utter flabbergast upon hearing the unforeseen
statement from the second prince.

Then, with cold sweats all over his face, prince Geno firmly added.

“I’m only interested in older women. I’m not at all interested in men! Never! Yes, that is me –
Prince Geno O’Valouse!”

By the end of the prince’s out of the blue declaration, everyone realized he was no longer talking to
neither Cale nor anyone else. No, he was just trying to remind himself of, very likely, the principle
of his own life. Beside him, his dongsaeng was intensely staring at his hyung as if to triple check if
the man was truly his brother. Standing at the counter was Miss Librarian, who was wearing an
expression that said she would rather close the library right at this moment and go straight to the
tavern to relieve some stress.

Meanwhile, behind Cale, Yeong was having a deep frown on his face, openly showing his
discomfort towards someone for the first time after the incident with merchant Famegreeder. Next
to the boy, Choi Han, whose eyes suddenly appeared scarily darkened behind his black bangs,
tightened his grip around his sword’s hilt. Should his liege ever command, he would not hesitate to
chop off that bratty prince right away. In the worst circumstances, he’d just have to flip over one or
two kingdoms, which shouldn’t be too hard.

‘Sigh.’

However, Choi Han needed not do any of those, for Cale had no intention to become the Sage
Kingdom’s enemy. Instead, he was thinking of a matter completely different.

‘This Royal Residence is definitely cursed.’

 He concluded, seeing how even a prince from another kingdom was starting to act weirdly after
arriving to this place not so long ago.

At the same time, a strong resolve was formed in Cale’s mind.

‘I’ll immediately leave here after the festival.’

Cale ought to take his family away from this accursed place before even they became affected.

End Chapter 12

Chapter End Notes

(*) From chapter 30 in the novel.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. ^^

 Chapter 13
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

Happy Easter! <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

As many could easily predict, the first day of the Mythic Kingdom’s Winter Festival revealed itself
to be the peak of this winter.

It wasn’t as if there was snow falling down. In fact, no more of those freezing cotton balls had
touched the land inside the capital over the past few days. What was really doing the main works
to add up to this winter’s climax was the temperature, one that kept dropping over the nights,
diligently making ice out of little puddles and sustaining the piles of leftover snow, not letting them
fully disappear even when their leave had long been overdue.

In addition, the sun had gone missing, and the sky appeared to be ruled over by layers of grayish
white clouds. The air was powdered, and every gust of wind was a cut to the flesh, bone and
marrow.

Even in such a weather, this morning, thousands of people still gathered into the capital square
with banners and flags raised high above their heads. It was because, unlike events reserved
exclusively for nobles such as a royalty’s birthday party, national events such as the Winter
Festival would require the king’s direct presence in front of his people. From the palace balcony,
he’d give out his speech, marking the start of the long-anticipated festival.

But the opening ceremony wasn’t the only time to see the king in the flesh. The History Contest,
which would be held not long after the ceremony, also allowed a limited number of commoners to
join the audience, sitting just behind the noble families to spectate the test. As for those who
missed the chance to secure their seats, they could always stand at the front gate of the building
where the contest took place – the Lewis Museum – and await the royal carriage to pass by them.

“Look! The royal carriage has arrived!”

“His Majesty is here!”

“The royal family is here!”

From the far-off intersection, where the extravagant carriage with lion-shaped crests carved on
both doors appeared, all the way to the museum’s gate, cheers and exclamations broke out and
reverberated. Within just a few seconds, the crowd, which had been embracing themselves in the
cold weather while, with an utmost boredom, watching the noble families’ carriages one by one
coming in like a train of sheep in the sheep counting exercise before bed, collectively felt vigor
reflow in each and every single vein of their bodies at the sight of the royal carriage.

“His Majesty, the sun of our kingdom!”

“Her Majesty the Queen!”

“Her Highness the Princess!”

The crowd became the more enthusiastic the nearer the carriage was heading to the gate. None of
the royalty let themselves be seen by the people outside, but the feeling of being within the same
space with the majestic presence was plenty enough to raise a sense of pride in the people’s hearts.

It was then when someone noticed something odd and pointed it out curiously.

“Hm? Why are there two royal carriages?”

There was a smaller carriage tailing behind a much bigger one. The first one was undoubtedly
carrying the Lewis family, as every year it was that same luxurious carriage that passed by the
cheering crowd to enter the Lewis Museum.

“It seems to be a carriage reserved for guests. Could it be for the O’Valouse princes?”

A nearby person wondered. The news of the princes’ special visit wasn’t a secret.

“But didn’t we just see their carriage arrive not long ago? You know, the one with the griffin crest
on it.”

“…That’s right.”

The O’Valouse was the only household in this whole Jewel Continent who dared to put the griffin
insignia on their properties. This meant the two princes from the neighbor kingdom must have
already been inside the museum, which also meant whoever was being carried by the carriage in
question was, for now, still a mystery.

Then, one person hammered his fist into the palm of his hand as he uttered out loud a recollection
having just sparked in his mind.

“Oh, I heard a rumor that-”

“WOAH! HIS MAJESTY!”

“HER MAJESTY!”

“HER HIGHNESS!”

“HIS MAJESTY THE KING!”

However, his sentence was abruptly cut off by the crowd’s wild outburst the moment the royal
carriage slowed down its speed at the large gate.

“H-HIS MAJESTY! THE KINGDOM’S SUN!”

Swept by the crowd’s excitement, the person hurriedly joined with everyone else, eagerly cheering
for the royalty’s arrival. The rumor he was about to share aloud soon forgotten in the back of his
head.

‘Good thing I asked the king in advance...’

Cale, who was sitting cross-legged with his back leaning against the comfortable seat, thought in
relief as he listened to the crowd’s crazy screams outside the carriage.

For clarity’s sake, yes, he, Choi Han, Yeong, and Agnes were all inside the smaller carriage trailing
behind the royal family’s into the Lewis Museum.

‘I wonder how hectic the crowd will become when they see you and Sir Choi Han on that day,
young master-nim.’

At some point, Agnes had randomly said that whilst smiling engrossedly in her fantasy,
successfully reminding Cale that the contest itself wasn’t what he should be worried about the
most.

Cale had held no belief that the people here would consider him a worthy man for their praises, but
then the terrifying memories of the previous life came back to him, and suddenly Cale felt his skin
crawl violently as though a million ants were taking a stroll on it.

Last time, the people would wave their shining shields and cheer for him by that cheesy ‘young
master silver shield’ or whatever nickname every time they saw him on the street, and those
people had already well known of his trash past. But the people in this world? They were clearly
clueless of Cale’s trashy self. They most likely only knew of him through the incident at the West
Castle, but according to Agnes, they’d already started praising him as their hero or even a god of
some sort.

‘I can’t let such a thing happen again.’

In fear of receiving cringy cheers from the crowd again, Cale had talked it through to the king,
earnestly asking him not to make his participation in the contest hot news to the public.

Perhaps because the king was aware that granting Cale the right to participate in this contest would
bring forth more or less debates, he’d easily agreed with Cale and kept the news from being vastly
leaked out. Thanks to that, Cale and his family were able to cross the roads without being
recognized.

‘Though this is very selfish of me.’

Cale thought so and quietly glanced down at the large hand of the man sitting next to him. The
hand was rough, callused, and scarred all over. It was the hand of a true hero who deserved every
bit of applause for everything he’d done, but because of Cale’s selfish request, the hero had to
quietly stay in this carriage with him without receiving any cheers from the people.

‘When the Knight Tournament takes place, Choi Han will surely get back his spotlight.’

Cale told himself in his mind and mentally nodded. The reddish-brown eyes casually left the large
hand and slowly traced up the arm. Just like that, slowly, until they met a pair of deep black eyes
and abruptly halted.

As it turned out, whilst Cale had been deeply engrossed in his thoughts about the man, the man,
Choi Han, had also been observing him all along.
Smile.

As though having anticipated Cale’s gaze for who knew how long, Choi Han smiled warmly the
exact moment their eyes intertwined.

Encountering that smile, Cale paused for a beat. Then, he simply looked away. His expression
remained unchanged. Neither did he smile back. It was silly to just smile out of the blue, so he
refused to do the same.

However, even though he’d already turned his gaze away, Cale still felt the left side of his face
became continuously heated.

Apparently, despite being ignored by his liege, Choi Han was still watching the younger man with
his puppy eyes, patiently waiting for another chance when his liege would look back at him once
again.

Just like that, the two men carried on their little lovey dovey you-look-me-ignore game during that
short time when the carriage entered the museum’s gate and readied itself to park. As usual, they
were oblivious to the others’ gazes on them. In this case, it was Agnes, who was contemplating the
sweet moment of her masters in a way that one would think she was devouring the most delicious
meal in her life, and Yeong, who was having the usual innocently happy expression on his face but
in truth was drawing thousands of cute images of his parents in his head, ones that would surely
make Cale faint if he ever saw them.

“We have arrived, young master-nim!”

Licking the corner of her mouth like an animal satisfied with its meal, Agnes cheerfully announced
as she peeked through the glass part of the carriage door.

From somewhere ahead, an ostentatious trumpet tune was being played, celebrating the entry of
the king and his family even before they actually entered the building.

“Please be careful, Your Highness.”

A dozen feet away from Cale’s carriage, the knight captain and also princess Janessa’s personal
knight – Captain Philo – extended his hand to his princess and carefully helped her embark from
the large carriage. This was, to the captain, one of the best parts of being the princess’s personal
knight, for during such moments, princess Janessa would give him her full attention with those
sparkling azure eyes of hers.

However, as though that short time when she looked at him was none but a lie, as soon as Janessa
safely landed both of her feet on the ground, she steered her eyes away from the captain.

His princess had always acted that way toward him, but the captain was quick to realize there was
something different in the princess’s behavior this time. More specifically, the princess was
lingering in one spot whilst looking at the smaller carriage slowing down behind. Her eyes were
longing, and her cheeks were slightly blushed as if she was a shy girl waiting for her boyfriend on
their first date. And not just the captain but the king, the queen, and even some servants were able
to quickly pick up on that.

Captain Philo knew why the princess was behaving like this. He also knew whom his princess was
waiting for. And it was seriously pissing him off. Unfortunately, with the king and the queen
around, he had to restrain himself from teaching that annoying bastard a lifelong lesson today. (1)

At the site of the smaller royal carriage, the annoying bastard, Choi Han, easily alighted from the
carriage upon receiving the signal from the coachman. The man’s movement was fast and light,
and as he stepped his boots on the snowy ground, a gust of wind blew by, stirring the black strands
of his hair amongst the white snowflakes. His young face as he stood firmly and began to venture
his unwavering gaze ahead was extremely cool and handsome.

‘Choi Han, my hero.’

Janessa muttered in her head with a delighted smile across her face. It’d already been a week since
their last meeting, and Janessa felt like that was the longest week ever in her life.

However, even though the princess was sending him such a bright smile, her hero just didn’t seem
to notice her presence at all. Instead, with his strong stance, he turned around and held the carriage
door, all the while beckoning to the shivering coachman to just go and take care of his other tasks,
if there were any.

‘My hero, he’s such a gentleman.’

Janessa admired proudly, her vision lost in the cool image of the young hero as the man patiently
waited for the other passengers to get off.

The first one was Yeong, whose movement was just as fast and light as his adoptive father’s. The
next one was that maid Agnes. The young maid’s appearance caused the princess’s brows to
slightly crease downwards, but the fact that Choi Han’s eyes weren’t on the girl for any longer than
a split second and that the young man simply let the maid get off by herself without offering her
his hand soon brought an unprecedented satisfaction to the princess’s heart.

It’d been bugging her how that maid had volunteered to serve her hero, but looking at Choi Han’s
unconcerned attitude toward the maid just now, Janessa could finally rest assured that the maid
would never gain the ability to go between her and Choi Han even if she tried to.

Still, Janessa thought it was a pity she and Choi Han couldn’t be inside the same carriage, because
if they could, Choi Han would have been the person who’d helped her embark from the carriage.
And maybe, just maybe, the young hero would even be bold enough to carry her down from her
seat, uncaring of the prying eyes surrounding them.

Imagining so, Janessa felt her face burned hot. Embarrassed, she hurriedly turned around with her
face buried in both of her hands, hiding the coy yet ecstatic smile just right behind them. This
caused captain Philo to also turn back in order to guard his princess. As a result, both of them
missed the splendid scene unfolding just a second later.

At the smaller royal carriage, Choi Han, who the princess thought would not reach his hand out for
anyone but her, unhesitatingly reached his hand toward a certain person in the carriage. His face
raised up slightly, allowing the deep black eyes to take every visible part of the person into those
orbs. Naturally, that person, Cale, took his knight’s hand and calmly got off.

Shiver.

The strong winds earlier had been reduced into small and thin breezes, but even those breezes were
still cuttingly cold. So Cale, whose body was unsurprisingly weak, involuntarily shivered the
moment the cold air touched his skin. His legs thus shook slightly, and his hand that was holding
Choi Han’s hand was icy to the touch.

Choi Han, incapable of witnessing his liege suffer and just doing nothing, reflexively took a step
forward. Replacing the hand holding the carriage door with his whole body, he wrapped his now-
free arm around Cale’s back. At the same time, his other arm pulled inwards just slightly, laying
the slender hand on his shoulder before reluctantly separating itself from it on a mission to support
the back of Cale’s thighs. With the position all set, the knight effortlessly lifted up his liege and
made a small spin before putting the man down on the ground in a quick yet plenty careful
movement.

While Choi Han did that, as if on cue, small gusts of winds gently whirled around him and his
liege. Getting blown up by the winds, the long strands of red hair lively flew in the air as if
dancing; sometimes they would even reach out to the other man’s jet black strands as though trying
to light up the moonless night with shining flames. And, with Choi Han’s arms holding around
Cale’s body, Cale’s crimson cloak appeared to inflate and flutter just mildly, letting the grey cape
freely embrace it at times. (2)

Together with the captivating background of leafless trees sleeping soundly in frost and snow, the
couple appeared to the contemplators just as dreamlike as the main characters from a fairy tale.

Though the moment lasted no longer than a blink, Agnes and Yeong aside, the royal family (saved
for Janessa) and several servants also hadn’t missed it. Predictably, most of the ‘audience’ were
now wearing a faint shade of pink on their faces as a result.

The king, in particular, was looking as though he could give his right leg and arm just so that he
could gain the power to erase the damn heated sensation on his cheeks. Though able to well
perceive that it wasn’t his place to openly oppose the two young men’s relationship for the sake of
his daughter, the king still couldn’t bring himself to be comfortable with it, and neither did he want
to. However, the damn couple really had a way to draw his mind into hypnosis with their envying
yet natural displays of affection. Admittedly, that moment just now was beyond the definition of
beautiful, and the king knew he could always replay it in slow motion in his head as a means to
relieve stres-.

‘Wait, dang it! I’m being caught in their spell again!’

It was ridiculous to say that a Lewis was under a spell, but king Jeremy just couldn’t find a better
word to describe this … phenomenon.

With a shake of his head, Jeremy Lewis started to walk into the museum with the queen, who also
had a similar expression to his, by his side.

On another note, Janessa, who finally snapped herself out of her own imagination, noticed the
others’ odd expressions and turned around a second too late, for at this point, both Choi Han and
Cale already parted their bodies and were simply looking straight ahead with calmness.

“… Your Highness.”

Clara – Janessa’s personal maidservant – carefully called the princess, respectfully urging her to
turn away from the damn couple follow the king and the queen. The dinner meeting had long
ended, but the poor maid’s job to protect the princess’s heart had just begun its second chapter.
Seeing the royal family begin moving, Cale’s group naturally did just the same. For now, they
would be with the king’s family until they entered the museum and got escorted by an assigned
servant to their reserved seats.

Just when Cale barely took the first step, however, a familiar figure appeared before him like an
out-of-place piece of boulder. It was captain Philo, who, instead of following his princess,
suddenly decided to approach Cale in a somewhat irritating manner. From the corner of his eye,
Cale could see Choi Han already reached his hand to the hilt of his sword and clenched it tightly,
prominent veins running scarily on the back of the clenched fist, indicating that the man was
already in his average state of being ticked off, and this was just by the mere sight of the captain.

“Sigh.”

Cale couldn’t suppress his sigh. Seriously, just what sort of cliché was it this time?

Slowly raising his gaze to match the irking figure’s in front of him, Cale was all ready to utilize the
Dominating Aura. He doubted the guy would do anything that might cross the line since the king,
walking ahead with his back facing them, was still within the vicinity, but just to be safe, let’s
destroy any possibility of the classic showy immaturity in the bud.

After all, such a persistently annoying type of guy wouldn’t shut up unless they were put back in
their place properly.

But before Cale could carry out the plan, the knight captain opened his mouth and said something
rather unexpected.

“I’ll save the fight with you for the day of the tournament.”

The captain was clearly talking to Choi Han.

He then raised his hand that was holding his sword with a flourish, his expression a mix of
scornfulness, loathing, and resolve.

“In front of the people of this kingdom, I’ll defeat you fair and square, and I will be the one to
bring glory to Her Highness the Princess!”

And with some thinking, he added.

“I won’t let the kind of guy like you have that opportunity!”

‘Hoo, so it’s this kind of cliché.’

Cale, an experienced novel reader, was immediately able to conclude that this was the common
‘provoking the main character’ cliché often seen in most novels. Even in The Birth of a Hero
novel, Choi Han had encountered these kinds of things at least thrice per volume. It was clearly a
main character thing.

Whilst Cale thought that, he could see Choi Han already unclench his grasp around the sword hilt.
The man’s face was still dead serious, but other than that, he showed no sign of going berserk.

If it had been a few years ago, in worry of the ground underneath his feet being plowed up and
crushed into dust, Cale would have been relieved seeing the godly strong protagonist was able to
hold back his anger. Now though, he somehow felt a rippling surge of displeasure pricking on him
like a needle stabbed to his head, and the worst spot on his head at that.
‘The kind of guy like you?’ Just what point was this jerk trying to make by saying that? His knight
was the nicest guy, the most righteous person, and arguably the strongest sword master out there.
Cale had no doubt that Choi Han could knock this jerk down to the ground with only one neat hit.
It was this jerk who didn’t stand a chance. Not letting Choi Han have ‘the opportunity?’ What a
laugh.

Of course, Cale didn’t spit those remarks out loud or even explicitly display his disagreement to the
surface, but he did intend to give the bastard a taste of his Dominating Aura. It’d be entertaining
seeing the guy buckle his knees in fear just right after that oh so big talk.

It seemed, however, that Cale would have to delay the plan one more time, for the captain
appeared to have something to tell him as well.

“And you.”

Changing his target, the captain casually addressed Cale all of a sudden. His gaze was still just as
scornful, but Cale thought he could sense some sort of déjà vu out of it.

“I’ll say this only once, so listen carefully.”

… Yeah, it was definitely a déjà vu.

Suddenly, the captain’s expression took an abrupt change, making it distorted slightly. The
complexity in his emerald eyes mercilessly reminded Cale of a certain stupid prince.

‘Please, not that agai-.’

“I’m straight.”

“…”

… There was a complete silence after the captain declared that.

Cale was totally speechless, and his face turned into a dead blank page.

‘Seriously, is this a trend or something?’

Considering prince Geno had spoken just the same line, Cale thought that was the only logical
conclusion he could come up with to explain this absurd coincidence.

Choi Han, on the other hand, had the same darkened eyes hidden terrifyingly behind his black
bangs as his hand once again returned to the hilt of his sword.

Behind the two, Yeong and Agnes, though utterly confused, both frowned at the rude attitude and
the puzzling words the captain was throwing at Cale.

Meanwhile, seeing Cale’s indifferent expression, captain Philo, whose temper was always as short
as a toothpick, glowered at Cale as he thought Cale was taking his words lightly and decided to go
on and elaborate his statement.

“I’m telling you this not because you concern me in any way.” And the captain gritted his teeth.
For some reason, having to explain such a thing made him extremely angry. “I don’t give a damn
about you. The incident in front of His Majesty’s dinning room meant nothing special. I was just
caught off guard, and it won’t happen again, so you better not get cocky over that, you meerk-.”

Captain Philo was about to throw an insult at Cale by calling him a meerkat, but his word suddenly
got stuck in his mouth the moment his gaze met Cale’s head-on. It was because, even though Cale
was just blankly staring at him, his eyes somehow still appeared strangely mesmerizing with their
dazed look, and perhaps because the weather was cold, but the man’s cheeks were outstandingly
flushed, his long lashes quivering in frost seemed enthrallingly vulnerable, and even the white
breaths coming out from the parting lips of the man were a pleasant vision to look at.

“Tsk.”

Cale’s appearance right now oddly stirred something deep inside the captain, and that made him
awfully annoyed.

“I’m only loyal to Her Highness! Remember that!”

And with that final line, he instantly turned and swaggered away.

Cale could feel a black aura ooze out from Choi Han standing next to him, but he decided that it
was a much wiser choice not to try checking on the man’s expression right now. Instead, he began
to calmly walk straight ahead, his face absolutely unimpressed.

For the record, this was what Cale was thinking.

‘What a total nut job.’

He’d thought the Sage Kingdom’s crown prince was the worst case among the people affected by
the ‘curse’ of being inside the royal residence, but man, this knight captain sure took the cake. (3)

“Let us go.”

Cale ordered simply, too tired to even heave a sigh.

‘For now, I’ll just focus on the contest, no, the gold coins I’ll get after the contest.’

As always, thinking of money was the best way for Cale to restore his energy.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Mythic Kingdom’s History Contest of the 1001st year in
the New Age Calendar!”

… As it turned out, the Mythic Kingdom’s History Contest was conducted in the format of a
gameshow.

Every contestant would be guided to a wooden podium with a magic mirror installed into it. The
mirrors, of course, had been examined by the five judges of the show test as well as the king
himself to ensure of the test’s fairness. The contestants would then use those magic mirrors to
silently type their answers and send them to the large mirror hung on the wall so that all the
answers to each question would be displayed at the same time. Because the images being shown
weren’t supposed to move, the letters thankfully appeared readable in most parts.

“Now, everyone, are you rea----dy for the excitement?”

“…”

“No need to be shy! Please just say it out loud! Are you rea---day for the excitement?”

“…”
“… It seems I am the only one who’s excited then. Ha ha. Ha ha ha …”

‘So pathetic.’

That was Cale’s thought as he looked at the show host in pity. The man really tried his best to
warm up the test’s atmosphere. However, his efforts didn’t pay off for a few simple reasons. First,
despite its format, the contest was meant to have a ceremonious theme. It’d go through 203
questions revolving around the thousands-of-year worth of history of the Jewel Continent in
general and the Mythic Kingdom in particular, which was deemed to be taken with a reverent
manner. In addition, the elders of the kingdom court were in charge of judging the answers and
monitoring the test. They were widely known for being strict and solemn, especially when it came
to the nation’s history. Some of them had even used to be or still were the royal family’s mentors,
receiving great respects from the royalty. With their presence, give them the money and the
audience still would not dare to respond to the host’s playful prompts.

‘This host is quite bold though. I’ll give him that.’

Looking at the young host, Cale was reminded of the deputy butler Hans, who had treated him
rather daringly at times even though he’d been aware of his trash history. Once in a blue moon,
characters like these would appear, in real life or not, to help with lightening the mood of a story.

‘This one seems to have failed though.’

Cale wasn’t sure if the host was new and ignorant, or if he simply wanted to become a tradition-
bender, or something else, but looking at the frowns on the king’s, the queen’s, and the judges’
faces as well as the audience’s uninterested expressions, the poor guy seemed to have failed as the
host of this show.

‘Well, whatever.’

In Cale’s opinion, the contest would have been as anticipated an event as the Knight Tournament if
the atmosphere here could be loosened up a bit. That was, to go along with the host’s warm-up
questions. But then again, it wasn’t supposed to be greatly anticipated to begin with, given the
humble numbers of both spectators and contestants.

Aside from Cale, there were only five more participants, and except for one, most of them seemed
relatively young, which made sense. Though this test was open for all ages, most nobles refused to
participate as soon as they turned thirty. The reason was purely because of their pride. When the
young ones failed the test, they could brush it off easily using the excuse of being ‘still young’ and
‘still learning,’ but the game was different to an adult, especially one who had already succeeded
their parent’s title.

‘Which makes this woman really stand out …’

For reference, the one contestant excluded from the group of youngsters was this thirty-something
woman standing at the podium next to Cale. ‘Zara Reachazai’ was the name displayed on her
podium.

Wave wave.

Sensing Cale’s glance, the woman stealthily glanced back at him whilst waving her hand, which
was half hidden in the wooden side of the podium, just mildly; the faint smile on her face, to the
audience, didn’t seem to be directing towards Cale, even if it were.
Nod.

Cale made a discreet nod in return and simply withdrew his glance.

‘So this is Duchess Zara.’

Unlike her father – Sir Zac – who couldn’t hide his overflowing emotions that time when he’d met
Cale, Zara was much calmer. Even though Zara was the one having given Cale his ID and even a
fake background, technically a benefactor to Cale and Choi Han in a sense, she didn’t try to use
that fact to her advantage. Instead, she read the surroundings thoroughly and decided to beware of
the eyes watching them from the audience seats. She also put her facial expressions and actions in
control to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. Without doubt Zara was the sanest person Cale’d
met ever since his arrival at the capital.

Moving his gaze around, Cale could see that, though he was sort of an oddball in this contest for
not having a noble title, most aristocrats out there were looking at him with more curiosity than
disapproval or anger. The king must have already given an explanation to the attending noble
households, which made Cale’s appearance much less of a question to them. In fact, in comparison
to the way they looked at him, the eyes pointing toward the duchess five feet away from him
contained a much stronger sign of criticism.

‘Which is plain stupid.’

Once a person won the contest, they wouldn’t be allowed to attend it ever again, but as long as
they hadn't won, they could retake it anytime. However, many soon gave up after just one or two
failures. Yet, according to Sir Zac, Zara kept re-participating every three or four years ever since
she’d turned eighteen. It was simply a self-achievement she wished to obtain at some point in her
life.

To Cale, who also had an undying desire to achieve a peaceful slacker life despite the difficult
circumstances, the duchess’s determination wasn’t half bad. For that reason, he thought the people
who criticized her for keeping trying over and over at her age were petty and just plain stupid.

Broadening his gaze further into the audience area, Cale paused his eyes at one certain spot. It was
where Choi Han, Yeong, Agnes, Sir Zac, and Sir Zac’s disciple were sitting together at the
exclusive area for contestants’ families.

Thumbs up.

… Cale wasn’t sure exactly when those two had practiced this, but Choi Han and Yeong were
sending him a thumbs up in such amazingly synchronized movements the very moment Cale
looked at them.

‘They look excited …’

Cale was the participant here, but somehow Choi Han and Yeong seemed even more enthusiastic
and nervous than himself, who, honestly speaking, was just as relaxed as a passer-by.

Cale thought so and leisurely glided his gaze a bit to the left. Many unknown noble faces were
there. At the center was the royal family, sitting on an outstandingly higher row of seats. Of
course, the two princes from the Sage Kingdom were favored to have their own seats on the same
row.
Catching Cale’s eyes on them, prince Girvan smiled friendlily with a nod in response, his hand
stroking the beak of his beloved hawk as though introducing it to him. Meanwhile, the rude bastard
Geno’s face suddenly stiffened before he crossed his arms and quickly looked away as if trying to
avoid Cale’s gaze.

Shrug.

Even though Geno was blatantly showing his disliking toward Cale, Cale just shrugged at that. He
thought he should at least be able to ignore such attitudes from the prince, who seemed to have
been affected by this royal residence’s ‘curse.’ After all, Geno’s case was only second to Philo’s in
terms of severeness. If anything, it was the royal household’s ‘curse’ that was to blame.

“The time has come! Ladies and gentlemen, let us proceed to the first ever question of this year’s
History Contest!”

After a short moment of checking the devices, the staff gave out a signal, and the young host
loudly announced the start of the contest.

“Are our contestants ready? Remember, you’ll only have one minute to type down your answer
after each question is revealed.” And the host looked into the magic mirror in his hand and began
reading aloud. “Alright! Number 1. What is the gift of gods passing down on the Mythic
Kingdom’s royal lineage after its alteration?”

It was an extremely easy question.

Bright smiles bloomed on the contestants’ faces as they typed their answers at the drop of a hat.
For a starting question, this was such a piece of cake. After all, no citizens in this kingdom didn't
know this fact.

Cale thought so too as he entered the answer into his own magic mirror without feeling the need to
explicitly open the records.

Keng!

With that echoing sound, the magic mirror’s screens in front of the contestants were all reset at
once, and their answers were now appearing on the screen one after one.

“Time’s up. Let’s look at our contestants’ answers!”

Apparently, the audience needed not be told that, for their eyes had already been on the large
screen.

“As expected, all of the answers are the same.” And the host confirmed of the right answer without
even looking at his mirror. “‘Immunity to magic spells.’ That is the correct answer!”

‘Immunity to magic spells.’

It was the name of the gift of god still remained in the Lewis lineage.

At the time of the revolution, the founding king of the Mythic Kingdom, still merely one of the
former vassals of the Nàdar dynasty, had been blessed with a power of water attribute. He’d
utilized that power to defeat Nàdar VI.
After he’d became a king, however, the power had soon been changed into something entirely
different – the immunity to general magic spells directly applied on their bodies – which still
remained until today.

At first glance, this ability seemed weak and passive, but as time passed, people soon realized it
was a very useful power, especially to royalty who always had more or less enemies trying to harm
or control them using magic spells.

“As you can see, all the contestants’ answers are correct! Let us move on to the next question!”

With that declaration, the young host happily carried on his job.

For reference, the judges weren’t just for show. However, they would not be needed until much
later, when crazily difficult questions began to come up, and the participants’ answers started to
diverse. For example, a question about an ancient scholar’s opinion on a topic might yield answers
that were diverse in terms of sufficiency. It was when the judges would step in to measure the
answers’ adequateness.

For the first twenty questions or so, however, the judges should not be needed.

Smirk.

The corner of Cale’s mouth twitched up just slightly, forming a faint smirk that would be hardly
detected by the spectators.

For the record, Cale wasn’t smirking because the questions up until now were still none but a
breeze, but instead he was thrilled at the thought of the true monsters that would be unleashed very
soon.

The judges might think they’d created the undefeatable beasts for this test, but they just didn’t
know that inside Cale’s head right now was thousands of weapons, all in their best shapes, ready to
be put in use. With them, Cale was the true undefeatable one here, all set to go on a beast hunt and
slaughter them all the way to the ultimate prize.

‘Heh heh.’

Thinking of the prize as good as within his palm now, Cale laughed evilly in his head.

‘Gold coins, here I come!’

Cale announced excitedly in his thoughts and continued typing his answers with the most insane
speed possible.

Recording, data-retrieving, and typing, they were all the tasks he’d gained plenty of experience for
during his previous lives.

“T-the answer is Sonianna! Yes, in the 607 th year in the New Age Calendar, Duke XX YY’s best
friend had a lizard pet, and he named it Sonianna! Unbelievable! The contestant Cale Henituse has
correctly answered the 202nd question!” (4)

The young host stuttered before shouting in disbelief. It’d been over three hours after the contest
had begun, and the first ever time in ten years, the final question was about to be unveiled. It was
thanks to this one sole person who had passed through all the last 202 questions with answers so
perfect even the judges couldn’t find any point to object.

“Cale Henituse … just who is this man?”

The king mumbled, incredulously watching the young man standing alone on the central stage.
Even the most persistent participant he could think of – Duchess Zara – had had to leave after
question eighty, but this young man, who hadn’t even been allowed in the library one week ago,
somehow managed to remain till the final question.

‘I did hear from the librarian, but still, this is incredible.’

The king had skimmed over the report about Cale Henituse from the librarian, and he’d known in
advance that the young man seemed to possess an ‘admirably fast memorizing ability,’ according
to what was said in there. (By the way, was it really necessary for a report to have its first ten pages
be occupied purely by praises?) However, the king had highly doubted that ability would be strong
enough to help Cale Henituse last the first half of the contest. That was why, when the man had
successfully given the answer for the latest question, one so trivial he could not in any way have a
hint about, king Jeremy couldn’t help but once again question the identity of the young man.

Was he really a human, or was he, like many people had been calling him, a god?

Cold sweats were running down the king’s face. By the look of it, even the strictest judge sitting
down there was completely flabbergasted in front of the presence of this young man.

On the other hand, the young man – Cale Henituse, though surely worn out after hours of standing
and concentrating, somehow still looked no less calm than at the beginning of the test. Actually, if
anything, the man seemed even more relaxed now that he was facing the final monster of this
knowledge battle, which, king Jeremy had to admit, was something truly astounding considering
the man’s age.

“Heads up everyone! Because I’m sure you don’t want to miss the next few minutes.” The young
host shouted excitedly, happy that at some point during the contest, the audience finally began to
respond more and more heatedly to his words. This was totally understandable considering they
were most likely witnessing the moment a new history was written.

“Now to the last question!” As soon as the host declared so, everyone in the hall instantly raised
their ears in focus. “The last question is: What is the historian ZZ’s opinion on the robbing incident
at the OO village in the year 502?”

“As expected of the final monster of the test.”

Duchess Zara, who had returned to the audience seat next to her father after failing the eightieth
question of the test, muttered in a low voice. Even though she’d been studying history for years,
this question still rang nothing on her head.

Really, who the hell would care about such an unknown historian’s opinion on an incident no one
ever remembered of?

Zara thought so, and she grew anxious. Would the young lord make it this time?

However, just right after that question was formed on her head, the duchess heard a proud voice
echo softly from somewhere nearby, making her unconsciously turn sideward in surprise.

“As expected of Cale-nim!”

The owner of the voice was the young lord’s knight – Choi Han, whose eyes were solely on his
liege without break. On his face was a warm smile that reminded the duchess of her father’s smile
whenever he’d looked at her mom once upon a time.

Following the young knight’s gaze to the place the young lord was standing, Zara soon knew the
reason Choi Han said that.

The final monster? The trivial to a fault question?

The young lord Cale Henituse was obviously having none of that as he, like always, started typing
with a dizzying speed as if the answer had long been stored in his head and only needed a simple
search to be displayed clear and thorough in front of his eyes.

“Oh heavenly lord …”

And the result came out in the form of a shocking wave to the spectators.

“Contestant Cale Henituse’s answer is ‘He thought it was simply stupid.’ Do our judges have any
objection to that?”

Shake shake.

All five judges were shaking their heads with a blank expression. What kind of objection could
they even have when that historian literally had written only that one comment on this trivial
incident?

“Incredible! Ladies and gentlemen, a new history has been made! For the first time in ten years,
our kingdom has a new winner of the History Contest!” Seeing the headshaking from the judges,
the host burst out in an emotional voice as though he was the one winning the test. “Let us send the
biggest applause to the newest winner – Mister Cale Henituse!”

“Congratulations!”

“Awesome!”

“Bravo!”

Whistle, whistle!

Different from the time at the beginning of the contest, the audience were now enthusiastically
sending their cheers, ignoring the 'solemn attitude’ or whatever, for they saw that even the judges
seemed to have been moved by the unexpected development.

At the center of all those cheers, the winner – Cale Henituse – was standing elegantly without any
sign of smugness even when he’d successfully passed such an arduous challenge. This humble
attitude of his was admired greatly by the judges, for it was indeed rare to see a young one who had
such vast knowledge but could still be so calm, modest, and respectful.

Meanwhile, that young one, Cale, was having this simple thought.

‘This is stupid.’
At first, Cale had been rather comfortable with the questions as they were still relevant to
remarkable events and facts in the continent’s history. Soon though, stupid questions similar to the
one just now came up more and more frequently, and Cale was so done after the final so-called
monsters had been revealed. Rather than being calm, Cale was actually just being utterly fed up
with the stupidity of this infamous contest.

‘Well, as long as I get the money, it’s fine.’

Experiencing a little bit of idiocy in exchange for five hundred gold coins, that was indeed a very
small price to pay.

Cale nodded to himself and lightly waved at two certain individuals in the audience area, his legs
automatically moving toward them.

His goal here had been achieved. Now it was time for him to return to his family.

“Congratulations, mister Cale!”

The king congratulated Cale as he shook his hand, a bewildered smile on his face. After that, the
queen and the princess also in turn did the same.

Princess Janessa, however, appeared to not only have a word with the winner of the event, but also
with the winner’s knight, as she delayed her steps and impulsively uttered the man’s name in her
soft yet clear voice even when her father and mother had begun to leave.

“Choi Han, I-“

But the princess’s sentence came out unfinished, for she instantly closed her mouth the moment the
figure of a certain young maid with purple hair popped into her vision.

‘That maid Agnes, she’s standing so close to Choi Han.’

Actually, Agnes was standing closer to Cale than to Choi Han, but the reality was changed a little
bit in the princess’s point of view.

“N-never mind …”

Shaking her head, the princess quickly turned her back to Cale’s group and strode away with a
disheartened expression. Seeing her like that, Captain Philo sent Choi Han an ugly glare before
hurriedly chased after her.

Cale and Choi Han, who had absolutely no clue what the heck was wrong with those two, simply
looked at each other and shrugged.

To Cale, none of the people in the royal household was sane anyways.

Still, there were some people who understood well why the princess acted that way.

Pat pat.

The Reachazai family patted Agnes’s shoulders with sympathy, and the poor maid could only sigh
in response.

‘Princess-nim, it is true that Choi Han-nim’s heart already belongs to someone else, but I am not
 that someone. You are being jealous of the wrong person.’

Agnes so wished to tell the princess that.

‘Let’s just pray that nothing bad will happen.’

Giving a quick glance at the disappearing back of the young princess before setting her eyes back
on her masters, Agnes dearly hoped nothing bad would ensue due to this little misunderstanding.

Her masters were walking together so peacefully ahead, and the peaceful moments like that of the
family were something she deemed needed be protected at all costs.

End Chapter 13

Chapter End Notes

(1) Seriously, just what did Choi Han do? Leave the man alone!
(2) At this point, I believe this fic can't survive without the winds.
(3) Just in case it makes you confused, it's not an actual curse. It's just Cale who sees it
as a curse.
(4) Just ignore the XX YY ZZ OO, they're all just bullshits hehe.

I must admit that I shortened the contest quite a bit. It's because originally this contest's
only purpose was just for Cale to earn more money since I love to see Cale be rich.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Also, I might not have proofread this chapter carefully, so I apologize in advance for
the mistakes that haven't been fixed.
 Chapter 14
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

Have a good one! <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

It was so frustrating.

Lamented the young, ever beautiful second princess.

There were so many emotions that were pulling her spirit down right now, but, contrary to all that
mess inside the young princess, the landscape outside was happily bathing itself in thin rays of
sunlight, slowly shaking itself off from all the tenacious, abundant snow.

After the peak drop in the temperature on the day of the History Contest, the sun somehow
managed to puncture its lights through the thick, sad gray clouds and be blessing the land with a
mild warmness. Thanks to that, the snow was disappearing, so little left on ground; it was more
accurate to say it was leftover ice hidden where the lights could not yet reach.

And so, people were already starting to look forward to a few clearer, warmer days amid the
winter, just like they always did every year. The weather inside the mainland was always like that.
Thanks to the blessings, most places never had to suffer tough weathers for long, and a kingdom’s
capital was, needless to say, the chosen location with even the air one breathed in ought to be better
than most.

And that was annoying. To Janessa.

She knew she shouldn’t feel like that. It didn’t feel like her to be a meanie to something that wasn’t
anyone’s fault. She just … couldn’t help it.

She was here, in her chamber, idling her fingers on a map on top of another, one for the vast, ever
intricate Royal Residence, the other for the smaller yet not any less complicated North Castle, with
a mood as heavy as a mountain, as loomy as a starless night. Then there was the sky, getting just
brighter by the day. And so did the air, so did the land. It was like-

It was like no one, nothing understood her feelings.

It was like she was the only one having to feel this way.

And that just wasn’t very nice, to say the least. Because, if she was the only person feeling like
this, then what about him?
What about the man who was the center of it all, the one holding her heart and causing these things
whose existence she’d never known of to sprout so unstoppably in this small, fragile piece of flesh?

Had he, Choi Han, not been thinking of her at all? Or perhaps, he’d forgotten about her already?

‘No, it can’t be.’

That was a scary thought, and Janessa wanted to dismiss it immediately. After all, in the fairy tales
she’d read, the love between the male and female leads wasn’t meant to be so fragile. Well,
mostly. Exceptions did happen sometimes, especially when …

‘Especially when there’s a third person stepping in between them …’

Janessa felt her fingertips growing numb as realization hit her hard in the back. Her entire body
froze, and she wondered why that thought had never crossed her mind until just now, but then
again, she’d never had to put her mind into stuff like this. Such a thing called a true, serious
romantic love, for her, was something unprecedented.

And so was this jealousy.

It’d started just as a tiny discomfort. Seeing the young maid Agnes act so friendly around Choi
Han brought a tiny spark of discomfort to her, but Janessa had reflected on herself not much later.
She’d given herself a lecture, telling herself it was unbecoming of a princess to display such
disgraceful behaviors towards the poor servants, and so the small discomfort had been supposedly
perished.

But then why? Just why must that same maid not step down when things had just begun to get
better? Why had she offered herself to serve her hero, of all people? It also didn’t help to learn that
this maid used to be among the clumsiest royal maids there was, and maybe still was. For a maid
with such a humble competency to be so eager to serve someone, surely saying she was just trying
to build up her career as a maidservant couldn’t suffice by the slightest. And that was how the
small discomfort had come back to Janessa, neglected and blurred in the exciting joy of knowing
Choi Han was about to fight Captain Philo over her in the Knight Tournament, weak enough to be
completely forgotten in the satisfaction of seeing the young hero’s uncaring attitude towards the
maid the moment they’d alighted from the carriage, but still there.

Had she not encountered that sight, where Choi Han and the young maid had been almost
inseparable during that whole time when they’d watched the contest and even at the ending
ceremony, Janessa would have still been unaware of this ugly feeling’s existence inside her heart.
That feeling now had grown from a speck of uncomfortableness to a tangible jealousy that could no
longer be ignored, branching itself out in forms of many, many more uglier emotions.

She’d been angry.

She’d been disappointed.

She’d been unreasonable and lost her calm and downright run away from the after-party with an
excuse as pathetic as ‘not feeling well.’ She knew that much.

Admitting so, Janessa suddenly felt her chest tightened in a strangely restless way, and she
subconsciously raised a hand to grasp it, just as tightly. Was it regret? Guilt? Embarrassment? Or
was it just her overthinking everything? Perhaps it was everything all together that was pushing
tears out of the corners of her eyes at this moment of retrospect.
Maybe it was her fault.

Her fault for not staying with Choi Han when she could, for not speaking up and claiming her man
when she had the chance.

Or was it?

Pulling out the North Castle’s map from under the Royal Residence’s one, Janessa recalled why
she’d even touched them in the first place, when she’d never bothered to before.

It was because she was here in the North Castle, relatively far away from the Royal Palace, that
she’d been so longing for the place over the long distance drawn on maps.

As the king’s second daughter, Janessa had been endowed with the ownership of the West Castle
when she was just a child. Since then, she’d spent most of her time in it, more so than any other
royal castles and even the Royal Palace. This was the same for her sister, who owned the East
Castle.

However, due to that terror incident not long ago, the West Castle was currently closed for
repairing. And, even though Janessa hated to admit it, she was actually pretty happy to hear that.
Why? The answer was simple: because that meant she’d get to stay in the Royal Palace for a while.

Normally, that news would not be music to her ears, given the fact that Janessa was never a fan of a
place so suffocating with such a pungent smell of politics all over it, but this case was different.
That unpleasant smell no longer meant a thing the moment she’d learned that Choi Han had
returned and would stay in the palace with her. She’d been overjoyed to hear he hadn’t got any
significant injuries beside a few scratches that could be treated easily with potions. She’d thought
the man would come to see her himself and been disappointed that he had not. However, it was
understandable considering a member in his family had been injured and unconscious.

Then, there was that news about the hearty dinner with the hero, which had brought an
unimaginable ecstasy to her heart. And what’s more? The dinner had ended with the hero all ready
to fight the knight captain for her, which had moved her to no end.

But then why? Why must her father decide to give her the ownership of the North Castle right after
that?

‘You have always preferred the North Castle, have you not? I apologize for not giving it to you
sooner. Now that the West Castle is temporarily closed, this is the least I could do as your father.
Consider it a late birthday present, my dear daughter.’

Her lord father had stated so with such a benign smile, which made her unable to deny the gift.
Moreover, it was also true that she’d always been fond of the North Castle. For one, its location
was the furthest away from the ever hectic downtown. For another, the castle and its ambiance
were beyond the definition of poetic. Surrounded completely by the woods, it was the quietest
castle with such a beautiful landscape, a building befitting for a princess like in any fairy tales she’d
read.

However, originally the king had refused to give it to her, saying the castle was too desolate, not
appropriate to be the main residence for a delicate lady like her. Ironically, the moment he’d finally
granted that wish of her, it’d turned out to be a hindrance.

For safety reasons, especially after what had happened in the West Castle, her lord father seemed to
determine that extra security forces were a must, so some more guards had been assigned to the
North Castle ever since she’d moved here. Whenever the princess wanted to go somewhere, she
ought to contact the king or the queen first, asking for their consent, before departing with an oddly
abundant number of guards trailing behind all the time. What was even more annoying was that
whenever she mentioned about Choi Han, the king and the queen would brush off the topic at the
drop of a hat, stating compactly that he was extremely busy preparing for the Knight Tournament
and shouldn’t be bothered by anyone.

“But if we were in the same building, we might meet each other every now and then.”

Janessa muttered soundlessly to herself, disheartened, the fingers on her right hand unwittingly
reaching to the bracelet on her left wrist in search for comfort. Her eyes scanned over the Royal
Residence’s map still laid on her lap. On the map, the North Castle and the Royal Palace were
placed painfully far away from one another. In fact, the knight's training fortress was almost the
only building considered close to this castle.

If only she hadn’t had to move to this remote castle, she would have been in the same place with
Choi Han, and thanks to that, she would at least be able to see him by chance. But with the current
situation, that hope was now as good as a castle in the sky. Janessa truly felt like she was one of
those princesses in the fairy tales, being confined away from the person she loved.

When it came to this, Janessa couldn’t avoid the thought that even her father was no longer
supporting her pure, innocent, and beautiful first love. Not only had he stopped helping his own
daughter, but the king was also making things even more difficult for her now, despite knowing
well there was that saying: ‘far from eye, far from heart.’

So then, maybe it wasn’t her fault that things had strayed, nor was she putting too much thought
into useless matters.

Maybe this was the obstacle meant to appear in the path to her destined love. A gods’ challenge,
she dared call it.

Which meant she must get rid of this obstacle.

Thinking it through, Janessa decided she should find a way to see her hero no matter what.
However.

‘Is the Knight Tournament really my only chance?’

Since the king had started to avoid the topic about Choi Han ever since the dinner, Janessa
doubted he’d approve of her request to meet with Choi Han now. For that reason, her best bet for
now seemed to be to wait for the tournament. Still, realizing the situation put her heart on fire, and
she felt that even one more day of sitting idly might pull Choi Han a world away from her.

‘There should be another way.’

And as Janessa thought that, her eyes caught on a particular location on the map. The words from
her father regarding the young hero’s recent faring resonated in her mind at that moment, and the
princess felt delight spread out from behind her ribs.

With fingers trembling in an inexplainable excitement, the second princess of the Mythic Kingdom
hurriedly scribbled a short message down on one of the pages of her notebook, not minding the
letters being the untidiest ones she’d written in her 18 years of living.

Ripping off the page and sticking it carefully to the table, Janessa heard her heart thumping loudly
as she realized, for the first ever time in her life, she was about to make a big, big lie to someone,
and a person who had been closely serving her since her young age, no less.

There was a bit of a guilt coiling in Janessa as she thought that. However, she would not change her
mind.

This was something she ought to do. Clara would understand that.

“Ha…”

Letting out a long, heavy breath, expecting that action to calm down the pressuring throbbing in her
very own nerves, the second princess gently pushed open the chamber door and called for her
maidservant with her usual soft and clear voice.

It was about time she removed the unsightly rock blocking the path to her hero and reunited with
her dearest love.

Crack. Crack.

BOOM!

“Holy f- cow …”

Agnes, who had almost blurted out a swear word, hurriedly swallowed it back down her throat with
a start and fixed her exclamation just in time for the young Yeong, who was sitting in close
proximity, not to notice.

Currently, she and her masters were inside the basement of the royal knight’s training fortress. This
section they were at was formally a training ground along with the others, but most of the training
grounds here had been in an unused state since last year’s upgrade, technically only here to wait for
another major refurbishment. Since no one used this place, Choi Han had asked the king for the
permission to train in it for a few days. The king had seemed to deeply admire how the hero had
been modest and insisted on this abandoned area only. Agnes had, too. Now though, seeing how
wiped-out the training ground was, she wondered if the family had requested an abandoned place
in order to avoid any charges for repairing. This possibility suddenly sounded amazingly
convincing now.

Anyhow, since the Knight Tournament would take place the day after tomorrow, it was only
natural that Sir Choi Han was training himself now. However.

“… Is he really a human?”

A young male voice spoke aloud the thought in the maid’s head. It was Sir Reachazai’s disciple,
having stopped by the place after his own training session. The guy was raising his question with a
dazed face full of admiration, having seen Choi Han wiping out the dummies all clean with only a
single strike of his sword and without the support of his aura. The two both had witnessed Choi
Han mercilessly obliterate the bandits during their first meeting, but that sure made it no less
astonishing watching the young man’s power from up close once again.

“With such strength … Does he even need to train?”

The young knight muttered with an expression so bewildered it looked dumb. Seeing that, Agnes,
though amazed herself, couldn’t help but sneer.

“Idiot. Isn’t it obvious that Choi Han-nim is strong because he trains himself diligently? Instead of
having such a stupid question, why don’t you also practice a bit harder then?”

“Who are you calling an idiot? For your information, I already finished my training goal for
today.”

“Oh? You’re done? Then pay me your debt then.”

“Wait? What debt?”

“We made a bet the other day. Remember? And I won!” (*)

“What? Weren’t we just joking?”

“There’s no joking. Now give me the money!”

“PETTY!”

“SAY WHAT?”

Somehow, the conversation that had started off with harmless comments on Choi Han’s strength
had turned into a bickering between the two youngsters. Their volumes had been relatively low at
first, but at some point, they’d grown considerably, so Yeong, whose senses were innately astute,
didn’t fail to notice. Instead of turning his head to look at the two arguing people though, the child
paid close attention to his godfather sitting right next to him.

His godfather, Cale, showed no sign of annoyance on his face. He didn’t bat an eye, as though the
man wasn’t even listening. But Yeong just blinked once, and he missed the moment when Cale
opened his mouth and nonchalantly spoke.

“You two.”

And he pointed a finger at the door without even looking back.

“Get out if you’re just here to squabble with each other.”

Almost immediately, the two addressed people numbed their bodies and straightened their postures
as they apologized without a second delayed.

“My sincere apologies, young master-nim.”

“Please pardon my impudence, young master-nim…”

‘Phew.’

At the young master’s silence, Agnes inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.

Despite having served the young master for only a short period of time, the maid was able to
quickly pick up on one or two things about him, and all were the things that couldn’t be detected
with just little attention. One of them, and perhaps the most critical one as well, was that, right
behind the usual poker face, the young master might be bearing emotions which she had no way to
catch.

‘But if he actually shows his emotions, either by words or facial expressions, then it means some
people must have caused the water to spill.’

Apparently, those some people were herself and her knight friend in this case.

‘Gotta be extra careful from now on.’

Agnes promised to herself, determined to stay more composed from now on to avoid displeasing
her master ever again.

It seemed to her, however, that a certain knight friend of hers just wasn’t as smart to know when to
gag his mouth shut.

“Honestly though, I don’t think Choi Han needs any extra training. He’s already a monster …”

‘Idiot, shut your mouth!’

Lest the young master really kick her out if she repeated the earlier mistake, Agnes didn’t dare to
verbally say that to her knight friend’s face. Still, she was barely chewing on her tongue. This idiot
of a friend of hers, he really called the young master’s knight a monster aloud like that? In addition,
Choi Han was in a crazy mode of training to bring the glory to his liege, so saying that the man
needed no more practice would only further annoy the young master, wouldn’t it?

With all those thoughts, Agnes was madly worried that Cale would be bothered by her friend’s
useless comments.

The truth, however, was a stark difference.

For a better insight, this was what Cale was thinking at the moment.

‘I agree with that knight.’

For clarity’s sake, Cale wasn’t saying he agreed that Choi Han was a monster. In spite of his unreal
physical strength, Choi Han was still Choi Han, currently just a human with an abnormally long
lifespan, and definitely no monster. What Cale was agreeing to was the point about the black-
haired knight no longer needing as much training, regardless of the upcoming tournament. Why?
Because Cale didn’t need to be a prophet to easily know which knight was going to be the strongest
at the tournament. Considering the physical strength alone, and Choi Han was already on the top.
Even Choi Han himself, as modest as he was, probably was also aware of that to some extent, for
he hadn’t appeared to be in a rush for practicing at all. Instead, he’d been more focused on
spending his time with Cale and Yeong. The man was relaxed enough to go out into the capital in
simple disguises and enjoy the festival with his family this whole morning before returning to the
training ground this afternoon.

But perhaps it was the curse of the protagonists, either that or Choi Han must have gotten some
sort of affinity for cringey cliché, for the man, being the nice and kind gentleman he was, still
somehow drew some of the most annoying and irritating bastards toward himself as his rivals.

Last time, there was Toonka. But Toonka was just an idiot with an overwhelming strength. Like a
wildebeest who happened to grow somewhat bigger, somewhat stronger than others, he was always
hungry for fights against worthy opponents, and, in the Birth of a Hero at least, that man knew no
one beside the ones he deemed to be strong physically. For that reason, it wasn’t a surprise that
Toonka had wanted to battle Choi Han so badly, given how powerful Choi Han was as a sword
master.

This time, however, this self-proclaimed rival of his wasn’t anything like that. Cale wondered if
some sort of hard beef had been cooked that day during the princess’s birthday party between Choi
Han and this guy – captain Philo – as he recalled the unpleasant visit ‘granted’ to them not quite
long ago.

‘Hoo … Isn’t this our young and famous hero? Practice, eh? How admirable!!’

Since this was an unused training ground, there was no reason for the captain and his minions to
come here during normal practicing hours, but the guy still shamelessly acted like he only passed
by the place by accident.

‘I guess setting me as your rival does put some pressure on you, no?’

His cockiness was really something else.

‘But listen! I will be the one who will win the Wreath of Glory. I will be the one who will bring
honor to Her Highness the Princess. Not you.’

And with that, he’d left.

Imagine being childish enough to cross multiple training sections just to come here and say those
words. Cale couldn’t believe such a person managed to make himself qualified to serve as a knight
captain. But then again, there was even a crown prince who was unable to behave with manners
without a babysitter in this world, so of course none of the possibilities should be left out of the
table.

‘Speaking of that crown prince …’

Apparently, Philo wasn’t the only one ‘passing by’ this unused training ground. The Sage
Kingdom’s crown prince – prince Geno – was, too.

‘Don’t get me wrong! I am only here in the hope of seeing Duchess Reachazai!’

Nobody asked, but the prince was pretty eager to explain. Still, that explanation was rather
acceptable, considering that Duchess Reachazai and her father indeed often visited Cale and Choi
Han after Sir Reachazai’s own training time, as well as the fact that Geno was an infamous
womanizer whose taste happened to be older yet still beautiful single ladies, and Zara Reachazai
was exactly that.

But Cale supposed that was just the prince’s luck, for he just had to choose the very day on which
the Reachazais decided to leave early to come by. Thus, his hard effort to run all the way from the
Royal Palace here quickly went into vain.

It was then when the prince became a real pain in the neck.

‘What? So? Must I – a future king – leave this small place just because a woman fails to present
herself to me? Do I look like I’m someone you can just chase out as you please?’

Again, nobody asked, but the prince was suddenly spitting aggressiveness once again.

However, to be honest, Cale couldn’t help but question why that bratty prince hadn’t instantly left
as soon as he heard the Duchess wasn’t here today, and why the freaking hell that brat kept
sticking his body so closely to Cale whenever he had a chance. At one point, it was actually Cale’s
Dominating Aura that had saved that prince from Choi Han’s blade, since just one more inch
closer, and Cale was so sure Choi Han behind him would without hesitation slash the young prince
into halves.

Anyhow, Cale was very satisfied to learn that his Dominating Aura was extremely effective against
the likes like the crown prince Geno.

In the end, however, it still took the ultimate babysitter to take care of that living headache.

‘Hyung-nim! Please go back with me! This is so embarrassing!’

Seeing the third prince practically dragged Geno out with an exhausted expression, Cale couldn’t
help but think that he was pretty lucky to have a reliable hyung-nim in his past life instead of
someone like that good-for-nothing brother. But well, it was also the third prince’s fault for not
looking after his big baby carefully enough. From the look of it, his hawk had flown somewhere
else when the third prince finally found this place. He could’ve trained that hawk to help him keep
an eye on his brother, but instead he lost the man’s sight from time to time. Just what had he been
doing while Geno took his time on the carriage here anyway?

‘Well, none of my business.’

Cale concluded as he calmly plucked a small cookie from the plate and brought it to his mouth,
munching it leisurely. The captain’s provocation and prince Geno’s irking weirdness might have
riled up Choi Han quite a bit, for the poor dummies were clearly suffering from his unsaid rage and
mercilessness at the moment, but to Cale, it was nothing worth thinking much of. He should be
good as long as no other noisy bastards came by and interrupted this precious time he wished to
spend with his family.

That was the only thing Cale wished for at the moment. Something so small and simple. And yet.

CRACK. BOOM!

And yet, as always, such simple wishes like that of his could never be granted so easily.

Standing at the spot where the entrance door to the training ground had once stood, with the broken
pieces of the wooden door scattering all over the area around his feet, was Captain Philo, who was
glaring into the space with a pair of bloodshot eyes. The man’s face was clearly distorted in rage,
his brows and popping veins furrowed into a messy bunch of outrageous wrinkles, his lips turned
thin as he brutally pursed them so hard they looked almost painful, and even his breaths screamed
out pure anger and wrath. In his right hand, the long sword he’d used to literally destroy the door
just now was trembling uncontrollably in fury as its owner seemed to only one step away from
losing his shit. Behind him, there were some other knights wearing confused yet panicked
expressions, and a maidservant – who Cale remembered to be Princess Janessa’s personal maid –
standing hesitantly with her body visibly shaking. She looked as though she wanted to tell the
knight captain to stop, whatever he was trying to do, but was too scared to actually mouth the
words out loud.
 With the whole fuss playing out in front of him, Cale suddenly felt like a major headache had just
got bored and decided to pay him a visit. As if those earlier visits hadn’t been bothering enough.

As Cale stood up and was about to address the utterly rude visitor, said visitor was a tad faster than
him as he pointedly glowered at a certain black-haired knight standing alone at the middle of the
training ground.

“Choi Hannnnnn! You bastard!” The captain drawled Choi Han’s name through his angry bared
teeth, his voice thick with indignation. “I shall kill you today!!”

And with that, Captain Philo jumped and began to run toward Choi Han with murderous eyes,
ignoring the screams from behind him as the maid and other knights desperately begged him to
stop.

‘Sigh.’

Cale could only sigh.

It seemed it wasn’t just a major headache, but a whole disaster had decided to visit Cale and his
family today.

End chapter 14

Chapter End Notes

(*) There was a bet mentioned in chapter 11. Feel free to imagine what kind of bet
they made.
 Chapter 15
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

Have a good one! ^^

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“I-is this the mountain forest behind the castle?”

Janessa muttered the question to herself as she stared star-struck at the tall and ancient-looking
trees enveloping the space around her. Beneath her feet were layers over layers of fallen dead
leaves, wet and crumpling after all that time being buried under the icy snow.

“Hmm…”

A small gust of wind blew by, and the princess involuntarily brought up her arms to embrace
herself. In the exciting urge to get out of the castle on the journey to see her hero, Janessa had left
unprepared. She hadn’t thought of how much she would end up yearning for a coat, and so, on her
now was only the navy blue dress that had its multiple parts dirtied and torn after being dragged
through the narrow tunnel underneath the North Castle.

This idea had sparked in Janessa’s head the moment her eyes had caught on a certain section on the
North Castle’s map. Like any other castles, there was a secret underground walkway built under
this castle. It served as an escape route just in case the owner of the place was trapped inside and
could not go out through regular entrances. Since the key to this walkway was its secrecy, only the
people with the authority to hold the full map of the castle – that was, the owners – would know
about it. The princess never would have thought she’d need to put this tunnel in use, ever, but here
she was, having just rolled herself through the rough and grimy road that had made her almost cry
along the way, all so that she’d be able to break out of the confinement without being caught by
the guards and servants.

She could bear it. The cold that was making her entire body shiver. The fact that her favorite dress
had been marred. She could even endure the heart-squeezing discomfort whenever she looked at
the hem of her skirt becoming all wet and muddy as she ventured each step further into the forest.

She would endure everything, as long as that was for him.

If she was reading the map right, the training fortress where Choi Han was training himself for the
upcoming tournament – as stated by her lord father – should be only a few miles away from where
she was now.

She could do it.

Janessa nodded to herself decisively before starting to quicken her steps. Just a little bit more, and
she’d be able to meet her hero again.

How would he react when he saw her then? Janessa wondered. She reckoned the man would be
truly startled, seeing this disheveled look of hers, but knowing the kind hero Choi Han was, Janessa
knew it for a fact that the young hero would not criticize it in the slightest. Rather, he would be
more likely to feel guilty over it. She hoped he wouldn’t blame himself too much though, for
everything she’d done, she’d done it of her own free will. She’d be content as long as she could be
with him, and she wanted him to know tha-.

“AH!!”

Deeply lost in her musings, the princess momentarily failed to notice the slick spot covered in frost
and mud on the ground. Thus, she tripped and fell, rolling down all the way from the top of the hill
to its bottom.

“Urg …”

The princess groaned, feeling the pain spreading all over her body as she tried to sit up, but the
harder she tried, the more apparent the pain she felt from her left ankle.

“I-is it broken?” Janessa uttered in a quivering voice, panicked. She subconsciously rubbed the
ankle, feeling even more terrified as the mud on her fingers revoltingly stuck on her skin with every
rub. “What should I do? It’s so disgusting, and it’s hurt so bad.” Tears started to well on her eyes,
causing the azure color to blur, a red shade of tiny veins gradually dominating the white part of
those eyes. “What should I do, Choi Han?” She repeated the question, calling the name of her
beloved for comfort. The fingers on her right hands unwittingly reached out for the left wrist,
desperately wishing to touch the proof of the man’s love for her. It was then when she belatedly
realized the sudden emptiness on her wrist.

“N-no way …” The princess felt as though her mind had gone blank. On her left wrist, the
beautiful bracelet with the blue topaz stone – the precious gift Choi Han had given her – had
completely disappeared.

“No way … did I drop it when I fell?” Janessa’s eyes darted all over the ground around her, but no
traces of the bracelet could be spotted. “No … is it still on the top of the hill? Or did I drop it
somewhere else? What if I’ll never be able to find it? How can I face Choi Han after this? What if
…” And she could feel the back of her neck grew cold at the thought. “What if Choi Han hates me
because of this?”

She knew that Choi Han, as a kind person, would not go as far as hating her, not when he had fallen
for her to the extent he was eager to battle the knight captain over her. Still, he would probably be
disappointed to learn that she didn’t treasure the first gift he’d offered her as much as he’d hoped,
and the princess never in a million years would wish for the young hero to feel that way.

While the princess was still lost in thoughts, she felt a disturbance in the air. There was a mixture
of rustling sounds coming from the leafless branches of the trees, the lonely whistles of the winter
winds, and the loud and startling flapping noises the wild birds made as they took off from their
perches, causing the leftover snow on the trees to fall sloppily, and Janessa’s body began to
tremble violently due to all of that. Never had she – a princess – been left all alone in such a
hideous state and scared out like this. The eerie atmosphere of this forest only made everything
worse.

“Choi Han … where are you? Hurry, come and save me, please!”
The princess muttered as she circled her arms around her body, weeping. In her mind was an
entangled mess of conflicting thoughts and feelings, half of them was her deep desire to be saved
by her hero once again, while the other half was the strong fear of seeing the man become
disappointed of her.

“What should I do? Choi Han … help me …”

And Princess Janessa found herself mumbled the same thing among the sobs over and over again,
until an extreme wave of exhaustion totally captivated both her mind and body.

“Choi Hannnnnn! You bastard! I shall kill you today!”

Captain Philo’s declaration reverberated in the closed space of the basement. The ire in his eyes
flared like fire as he jumped on his feet and furiously raced himself toward the spot Choi Han was
standing in; the keen blade in the captain’s hold was aiming murderously at Choi Han’s head. He
obviously wasn’t joking about wanting to take Choi Han’s life.

Behind the captain, the second princess’s personal maidservant screamed in panic, while some of
the knights under Philo’s command gasped and hesitated. Knowing their captain’s character, they
were fairly certain that any sort of advice now to Captain Philo would just be like water off a
duck’s back.

Meanwhile, Sir Reachazai’s disciple, Agnes, and Yeong were all watching the rage-driven knight
captain rushing his blade to Choi Han with equally perplexed and confused looks on their faces.
The three all shared the same question of whether they should interfere, with Yeong and Agnes
highly doubting the necessity of that.

Just when Captain Philo’s sharp blade was only a few meters away from Choi Han, the three heard
a quiet sound mixed in the whole chaos.

Crunched crunched.

It was a crunching sound of someone biting on something crispy.

Collectively turning their heed toward the source of the little sound, the three could see what they’d
suspected it to be had turned out correct.

Yes, of course, the source of that crunching sound was from Cale, as he was still lazily munching
on the cookie he’d plucked out earlier. Sitting safely away from Choi Han’s current spot, Cale
wasn’t in the slightest afraid that the fight would cause him any harm, not at this moment when
Choi Han still clearly looked like he was more into a conversation to figure out just what the hell
was wrong with the gold-haired jerk instead of a life-or-death fight, at least.

So, what he’d started himself, he ought to end it himself. Cale was the one picking up the cookie,
thus, he must be the one finishing it. Just like how he never gave up on his slacker life even after
hundreds of thousands of obstacles, he would not give up on his cookie halfway just because of
some out of nowhere guy barging in and demanding a fight with his knight either.

And just what kind of overdramatic piece of dogshit existed in that captain’s head, by the way?
“Grahhhhhhhh!”

The captain shouted dramatically as he swung his sword at Choi Han, causing the maid standing at
the broken door to scream even louder, to the point the knights around her felt as though they could
lose their hearing after this. But of course, the captain paid that no mind.

Over here, seeing Cale’s utter calmness amid the mayhem, Agnes, Yeong, and Sir Reachazai’s
disciple, though still quite puzzled and anxious, had their expressions turn considerably soothed.

As for Cale, the small bite of cookie in his mouth had completely melted, and its sweet flavor was
urging him to hurry and swallow it down, then take another bite. And he did just that.

With a small gulp, Cale swallowed down the sweet sweet flavor, the whole time his eyes still
fixated on the drama unfolded before him.

‘Aigoo, foolish bastard.’

As soon as Cale commented that in his head, he crunched on the cookie for a finishing bite, and at
the middle of the training ground, a blade of anger could be seen colliding with another blade,
creating a loud crashing sound that drowned the crunching noise from Cale’s mouth into it.

“ARGHHH!”

A male’s groan was then heard following a loud thud. As there wasn’t lots of dust emitting from
the collision, everyone present was able to clearly witness what had just happened.

Apparently, the attacker – Captain Philo, being as aggressive as he was, had used up an enormous
amount of his strength in the earlier strike, determined to end Choi Han’s life at once. However,
just like when one threw an egg at a large boulder, the greater force the person put into the act
would only bring about an even more tragic fate to the poor egg, even as the boulder did absolutely
nothing in corresponding.

And that was apparently the case here.

Everyone could tell Choi Han obviously had no intention to seriously fight back, so, as a part of his
reflexive response, he only raised his already unsheathed sword from his training time prior to this
to defend himself. He didn’t even bother to utilize his aura. Heck, it didn’t even seem like the man
felt the need to add some more strength into his stance, given how perfect it already was naturally.

But then again with the inevitable outcome of having an egg against a boulder, things were never
meant to turn out pretty. And here it was, the clear image of the mighty captain landing painfully
on the ground after being sent flying by the impact of the supposedly fearsome clash.

“What are you doing? Are you not aware that doing this can make us both disqualified?”

Everyone’s eyes quickly steered over to Choi Han, who was still standing straight with an
expression of nothing but confusion and annoyance even after the strong clash, in union. Agnes and
her knight friend immediately started at Choi Han’s words.

“That’s right … The competitors in the Knight Tournament are not allowed to have unofficial
fights within the span of the Winter Festival, unless the fights are approved by their superiors to be
parts of their training routines.”

Agnes thought out loud, a tinge of nervousness on her face as she feared that this situation would
lead to an unofficial battle that could cause both Choi Han and Captain Philo to lose their entry
qualification for the tournament. She began to bite her lips in worry at the captain, who didn’t seem
to give a damn about what Choi Han had just said and was slowly standing up with the sword still
in his hand, and took a stealthy peek at Cale. Somehow, the young master was still chewing on the
last bite of his cookie …

“Shut the fuck up!” The captain yelled back. “I don’t give no fuck about that stupid tournament no
more. You bastards better hurry and release my princess, or else I swear I’ll tear down this damn
place and make all of you regret ever touching her!”

‘Wait a second. What the fuck?’

That was the thought that collectively popped up in Cale and his gang’s heads after hearing the
bullshit spat out of Captain Philo’s mouth just now.

At the entrance, the maid Clara was facepalming really hard on herself. If there was someone who
needed to feel regret here, it’d gotta be this maid, for the look on her face plainly screamed out just
how much she wished she hadn’t come to the knight captain for …, well, whatever trouble she’d
found herself in.

With a bunch of questions being raised in the air at once after the captain’s statement, Choi Han,
who now had a hint of anger amidst all the confusion and annoyance at Philo’s threatening to harm
his family, opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice that was so cold it felt as though it could
freeze the air.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hah!” The captain sneered mockingly in response. “Feigning ignorance now, are we? And to
think that the whole kingdom is thinking of this scumbag as their freaking hero, when all he does is
luring their beloved princess into his trap behind everyone’s backs. What a shame!”

“Just what-“

Choi Han’s irritation thickened the more he listened to the man’s crap, but as he was trying to
make clear of it, the captain was already on his feet, heatedly running toward him like a mad man.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DIE! YOU FAKE HERO!”

“No! Captain! Please stop!”

“Captain!”

“Captain!”

Perceiving the inevitable boom in the situation’s severity, Clara and the knights standing around
her could no longer remain cowardly. They tried to stop the captain, but to no avail. Captain Philo
as of now was wildly striking forward like a mindless beast, as though he had lost all of his
reasons.

Meanwhile, Choi Han, who seemed to have had enough of the captain’s ridiculousness, tightened
the grip of his hands around the hilt of his sword. At the same time, the black aura could also be
seen flaring menacingly around his shoulders. He could easily dodge Captain Philo’s attacks and
saved them both from getting into this good-for-nothing fight as well as being stripped off the right
to enter the tournament, but he refused to do so.

There just wasn’t a reason he would have to do so, not when the captain wasn’t just threatening to
kill him alone, but also the people around him. And just what would be so bad about him not being
able to participate in the tournament anyway? Surely he wanted to bring forth the grandest glory to
his liege, but that shouldn’t overlap with the risk of having his liege put in danger. He’d gotta have
his priority straight. That was why, instead of trying to evade the captain’s attack, Choi Han
decided to face it head-on.

KLANG!

Another clashing sound of the day deafeningly resonated. The impact of the clash once again sent
the captain flying along the glow of a rivetingly beautiful silver light.

White feathers could be seen gracefully sprinkling off from the elegant wings spreading out of a
translucent shield, and the captain began to faintly register just what had happened.

His sword had made another clash, but this time, it was no longer a clash against Choi Han’s
sword.

It was a clash against Cale’s Indestructible Shield.

‘Tch, that damn young master with the silver shield again!’

Captain Philo thought infuriatedly, and that exasperation got tenfold intensified as his ears caught
on the gentle “Cale-nim” mixed in an obvious tone of concern and worry coming from the bastard
of a hero he was so eager to beat up to a pulp. Acting as though he didn’t even bother to put the
earlier mention about Her Highness in mind like that, what a great hero with a first-class acting
skill! (1)

With his rage brought to a new peak, the gold-haired knight angrily moved a hand to his knee and
forced himself up. However.

‘W-what is this pressure?’

He couldn’t sit up as his whole body instantly went heavy under the pressure of an invisible,
unexplainable weight mercilessly pressing down on him. ‘I-it’s like I’m facing a king, no, an
overlord.’ The captain was never one to succumb to fear or power, but right at this moment, he felt
as though his body was giving up the will to fight back despite himself.

It took him a while of struggling to finally gather enough courage back and look up, and as the
scene that had been awaiting him all that time unfolded, Captain Philo suddenly found himself
speechless.

Standing behind the half-transparent shield that held an otherworldly sense of divineness in itself
was the red-haired young master, who was looking straight into his eyes with those mesmerizingly
calm reddish-brown eyes of his. The young master was clad in a simple black and white suit only,
and he didn’t even seem to be trying to pose in an exceptionally noble way, but somehow, the man
still looked … intimidating … in a strangely awe-striking way? And somehow Captain Philo just
couldn’t shake his eyes off that scene. It was like … it was like the way a faithful lamb could not
stop itself from looking up to its god, so that it could fear him, admire him, and then beg to be
stepped on, to be violently bullied by those magnificent feet of his in the name of the god’s
blessings?

‘N-no, what the hell am I even thinking?’

Belatedly realizing the scarily ridiculous thought in his mind, the captain forced himself to advert
his eyesight away from Cale.
He would not let himself bewitched by this me-meerkat of a young master. (Damn, why the heck
was he feeling this wrong about referring the young master to a m-meerkat?)

However, no matter how much strength he tried to put into his legs, the captain still found himself
struggle to stand up. The pressure emitting from Cale was just too large for him to avoid, too
mighty to be suppressed, and too fearful to be disregarded.

As the captain ran his gaze around in an attempt to distract himself, he realized in perplex that not
just him, but even Choi Han and the white-haired kid of the family seemed to be hesitant at the
pressure coming from the young master. They looked as though they were already somewhat used
to this eerie power but still couldn’t do nothing to make themselves immune to it. And of course, it
was needless to describe the state of the other people present. They weren’t the target of the
intimidating aura like the captain, but their expressions still didn’t look any better than his.

As the captain was still fighting the pressure in order to break free, a low yet soothingly warm
voice calmly reached his ears.

“I believe we have a misunderstanding needed be made clear.”

The suggestive statement from the young master caused a surge of anger to rush over the knight
captain. This damn young master was seriously asking him to explain something he and his closest
subordinate already knew damn well? Just how much more shameless could these people ever be?

And in that moment of indignation, the captain violently jerked up his head to throw at the so-
called young master a remark of his lifetime, only to see that the young master wasn’t even looking
at him or even sparing him the barest attention. Instead, the young master, Cale Henituse, was
having his gaze far over his shoulders. More specifically, he was calmly looking at the maid Clara
as though patiently waiting for her to regain her calmness and reply to him.

Everything could still have been fine for the captain as long as nobody noticed how he had
aggressively raised his head with an open mouth, ready to shout aloud whatever insults had come
to his mind, only to end up closing it when he realized Cale was actually asking the maid instead of
him, but no, someone just had to be so damn quick to catch on that moment, and out of all the
people, it just had to be his now sworn enemy – Choi Han.

Since the captain was the only threat to his liege’s safety here, Choi Han naturally paid extra
attention to the guy’s movements. That was why he hadn’t missed that jerk-up of the knight
captain’s head and the laughably awkward expression on his face as he silently closed his mouth
with a trail of ugly twitches of his brows, clearly hoping to hide that embarrassing moment from
everyone.

Smirked.

Choi Han simply smirked at the captain. That smirk didn’t last any more than two seconds, but it
was long enough to cause all the blood to boil all the way up to the top of the captain’s head, and
he was even more frustrated to be conscious of the fact that he shouldn’t suddenly act up now and
pull the others’ attention toward him with his suspicious action.

Cale, who was still waiting for the maid to talk it out, didn’t see that smirk of Choi Han. If he had,
however, he would have been surprised of how his normally nice and gentle knight could still pull
off such an expression, but then he would also have strangely felt proud of that and thought that he
was still the Choi Han he knew nonetheless.

Back to Cale and his implied inquiry toward the maid Clara, honestly speaking, he didn’t want to
be involved in this stupid drama, but now that the knight captain had gone this far without
bothering to pause for a second of talking about the whys, hows, and whats, the situation left him
no choice but to step in. Sure, letting Choi Han beat the guy up to a pulp would be a fun scene to
watch while enjoying his cookie, but the cookie had been consumed entirely, and so the fun time
had run out at last. After all, it was out of the question whether Cale would just watch his knight,
who had quickly gained the title of a great hero in this world, to have his reputation tainted into a
disqualified competitor just because of some foolish bastard who had forgotten his brain at home
while coming to the training area. So, he might as well hear out just what sort of drama it was this
time.

“Y-you are right, young master-nim …” After a while hesitating, the maid stammered her words at
last. “There really is a misunderstanding.” She confirmed, visibly jumping at the betrayed glare
thrown at her by the knight captain as she added. “Please, Captain-nim! This is for Her Highness’s
safety!”

Somehow, that earnest cry from her seemed to work, for some sort of gear could be seen starting to
move in the momentarily widely open eyes of the man after hearing what Clara had just said. It
showed that he was seriously considering her words.

‘So the princess is indeed the center of this whole thing then.’

Cale quickly deduced from the short conversation between the captain and the maid. He then
looked straight at the maid once again, signaling her to continue. The maid didn’t waste half a
second this time and just jumped straight to what had been previously left off.

“I’ll tell you what happened, young master-nim.”

And the maid’s grip on the small piece of paper in her hand became tighter as she started to narrate
the story taking place prior to her arrival at this training ground.

***

“Clara?”

A soft and clear voice called out to Clara’s name, and she immediately turned her head toward the
source of that voice.

Looking at her with a somewhat nervous (?) expression was her beloved princess – Princess
Janessa, who she’d been serving since her young age.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

Seeing that her princess was being nervous, Clara couldn’t help but become nervous herself.

“Do you need anything from me, Your Highness?”

She suggested, wanting to make sure that everything was still fine for the princess.

“Huh? Ah, yes, of course.” Princess Janessa slightly started at her suggestion, and she looked
somewhat embarrassed at that. “Actually, can you go and tell the kitchen to make me a variety of
cakes, Clara? I suddenly miss those sweet tastes so much …”

‘Ahh …’

Clara fought back a gasp about to escape her mouth. After moving to this castle and not being able
to see Choi Han, the second princess had been sad and not eating much. She used to enjoy cakes
and tea a lot, but ever since that day, she no longer had the interest in anything but the complicated
maps that a maid like Clara could never gain the privilege to even have a glance at. That was why,
as soon as Clara heard the order from the princess, she felt an immeasurable elation spreading in
her soul. Her princess was finally turning back to her normal self.

‘She’s probably embarrassed of giving this order after such a long time. How cute!’

Clara thought to herself, assuming that the princess’s nervous face was simply due to her
embarrassment. She then respectfully bowed and said.

“I’ll tell them to prepare the cakes right away, Your Highness!”

But just as Clara turned on her heels, the same soft and clear voice stopped her.

“W-wait, Clara, can you make me the special tea while you’re in the kitchen as well?”

Clara paused a beat at that. Her schedule would demand her to be cleaning the princess’s bedroom
now, but the special tea would take a while to be prepared, and as its name suggested, it was
special, meaning that not many people could brew it to its perfect level of aroma and flavor.

Meaning, she would have to be the one conducting every step of the procedure. Not that she would
let anyone else touch her tea anyway, not when she’d received the exclusive order from her
princess like that.

“I’ll make sure to prepare the best cup of tea for you!”

Clara bowed again with a determined smile. She was also the exclusive maid for cleaning the
princess’s room, so she would not ask for help either. However, she could sacrifice her break to
finish the cleaning task. That should be fine. If it was for her princess, then it should be totally fine.

With that thought, Clara happily walked to the kitchen and professionally conveyed the princess’s
words to the staff. She then took a corner of the kitchen for herself, skillfully beginning to brew the
special tea for the princess.

*Forty minutes later*

“Hmm~ smells good~.”

Clara remarked with a gratified smile as she brought a tray filled with delicious-looking cake and a
cup of special tea that was sending forth an enticing aroma into the princess’s room.

“Princess-nim?”

Clara called, but there wasn’t any response back. She couldn’t spot the sight of her princess
anywhere either.

“Strange …” The maid mumbled worriedly. During normal days, her princess would sometimes
leave her room for the royal garden, but since the weather was still cold, Clara doubted even the
garden would be an ideal place to go to now.

It was then when she spotted a small piece of paper that looked to have been torn from the
princess’s notebook.

Curious, the maid stepped closer to read the notes written on it. The writing appeared much
messier than the usual neat handwriting of Princess Janessa, but the unique splendor in the way the
letters were connected to one another wasn’t something that could be mistaken by just anyone
else’s style.

So this was definitely a note written by Princess Janessa herself, and that fact somehow only
intensified the terror in the poor maid’s heart as she read through the sentences.

<<To my maid Clara,

This is an order from the Second Princess of the Mythic Kingdom.

I, Princess Janessa, having accepted the challenge from the gods, have decided to take my
first proactive step to preserve the love of my life. Therefore, right now, I will go to the training
fortress. My Lord Father said that should be where my hero is these days. I will go and see him no
matter what.

I apologize for lying to you, Clara, but as my personal maid, please understand and give me
your support. Please don’t tell anyone know about this, not even His Majesty and Her Majesty! I
will be fine as soon as I meet Choi Han, so don’t worry about me.

Princess Janessa Lewis>>

With the paper shaking in her trembling hands, the maid felt as though the sky had crumbled
cruelly over her head.

***

“Since Princess-nim ordered me not to tell anyone, I was at loss of what to do. But I was worried
for Her Highness as well. Eventually, I decided to ask the castle’s mage to teleport me here, hoping
to have a talk with Choi Han-nim regarding the princess’s whereabout. I had no idea where exactly
Choi Han-nim was though, so I asked the Captain-nim. I thought it should turn out fine as he is
Princess-nim’s personal knight. I really didn’t intend to complicate the situation like this.”

And Clara’s eyes appeared to be on the brink of excessive tears. This was the first time she had
been put between a rock and a hard place like this, so she was having great difficulty making the
right decisions.

She felt truly guilty. She should’ve acted faster, and she shouldn’t have told Captain Philo
everything. All that crazy man ever did was adding dry straws to the smothering fire and making it
totally out of control.

“Ch-Choi Han-nim …” The maid then uttered in a broken voice full of worries. “Her Highness …
she’s … not here yet, is she?”

At Clara’s question, the captain’s eyes slightly widened. Why hadn’t he thought of this possibility?
His princess hardly went out by herself, if ever. Even if she knew where she should go to, could
she even be able to reach the destination all on her own?

‘Fucking damn it!’

Captain Philo cursed silently. He’d been so blinded by his hate toward Choi Han that he’d
disregarded the most important matter of it all.

On the other hand, receiving the unexpected question, Choi Han only shook his head
apologetically.
“…No, she’s not. I’m sorry …”

He then took a glance at Cale, clearly hoping his liege would show a sign of having some clues
about this bizarre turnout of event. Unfortunately, his liege, though still wearing his usual calm
expression, only frowned as though he was just as puzzled.

And that was indeed the case.

Why had the princess left her castle to see Choi Han? Cale wondered.

Clara had refused to let anyone directly read the letter and only gave a summarized version of what
the princess had said in there, so Cale couldn’t really catch on what was going on in that princess’s
head. Still, it was just so strange that she suddenly embarked on a journey to meet with Choi Han
out of the blue and all alone. The fact that she wanted to hide it from even her father and mother
only added more weirdness to this whole mess.

‘Clara must have skipped a bunch of contexts in her story.’

Cale was suspecting that, due to the fear of being punished for going against a princess’s order,
Clara might still be having a lot of truths hidden. However, he decided not to press. That poor maid
was already in the toughest spot of them all.

Just when Cale was picking the right words to say to her, he stopped himself at a call brimming
with confusions coming from a certain child.

“Omma~?”

Only one individual ever called him his ‘omma,’ so Cale’s sideward turn of his head was almost
instinctively. After all, this was his godson calling out for him. Behind him, Choi Han was also
doing the same, along with all other people present.

‘Hm?’

But Cale was surprised to encounter a gaze that wasn’t directed toward him. Instead, the owner of
the gaze, Yeong, was staring emptily into the space, as though he wasn’t exactly looking at
anything, but rather sensing something in the air.

“Yeong, wh-“

Cale started to speak up, but his sentence was left unfinished as Yeong shouted ‘omma’ once again
and suddenly was on his feet. With the natural fast speed of a gumiho, the young fox quickly ran
past the group of knights to the stairs and emerged to the ground above the basement; following
right behind the boy were Choi Han and Cale, who was hastening his speed by activating the
Sound of the Wind.

“Tsk.”

Cale clicked his tongue, annoyed at the way the cold whether was causing his weak body to
tremble violently. His cloak was just right inside his magic bag, if only he could spare a few
seconds to take it out and put it on him.

Actually, he could just create that pause for his own comfort’s sake.
“Yeong-ah! Stop!”

Cale spoke in Korean, hoping that would stop the boy without having to utilize any other methods
which would probably not be that gentle.

Somehow, it worked.

Around that time, at the foot of a shallow hill inside the forest, there was a princess curling herself
in a painful sleep. She had fallen into this flimsy slumber while being tormented by the pain in her
left ankle and the chilly winds running across the forest. Not to mention, she’d been in a panic at
the thought of having lost the precious bracelet she’d received from her beloved hero as well.
Despite all the traumas, Princess Janessa, thankfully, still managed to pull off a peaceful dream to
comfort her mind.

In that dream, she found herself re-reading the beautiful fairy tales that had long become her
favorites.

She really loved those stories, in which the female leads, who were all the top beauties of their
world, would eventually end up with the handsome loves of their life after overcoming multiple
obstacles together. However, there was that one tale that she’d been obsessed over ever since she
was still a little girl. The plot was fairly unsophisticated, simply revolving around a kind and
stunningly pretty princess and an utmost charming and powerful hero admired by every single soul
in the empire. The story started with the young hero saving the lovely princess from the evils that
were after her life. Almost immediately, the god of romance struck them with the lightning of love,
and they fell in love with each other. Their love was so strong and beautiful that no wicked forces
could ever interfere. Not the crafty witch who tried to seduce the hero with her cunning tricks. Not
even the cruel disapprobation from the princess’s side of family. Nothing in the world was able to
ever separate the two, and Princess Janessa excessively admired that. She idolized those two
characters and had always fantasized of the day such a beautiful story would come to her alive.

Then, on that fateful day, that wish of hers had finally been granted.

Her long-awaited hero – Choi Han – had made his appearance and saved her life that day, and just
like that, he stole her heart.

He was her first love, and he would be the only love she had in this life and even in the afterlife.
They would live together happily ever after.

That was the only possible ending.

That was simply how it should always be.

As the romantically exquisite scenario of her and Choi Han being happily together began to unfold
itself, a spine-chilling gale blew through the area. The leafless trees rustled their branches, and
birds’ feathers scattered onto the ground as they loudly flapped their wings and flew away. The
mixture of loud noises mercilessly pulled Janessa out of her comforting dream.

Being brought back to reality all of a sudden, Janessa burst out sobbing as she observed the hot
swelling on her left ankle and the mudded dress she’d never in a million dreams have imagined
being on her body.

It was then when she noticed a beautiful glimmer of blue sparkling to her eyes.

Fleetingly forgetting the pain in her ankle, Princess Janessa stretched her body with an outreached
hand and neatly grabbed the bracelet adorn with the sky-like topaz gem that she loved so much.
The earlier tears nearly disappeared from her eyes the moment the splendid sight of her left wrist
aesthetically tied around by the bracelet was vivid in her zone of vision.

“Choi Han … I know you will definitely come and save me. I just know it.”

She muttered softly to herself, azure eyes still fixated on the blue topaz.

It was then when the slopping footsteps sounds reached her ears from somewhere nearby. Scared
but curious, the princess craned up her neck slightly, her heart thumping like a drum as she felt the
approaching of those footsteps.

Another gust of wind passed by and blew up the remaining snow on the ground. Janessa closed her
eyes as the curled locks of her light brown hair were stirred up all over her face.

When she opened her eyes once again, the figure of the approaching footsteps’ owner had already
appeared crystal clear in front of her.

And unbelievably so.

“Your omma?” Choi Han questioned Yeong in a surprised tone while wrapping the white cloak he
got from Cale around the kid. Thanks to Cale’s call earlier, Yeong was able to snap himself out,
and the family could finally have a proper conversation with each other. “You mean your
biological mother – Miss Gumi?”

Yeong only nodded at that, glancing ashamedly at the small frown on his godfather’s face.

Cale, who was now safe and sound in his crimson cloak, furrowed his brows as he was deeply
considering what Yeong had said to them just now. The boy had affirmatively stated that he could
sense his mother’s spiritual power from the direction he’d been heading to. That was why he’d
rushed out without sparing a moment to talk to Cale and Choi Han.

‘Spiritual power …’

Cale pondered over the two specific words. He then recalled what Yi Chin-mae had told him once
upon a time.

‘Gumiho’s magic is something spiritual, and a Gumiho’s spirit is a mystery itself.’

It was something utterly vague to understand, so Cale had never given it much thought. However,
now that he was encountering a situation that involved that aspect, he couldn’t dismiss the
possibility that Gumi’s spirit, or only her spiritual power at the very least, was still remaining in
this world.

As Cale was about to give out an order, a weak and small voice touched his ears then.

“Omma, appa … yeou~… I’m sorry …”

Unsurprisingly, it was the little fox Yi Yeong. He was ducking his head and apologizing to his
adoptive parents for running out without asking for their permission.

“Try to keep your head cool if similar things happen in the future.” Cale just stoically said so as a
response. He then put a hand on the boy’s head and lightly patted the snowy hair, with Choi Han
smiling warmly behind as he watched the heartfelt interaction between his liege and their little son.
Then, Cale looked at the guilty little pout on Yeong’s face and nonchalantly added. “Yeong, lead
the way.”

Needless to say what way Cale was referring to. Still, the fox cub, who was afraid that his
godfather would brush aside this unclear matter regarding his long-deceased mother, couldn’t help
but feel relieved at Cale’s words.

“Yes, omma~!”

The child exclaimed happily. Just when Yeong had turned his back, ready to lead his parents,
however, he heard the calling voice from Agnes as well as a group of footsteps coming from afar.

“Young master-nim! Sir Choi Han! Little master Yeong!”

It was absolutely not a surprise that Agnes and Sir Reachazai’s disciple were following them, but it
absolutely was a surprise that the second princess’s maid, the knight captain, and the other knights
were also running after them. Still, that wasn’t the biggest surprise in this case. The most shocking
thing about it was the presence of a certain person that everyone had thought to have already been
dragged back to the Royal Palace.

Yes, it was the future king of the Sage Kingdom, the infamous womanizer, and the factor that Cale
wished to always stay six feet away regardless of the space – the Crown Prince Geno O’Valouse.

‘How the hell is he here?’

Cale frowned deeply at the unexpected sight of the prince. His most reliable babysitter – Prince
Girvan – had pinpointed his location and arrived eventually to berate and convince him back, so
why was he still here?

Perhaps the way Cale was looking at the prince was rather straightforwardly disrespectful, but the
moment he faced that look, the prince visibly flinched. Then, without being asked, he quickly
adverted his eyes while stammering a clarification with an attitude that could be described as a
half-assed arrogance.

“What? Did you really think I – the future king of the Sage Kingdom – can’t handle my own little
brother? Just so you know, even the royal guards could not stop this great man when he’s on his
path. That little brother of mine still has a long way to go.”

In short, Prince Geno had managed to sneak away once again. And to think he was telling it so
proudly …

‘Prince Girvan … He must have a really tough life …’

Even though it was partly the third prince’s fault for not looking after his second brother properly,
Cale still felt rather pity toward him. Based on his own observation, the crown prince’s sneak-outs
seemed to have become a frequent act, to the point even the guards had given up on the task of
seeking and bringing the crown prince back. Thus, Prince Girvan, who had promised to take care
of everything for Geno, including Geno himself, had to take full responsibility.

Just imagining being the sole babysitter of this brat of a prince already made Cale think that
perhaps crawling on a pile of dogshit was still much more pleasant than having to be stuck with
this brat for the rest of his life.

As Cale was about to sigh in respect to the third prince’s suffering and then just chase the bratty
prince away before the irritation from Choi Han beside him exploded, he heard an urgent voice
coming from his child.

“O-omma~!” Yeong’s sudden call drew attention from everyone toward him, but the child didn’t
appear to note that. “She’s moving! Yeou~! … She doesn’t stay at the same spot anymore!”

Most of the people present were befuddled at the child’s words. Unlike them, Cale and Choi Han
immediately understood what their son was trying to say.

‘Gumi’s spirit must be moving away from the original spot from which Yeong previously sensed
his mother’s power.’

Cale easily deduced that the ‘she’ Yeong was talking about was his mother’s spirit.

However, someone was having an extremely wrong interpretation of the word.

It was the knight captain – Captain Philo.

‘Who is ‘she’? Could it be the kid was talking about Her Highness?’

… The Captain was suspecting that Yeong might know where the princess was.

“Omma~!! S-she’s stopped!” And Yeong vaguely pointed his finger toward a direction with an
alarmed face full of confusions. “… She stopped right there! She’s not very far from us, I think …
But i-it’s strange, yeou~! I can’t no longer feel her presence anymore~!”

Before anyone there could even react to Yeong’s exclamation, however, Captain Philo rushed past
Cale and his family and started to run in the direction the boy had pointed at.

On the other hand, Cale, facing the pleading eyes of the poor fox cub and the kicked-puppy eyes of
his very own knight, suddenly felt his head stung in a severe headache.

“You lead the way …”

Cale repeated the order to Yeong, but this time, it was much weaker … Well, the almost identical
smiles he received back from those two idiots were very cute and comforting, at least …

Then, not even leaving Cale a second to react, Choi Han easily picked his precious liege up and put
him on his back in an amazingly skillful movement. Like a long-learned response, Cale’s arms
circled around the man before he could be aware of that. Not that he would withdraw his arms now
though; only dumbasses would refuse such a comfortable seat like this. And who cared about what
others might think about him being carried by Choi Han? His body was weak, and he could cough
up blood later if he kept using his ancient powers nonstop, so if there was a back always in the
available state for him to lean on, then why not? He was never embarrassed of being seen as a
weakling anyway.

At the same time, perceiving that his liege had no intention of getting off his back, Choi Han
smiled approvingly as he felt Cale’s gentle breaths tickle the back of his ear. He then turned to
Yeong, who was also happily smiling back while watching his parents being cute together, and
beckoned the child to begin guiding them.

With a nod of acknowledgement, the little fox jumped off and landed on a lower area, hastening his
speed on his way deeper into the forest, followed closely by Choi Han with Cale on his back.

Left behind by the family were the crown prince, Agnes, her knight friend, Clara, and the knights
that had been following Philo since earlier. They were all wearing dumbfounded expressions on
their faces. Agnes, in particular, was smiling like an idiot that had been fed with the most
delectable meals in the world. The crown prince, on the other hand, looked as though his emotions
had been twisted. It was like the man was being torn between admiration and jealousy or
something.

Another second passed with the group only standing stunned like that. But as the next second
ticked away, they all widened their eyes as if finally freed from a magic spell and hastily took a
leap down themselves, rushing to follow Cale’s family that was already about to disappear from
their eyesight.

Meanwhile, Captain Philo was feeling as though his heart was put on fire even as he was running
across a forest in the middle of winter.

“Tsk! This damn armor!”

The captain complained annoyedly. He’d always found armors to be hindering. They were heavy,
they slowed down his speed, and they decreased his flexibility. However, a knight must wear an
armor, that was the rule, and a stupid one at that. Still, for his ever beautiful princess, he wouldn’t
mind abiding to that stupidity.

For his princess, he would do everything.

He would fight for her, protect her, save her. He would be her hero. A hero that had sworn to be
faithful to her only. (Those wavering thoughts he had sometimes when seeing the young master
should not count, of course.)

That was why, he was running like a mad man in the middle of a forest now. He’d witnessed just
how fast that crazy family could be at running, so he would have to pull out his full strength if he
wanted to outrun them.

However …

‘Is this the right way? Why haven’t I seen Her Highness?’

While the captain was blindly racing ahead without having a specific stop spot in mind, he
belatedly realized that even the child himself hadn’t seemed very certain of the direction.
“Fuck! That little brat dares to trick me?”

The captain swore through his teeth, infuriated at the thought that he would have to either continue
running on an uncertain race or go back and press the truth out of that little brat.

Perhaps it could be considered his ‘luck’, for, as it turned out, he didn’t have to choose any of
those.

A couple of footsteps resonated just a dozen feet away from him, and in a direction slightly off to
his right as well …

‘So that is the right direction. I knew that cunning brat tried to trick me!’

The captain gritted his teeth heatedly as he watched Choi Han gently put his liege down from his
back, not even bother to spare him a glance even though Philo knew damn well they must have
noticed his presence as soon as they arrived here.

Then, the expressions on the cunning kid Yi Yeong and the damn fake hero Choi Han changed at
once. Philo could swear they both had noticed something unusual as the two started to stare at a
specific direction in sync.

This time, the knight captain was correct.

“Cale-nim, I sense a weak presence of someone over there.”

Choi Han solemnly reported to Cale, clearly not talking about the additional presence of the
moronic knight captain standing a dozen feet to their left. Yeong, who was standing to his right,
cutely nodded in agreement.

“Yes~omma, omma’s power stopped around there as well, though it no longer feels like her
anymore …”

The mysterious presence he was feeling now didn’t feel like his mother anymore, but Yeong still
couldn’t stop himself from wanting to see the person for himself. Still, what if this individual
turned out to be dangerous or troublesome? Had he not caused enough troubles for his adoptive
parents already?

As the boy was still hesitating, he sensed rushing footsteps from his left, and predictably, the
knight captain ran past him in the direction he and his appa had just stared at. The captain was in
such a hurry that, without contexts, one would think he was an exposed thief running for his life …

‘That rude mister is doing it again~…’

As Yeong was making that remark in his mind, he felt a cold yet gentle hand lightly rest on his
shoulder.

“Yeong-ah, you want to check that person out, do you not?”

Cale was asking the child the question whose answer was already obvious. On his face now was a
relatively bright smile that spread a warm happiness to both the black-haired knight and the white
fox’s hearts. However, if a certain black dragon saw it, he would definitely ask Cale whether he
was about to loot someone.
This time, Cale wasn’t going to loot someone though. It was simply that, while he was
contemplating the words to make that dumbass of a knight captain go and check on the suspicious
presence for them instead, the dumbass was already on the go of-his-own-free-will.

After running and continuously using his ancient powers when his body had just barely recovered,
Cale’d been rather tired, so it felt extra nice to have a fool willingly take the risk for his family
without him having to waste his syllables to make the guy do the task.

With a good spirit, Cale watched Yeong nodding fervently in response and simply let the child’s
small hands lead him and Choi Han ahead.

Meanwhile, Captain Philo gritted his teeth tightly in annoyance as he noticed the damn family was
only several feet behind his back. If it was not because of these stupid skeletal bushes that hindered
him from speeding his steps, he wouldn’t be caught up that quickly.

At least after passing this one boulder, the space would become more breathable, so the captain
impatiently leaped past the large boulder. A strong gust of cold wind blew by then, stirring up the
remaining snow from his surroundings, causing him to involuntarily close his eyes for a brief
moment.

When he took a step forward and opened his eyes, those emerald eyes of his instantly widened like
a fish’s orbs.

“Your Highness?”

He muttered in a low volume as though unable to believe what he was seeing. But it could not be
wrong. That curled light brown hair, those wide azure eyes staring at him in disbelief, that
beautiful face covered in not-yet-dried tears, and that signature blue dress. There was no doubt.
She must be his princess – Princess Janessa Lewis.

“YOUR HIGHNESS!”

He repeated, this time much louder, and rushed toward the princess with his open arms ready for a
hug, feeling utterly relieved and overjoyed as his feeling was reciprocated, seeing that other person
was also spreading her own arms with a smile brighter than the sun and the moon combined. His
dear princess had stood up despite the prominent pain in her swollen ankle and started running
toward his embrace with elated tears sparkling on her pretty face.

Another gale passed through the area, once again blowing up the snowflakes all over the place, but
this time, it completely failed to hinder Captain Philo’s steps.

He began to close his arms the moment he observed that the princess was decidedly close.
However, that movement of his ended up being stopped halfway.

Just a foot away or so, but the princess had made a slight turn around from him, and everything his
paused hands ended up feeling was the lingering softness of Princess Janessa’s cloudy hair as it
lightly touched on the tips of his fingers in barely a split second.

Shaking off the shock so intense it made his body momentarily numb, the captain turned his head
around, eyes automatically seeking the princess, only to see his beloved princess give in to the
ankle pain just in time for her to fall straight into the open arms of his sworn enemy – Choi Han.

Or at least that was how the captain was interpreting the scene. The reality, however, was a tad
different.

Apparently, Yeong had been holding hands with both his omma and appa, with Cale to his right
and Choi Han to his left. For that reason, when the family emerged from behind the boulder, Choi
Han, with an arm still stretched out for Yeong and the other laid firmly on the hilt of his still-
sheathed sword, awkwardly looked like he was standing there with open arms. The princess, who
had nothing in her vision but Choi Han anymore, desperately ran towards those arms and fell right
into them. It didn’t matter even if those arms, for some reason, didn’t do much but give a reflexive
support to her arms, because the only thing that mattered now was the fact that her beloved hero
had come and saved her at last. With a boundless happiness blossoming in her heart, Princess
Janessa ignored the watching eyes of the people around her and Choi Han and boldly circled her
arms around him in a tight hug. (2)

“Choi Han, you idiot! Why are you so late? Do you know just how scared I was?”

She sobbed sulkily. Then, before everyone else could react to her unbelievable words, the princess
slumped down in exhaustion.

*Later that day*

“L-little master Yeong said he wanted to play with the little girl, so I’m going to take him to the
kitchen. Right?”

At Agnes’s prompt, Yeong slightly started before nodding awkwardly.

“Y-yes~! I haven’t seen little girl for a while! Yeou~!”

It wasn’t a lie, but honestly, Yeong didn’t feel like playing with the little girl that much either. Still,
it was a great excuse to leave his parents in their chamber alone with each other, so he simply made
use of it.

A few hours had passed since that tiringly eventful afternoon, and his family had safely returned to
the palace, taken comfortable baths, and even enjoyed a peaceful dinner together. On the outside,
everything appeared perfectly normal. However, only the people inside the zone could feel the
mild wave of tension floating silently in the air.

Even now, the fox cub still hadn’t forgotten that moment when the princess had made the
unexpected turn and run into his appa instead of the open-armed knight captain. He was so shocked
that he’d unconsciously withdrawn his hand holding his appa’s. Then, when Princess-nim had
suddenly hugged his appa with what’d seemed to be the gathering of every ounce of strength in her
muscles, cried out that certain line, and then fainted, he could only stand there and look at the
utterly confused and nonplussed appa of his struggle to make sense of the whole mess, totally
dumbfounded. Only a brief moment later, when the others had arrived, and the knight captain had
shaken himself off the, probably, state of heartbrokenness and taken the fainted princess from his
appa into his own arms with his entire face turning dark red in utmost ire, the young fox finally felt
like time had resumed running and began to move himself. But perhaps it was his survival instinct
kicking in, because something in him had strongly warned that he shouldn’t looked straight at his
omma at that moment, and he’d obeyed the advice without question.

That was a right choice.

Anyhow, knowing his parents, Yeong knew well that that revelation would not leave even a small
scratch on their relationship. Still, at times such as this, as a son, he should know his place and let
his parents have their private time. He himself also needed a time to think of the matter regarding
his mother’s spirit he’d sensed earlier, after all. (3)

Watching Agnes close the door with an awkward Yeong right behind her, Cale, who was sitting on
the sofa with his usual calm face, leisurely took a small sip of his lemon tea as he nonchalantly
commented.

“It’s fortunate that nothing serious happened.”

To that, Choi Han nodded.

“Yes, Cale-nim.”

According to the king, the princess had been safely taken to the North Castle by the knight captain.
She also didn’t have severe injuries, save for the sprained ankle and a few shallow scratches, and
the royal healers were more than capable of taking care of them with potions, though the sprained
ankle might take a bit longer to completely recover.

Anyhow, that was the royal family’s business. Cale’s true concern out of everything was actually
the spiritual power that Yeong had sensed.

Why had Gumi’s power suddenly appeared thousand miles away from her resting place? And why
had it led them to where the second princess was and then disappeared without a trace? Something
just didn’t add up at all.

Cale’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the scattered pieces of puzzles. For some reason, after the
earlier mess, Cale just kept feeling that strange bother tugging on his nerves, making him unable to
think straight.

Aigoo, it seems our Choi Han is in big trouble now!

 Kahaha, poor him, gotta do something quick to redeem himself!

XXX! If this brings harm to the beautiful bond of our precious children, I swear I’ll destroy
this XXX kingdom! I’ll make sure they XXX know what a true disaster is!

This is our children we’re talking about. Their bond is unbreakable, so calm down!

These ancient powers’ chatting wasn’t helping either …

Cale suppressed a sigh as he took another sip of his tea.

At least Choi Han’s tea was balmily sweet today as well. A small comfort among all the havocs.

‘Let’s think about it later.’

If something appeared to be too difficult now, just leave it there and come back to it later. Time
was precious. Instead of wasting time dwelling on a matter too hard to be solved now, he could use
that same amount of time in a much more productive way. For example, he could eat, sleep, or
simply sit still without thinking about a single thing during that entire time. He could definitely do
that, so why not?

Thinking about resting and slacking was truly a great way to relieve stress, for Cale’s brows
instantly relaxed the moment he thought of it.

On the other hand, however, a certain black-haired knight standing sentinel at the door was finding
himself in a state of mild restlessness.

That knight, Choi Han, stared fixatedly at his liege as he recalled the series of events that had taken
place earlier, an inexplicable unease bothering his heart as he did.

Even now, he was still extremely confused, especially about the second princess’s strange
behaviors. He could vaguely assume that she’d been too fatigued and ended up losing her balance
and falling toward him instead of Captain Philo. But when this explanation was put together with
the words she’d uttered in tears before fainting, it just felt like a total misfit.

It was just … so weird.

And it was really bothersome.

And it was not just because of the princess’s behaviors or the captain’s attitude, but also because of
the mere existence of a certain brat of a prince.

Yes, it was no other than the crown prince of the Sage Kingdom – Prince Geno O’Valouse.

‘Oh? What drama is this? Trying to build the image of a decent hero, but ya a womanizer yourself,
aren’t ya?’
The prince had arrived just in time to see the captain pull the fainted princess toward himself, and
the first thing spilled out of his mouth then was that bullshit while glancing at his precious liege
with an obscenely triumphant smile.

Good thing that his younger brother had appeared in time. Just a little longer, and Choi Han wasn’t
sure if his tolerance could still remain conserved.

Honestly though, Prince Girvan truly had it tough. The moment he’d popped up to escort his
brother back, his entire complexion was screaming out just how worn out he’d become, having
searched the whole forest for his brother’s whereabout. He and his hawk had both looked so dead
that Prince Geno couldn’t heartlessly reject his beg for him to return to the palace anymore.

Things had run back on their tracks afterwards, and neither his Cale-nim nor Yeong acted any
differently from their normal selves, so Choi Han wanted to convince himself to just ignore this
uneasy feeling and be normal as well.

But he couldn’t do that.

Unlike Cale, Choi Han wasn’t that good with words, so even his mind was failing to wrap the
whole thing together into comprehendible sentences. Still, there was one thing he knew he must
confess to his liege no matter what.

“Cale-nim.”

And he did.

“What is it?”

Cale curtly asked back. It was his normal response, but somehow, Choi Han could feel a tiny
inkling of edginess hidden perfectly behind his nonchalant tone.

Somehow, that tone and the mildly vexed expression on the younger man’s face made Choi Han
nervous. He wasn’t sure his heart was bounding so loudly due to the nervousness alone, or due to
him being lost in the caging gaze of this beautiful man he would die to protect as well. Probably
both.

Taking a gulp that he didn’t even notice was so dry, Choi Han fixed his own gaze on Cale’s as he
opened his mouth and firmly declared.

“This may sound out of the blue, but please know that I will follow you wherever you go, Cale-
nim.” A pause, and he added, this time even more confidently. “I will always be with you, always
be faithful to you, and nothing, not even death, can do us part.” And he felt his fists tightened,
determination pouring out from his heart and spreading through the smallest of his veins.
“Nothing.” He repeated, as though to imprint the vow to the core of his life form. Then, he paused
visible, patiently awaiting a response from the other man.

However, for a while, Cale showed no signs of responding at all. He was just sitting there with his
flawlessly stoic face, and one of his hands was still on the teacup’s handle, unmoving.

And just like that, silence dragged for a few more seconds, before Cale finally moved his fingers
off the handle and brought the hand up to rest his cheek on, assumably to watch the waning moon
outside the window, as he commented in a bored tone.

“That was really cheesy.”

Hearing the comment, Choi Han could only smile embarrassedly while scratching the back of his
head.

“I guess it was.” But just in a split second, his face returned to the earlier solemnness once again.
“But everything is pure truths. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure to stay by your side, Cale-
nim.”

He stopped, and there was another pause, before his liege finally tore his gaze away from the hazy
moonlight outside and stood up, nonchalantly remarking as he did so.

“Why do you keep saying the obvious?”

He asked, a small frown on his face, as though the man was genuinely annoyed. However,
something in Choi Han was telling him that Cale wasn’t actually as annoyed as he seemed, or
perhaps, he was being bothered by something else instead of his repeated words, something that
could very likely be the same thing that had been bothering Choi Han himself as well.

Not knowing exactly how to answer the question, and not even sure if an answer was in demand,
Choi Han stood still in his spot, watching as his liege took leisure steps toward him.

Just like that, the distance between them was gradually narrowed down. Eventually, when Cale
finally came to stop, it had become so close Choi Han could clearly see his own image keenly
reflected on the reddish-brown pupils. Those sharp eyes stared right through him, more
hypnotizing than anything in the worlds.

There was no trace of any particular emotions on Cale’s face even as he lifted up his right fist and
knocked, with quite a force of strength, onto a specific place slightly to the left of his chest. Then,
he said, just as indifferently as ever.

“Of course you will.” And he applied some more strength to his fist, pressing his knuckles even
harder against that steel muscles, despite knowing full well the only thing that suffered would only
be his own hand. “You promised me, didn’t you?”

Cale finished, and his face somehow turned even colder than his normal joker face, which was
something Choi Han should be nervous about, but he was not.

Those sharp eyes, that cold and unamused expression, and this faintly spiky aura looming over
him. Everything was making Cale look so much like a small kitten with his hair sulkily bristling,
trying to make himself look more threatening.

‘How cute.’

Choi Han couldn’t help but think that.

Then, with his eyes still locked on Cale’s, he raised his own hand up and carefully weaved his
gloved fingers into that tightly clenched fist, soothed it to loosening, and gently held on its long
and slender fingers like it was a part of the most delicate existence.

“Yes, I did.”

He answered, at last, while bending down to plant a soft kiss on those fingers.

On the first days of their reunion in this world, Choi Han had made a promise to his liege, vowing
to him that he’d be by his side no matter how arduous the road ahead of them would turn out to be.
That promise was done silently, born to a kiss he fleetingly laid on his liege’s hand, and the only
witness was the bright moon in the sky.

Tonight, the moon was crescent, and its light was barely descried, having been blanketed behind
the churning winter clouds.

Perhaps in order to make up for the lack of moonlight, this time, Choi Han lingered the kiss a beat
longer, making certain that the other man could feel every ounce of sincerity he sent through the
kiss.

As Choi Han reluctantly parted his lips from Cale’s hand, like a habit, he closely observed the
shorter man for any changes in his expression, delighted to feel the spiky aura slowly ebbing away,
even though Cale was still staring at him with that same cold expression from earlier.

*Sob*sob* How beautiful! How touching!

You’re right, Super Rock! Our children’s bond is unbreakable. Nothing, not even a
kingdom’s XXX and XXXX and XXX could do them part.

I’m crying! This is so precious! I could even die to protect them!!

But Sound of the Wind … you’re already dead …

Kahahaha, congrats, Choi Han! Your kitten has been pacified successfully! What a man!

“Shut the bullshit!”

… Utterly irritated by the noisy chattering of the ancient powers in his head, especially the
Cheapskate’s vexingly meaningful remark at the end, Cale blurted aloud. When realization
belatedly dawned on him, and he instantly looked up, the damage had already been done …

That night, when Yeong returned to the chamber, different from all the scenarios he could possibly
imagine, greeting him was this endearing yet unexpected scene of a red kitten trying to placate an
extremely depressed black puppy.

‘Just … what happened?~’

 The white fox wondered. Today had been so strange, even until the very last hours of it …

End Chapter 15

Chapter End Notes

(1) Choi Han, a first-class actor? That's an interesting thought.

(2) Dang it, what a cliché !
(3) Our Yeong has grown up so well!

I have so much respect for Author-nim. The plot of this small fic only began to thicken
a bit, and I already struggle to maintain consistency and everything else. TCF has
almost 700 chapters now, and just look at how perfectly everything is being
connected.
 Extra: How the red kitten coaxed his puppy knight (ft. a poor little fox)
Chapter Summary

This chapter was inspired by this comment by carnationsharks-nim:

smsjdjkd iiif its possible, can we get a small epilogue for cale comforting
choi han i really wanna see how our beloved liege comforts his puppy
sobs;;

It's supposed to be chapter 15.5, but it turned out I couldn't do that here, so it became
chapter 16.

Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

https://ridibooks.com/books/875103701?_s=search&_q= 가 + 가+

https://copincomics.com/?c=toon&k=112

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Shut the bullshit!”

Not even three seconds after those words left his mouth, Cale instantly felt a vague wave of alert
jostling against the back of his mind. He blinked, feeling realizations slipping through and into his
system.

However, such realizations had come a little too late.

In the midst of the silent night, even the rustling of clothes could be clearly heard as though the
sound was amplified. So, naturally, every single word Cale had blurted out earlier had entered Choi
Han’s ears without obstacles, and in a completely, meaningfully correct order, that is.

Frankly speaking, it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. After all, this shouldn’t be the first time Cale
had uttered his thought out loud and caused confusions. And yet, and yet, this time Cale couldn’t
help but oddly have a bad feeling about it. It was as though there was something … like a pinch of
inexplicable guilt tug at the smallest string inside his heart, making him instinctively focusing his
gaze back on the man before him.

‘Tsk.’

Cale then mentally clicked his tongue. His brain did its best to make the ‘tsk’ sound as vivid and
violent in his head as it could. His brows unwittingly kneaded at the sight of the totally dumbstruck
knight in front of him. Cale certainly possessed zero magic power. Still, the three simple words
he’d just said seemed to have perfectly petrified the other man right at the moment they casted
themselves on him, as though containing some sort of petrifying effect.

The long history of encountering all kinds of unexpected misunderstandings was nagging at Cale to
hurry up and amend the situation.

“It’s not you …”

He said, somewhat hesitantly, trying to choose the right words. After all, Cale had never revealed
to anyone about how his ancient powers could speak and chatter like they were still alive within
him. Well, he’d subtly mentioned that to his allies once, assuming it should be the same for
everyone, only to realize that, as it turned out, he was a bit different from others. And so, that day
marked the first and last time he’d brought that topic out of the scope of his mind.

To put it in another way, Choi Han was clueless of Cale’s chattering ancient powers, which made it
a little harder for Cale to explain.

He looked at Choi Han, whose expression was faltering at an alarming rate. Cale’s lips, which
were already half their way to make an opening, automatically pressed down tight at the sight.

“…”

Perhaps because Choi Han’s silence was a bit too … worrying, Cale decided he should observe the
knight’s changes in expression a bit longer before he spoke. But, really, it wasn’t like he was still a
commander about to deliver an impactful speech to his soldiers before a significant war, so why
was he still having to pick every single word so carefully for almost no reason?

“Tsk.” Thinking that, Cale clicked his tongue again, this time aloud. Then, annoyedly, he added. “I
told you it wasn’t you.”

It must be because Cale’s tone was sort of cranky, almost at odds with the meaning it implied, but
Choi Han jerked up his gaze in quite a hurry upon hearing it. For a moment, he just kept on staring
at Cale with dimming expectations sparkling from the bottom of his jet black eyes. And, together
with those droopy puppy ears and the tentatively wagging tail that certainly only existed in Cale’s
imagination, the knight, who Cale knew so damn well was strong enough to turn this entire palace
upside down without breaking a sweat, seemed so much like a harmless, or even bullied, little
puppy, desperately awaiting Cale’s next words.

As ridiculous as it might sound, this appearance of his knight somehow succeeded in bringing Cale
a feeling akin to fluster, or at least something between it and restlessness. He supposed it was
similar to that time when Jour Thames kept praising him cute, causing him only able to respond
‘huh?’ in bewilderment; Cale found himself sort of at loss for words this time as well. So, when he
finally could pull himself together and utter something, it ended up not as perfect as he would have
liked it to be.

“It’s not you.” He repeated, and this sentence was fine.

“It’s the voices in my head ... or rather, my soul.” But, no, this was not …

His words ended, and Cale could feel his own brows furrow harder, witnessing Choi Han’s
supposedly invisible mental wall start to crack and break down into pieces behind the man’s back.

Seriously, Cale would have laughed at how utterly bizarre his … hallucination had become if not
for the fact that Choi Han’s anticipating eyes were beginning to rapidly turn into grave dark
hollows as though the sparkles in them earlier were none but a total lie.
Just when Cale was about to quickly add in some details, hoping to clarify further, he heard Choi
Han’s voice weakly reach his ears.

“Cale-nim’s soul … I see …” Choi Han mumbled that, then he looked straight into Cale’s eye. The
way the corners of his lips were forced so hard to twitch up, plus his natural incapability to act,
they together made his expression so worryingly pitiful. “I understand. My apologies, Cale-nim
…”

‘No, what do you understand?’

Cale wanted to ask, but Choi Han seemed to have already closed the case. He bowed to Cale
respectfully, then, soullessly, he dragged his body in the direction to the door, probably to stand
guard over there as usual.

‘Cale-nim’s soul … it must mean that, from the bottom of his heart, Cale-nim considers those
words of mine nothing but some bullshit.’

Apparently, this was how Choi Han interpreted Cale’s vague words. Of course, it was far from the
truth, but when put into the context, it absurdly fitted.

“Hold on …”

There was a wary pull at Choi Han’s forearm, and he turned back to see Cale was looking at him
with a rare soft, almost apologetic, expression. The way his elegant brows subtly tilted downward
suggested a hint of concern.

‘Cale-nim really is a kind person.’

Even in such a situation, where he wasn’t pleased by Choi Han’s words, his liege still cared and
worried about him this much.

‘Get a hold of yourself already!’

Choi Han inwardly yelled at himself. As Cale’s sole knight, he swore to be the shoulder Cale could
lean on, or at least share his burdens over, but look at him now, acting all childish and listless like
this, how could he ever deserve the position next to Cale if he could not even bear such little
matters?

Thinking it through, Choi Han slowly opened his mouth, a compulsive yet genuinely honest smile
dawning on his face as he did.

However, before the knight’s words could come out, they were disrupted by the sound of two
recognizable voices dully heard outside the chamber. When one of the owners of those voices
seemed to have walked away, the doorknob clicked, and a familiar figure entered the chamber. It
was, predictably, their little Yeong.

Perhaps it was the way the child poked his small head into the chamber with great caution, or
perhaps it was the way he practically froze in his spot upon seeing them, or perhaps it was for both
reasons plus how the boy’s golden eyes widened and slightly shook, but, for a split second, both
Cale and Choi Han failed to take any proactive action to acknowledge the boy’s return. Or, more
precisely, the boy’s return at a moment when the atmosphere around them had become a little too
weird and awkward for them to have it seen by their innocent child. Not to mention, the strange
feeling that their little son might actually have half the idea of what was going on while theirs were
probably only slightly better than that didn’t help either.
Then, for a short while, silence seemed to concentrate and thickly condense around them. Two
pairs of eyes kept on staring at one, and vice versa. When it looked almost like they could continue
this … activity (?) the whole night, the fox cub blinked suddenly before he visibly summoned his
composure into a small bow.

“Omma, appa, I’m back. Yeou~.” Then, with a suspiciously avoiding attitude, the boy hurriedly
added. “I’ll … be needing the privy for a bit.”

There was a puffing sound following his words, and Cale and Choi Han could see a white fox rush
into the privy with the speed of light.

‘Did he eat something bad during dinner?’

Cale wondered with wide eyes; he’d never seen Yeong in such a rush to the toilet. He was thinking
his adopted son might have a stomachache but then quickly dismissed the idea as he reminded
himself that, as a mystical creature, the boy’s body was much tougher than it looked, which meant
he should be just fine.

‘But there is someone who isn’t quite fine here.’

Cale thought and looked up at that someone through his red bangs. Based on the way Choi Han
was so terribly acting like he understood everything, Cale was so sure that his knight didn’t
understand a thing.

‘Oi, it’s your fault in the first place. Do something about it!’

Cale called out in his head, and the ancient powers immediately perceived who he was talking to.

Ahem, Cale, this …

The Super Rock began first. Then, there was a pause, during which no other voices dared chime in.

Their silence annoyed Cale to no end.

It could have been acceptable had they always been so quiet, but needless to say, they had not.
They indirectly caused this whole mess with their noisiness, and now that Cale was knocking their
door with the mess standing next to him, they stayed silent.

Had he been spoiling these ancient powers too much? These cowardly bastards …

Cale’s expression didn’t even change even as he was cursing the ancient powers, but perhaps they
had resided inside Cale for a time long enough, they could easily sense the slightest shift in his
emotion. The ancient powers started to fidget restlessly at the back of his mind. After that, there
was a trail of apologies echoing weakly inside his head.

Sorry Cale …

Yeah … we’re sorry for being too noisy …

I will never XX forgive myself if this somehow causes a rift in the bond of our precious
 children. T.T

Sky Eating Water … I understand your feeling, but now really isn’t an ideal time to mention
that …

Ahem, Cale!

Eventually, it still took the Super Rock again to actually get to the point.

This might not be much of a help, but as someone who used to have a life as a human being,
I would say the best way to solve a misunderstanding is simply being honest.

Cale blinked. The answer sounded … obvious, and it was probably for the best. How strange it was
that the idea had never even crossed his mind.

Well, maybe it had, but then he just unconsciously shoved it aside. Because what if he was aware
of this little matter, when he had been feigning ignorance to many other matters for so long?

What about his real identity that most people so dear to him still hadn’t known of even as the
eternal farewell had separated him from them?

What about the part of them that even they weren’t aware of, but he was?

What about those promises that he’d made, only to see them slip out of his palm, forever unkept?

And what about this dishonesty he could not himself fathom, diligently poking at the most
sensitive part of his soul every now and then when he faced this certain knight of his?

If Cale were to be honest, he would have to be honest about a whole lot more things, and that
thought alone already ripped off the last piece of his energy. To make things less complicated and
energy-consuming, Cale learned to trim off the parts he didn’t need, so that he would only deal
with the plain core of an issue. As time went on, the trimmed-off parts were naturally hidden
among billions of records, untouched, unless they were needed. And of course, Cale would not
ever mention them to anyone else, unless he had to.

In retrospect, probably when he wasn’t noticing, those little parts that Cale always thought to be not
worth mentioning had become such big secrets, and at some point, he found it quite difficult to
bring them up again and aloud. It was like they had become extremely hard nuts totally resistant to
cracking.

‘I’ll listen to you this time.’ Cale thought to the ancient powers, slowly and clearly. ‘But if things
don’t turn out well, I’ll squeeze you lot into ugly rocks, shove those rocks into a wine bottle, then
roll that very bottle from the top of a hill to its bottom before returning yall back into me.
Understood?’

There was a beat of absolute speechlessness and terror among the ancient powers before they all
began to meekly respond with weak ‘yes, sir’ and ‘understood.’

‘And a certain fire can kiss money goodbye as well.’

Cale could feel a sensation akin to a heartbreak within him, but he coldly ignored it. Instead, he
returned his attention to the man in front of him.

Misunderstandings were written all over the idiot, but he was still patiently waiting for whatever
his liege had to say to him.

Cale took such a sight into his eyes. It was strange, but something about it was rather easing, and
suddenly he found that it actually wasn’t as difficult as he’d presumed, telling the truth and all.

“My ancient powers can talk.” He said simply, his tone calm and flat. “This doesn’t occur to other
people, but I’m a bit different. You have ancient powers inside too, so you know what I’m talking
about.”

To be honest, Choi Han didn’t exactly get what that was that he was supposed to know, since it
never appeared to him that an ancient power could show even the slightest indication of
independent consciousness, but he nodded anyway.

If his liege wanted to tell him something, he was bound to listen to it with limitless attention.

“Earlier, while we were talking, they sort of made a fuss in my head … again.” Cale added, and he
didn’t even know why he felt such emphasis was necessary. “Anyway, it was them who I told off,
not you.”

After Cale’s firm statement, silence followed and once again returned to their chamber. Choi Han
was gazing at him so statically that Cale started to have half a mind that the Super Rock’s advice
might have caused the situation to take a turn for the worse. Just when Cale was seriously
pondering over which wine bottle could create the roughest roll, he heard a deep note in Choi
Han’s gentle voice echo quietly like a whisper of unexplainable emotions.

“Then … Cale-nim …”

“…Yes?”

Cale answered the call somewhat hesitantly, uncertain whether his words were able to sink in the
other man at last. Because, why was the man’s face still this tense even after Cale had made
clarification?

Fortunately for Cale, his effort to become more honest appeared to pay off, as he could then hear
Choi Han asking him a question that sort of insinuated an extent of correct comprehension.

“…That means you don’t hate it, right? The thing I said to you earlier, I mean.”

‘The thing he said earlier?’

Cale pondered over what that thing must have been. The records quickly run in his head, and a
certain line caught his attention almost immediately.

‘I will always be with you, always be faithful to you, and nothing, not even death, can do us part.’

‘It must be it.’

Cale confirmed to himself. His eyes suspiciously shifted down and back up without him noticing. It
was one thing to listen to such a line when he was occupied by something else, but it felt strange
now that he was fully conscious of it.
And, wait a minute, what the heck was that ‘something else’ that occupied him again?

”… No, I don’t.” He resolved to answer Choi Han honestly instead, while owning up to the fact
that he might not be very himself as the day was coming to an end.

He probably needed some extra time in bed tomorrow then.

Just when the idea of being able to rest and laze off began to blissfully fill up his mind, Cale felt a
gentle touch on his right hand and instinctively glanced down at it and then up over to re-face the
gaze of the touch’s owner.

“Is that so?” The owner of the touch, Choi Han, was holding Cale’s hand in a loose grasp. The
grasp was full of timidity, and a little hesitant, yet it inflicted a strange, unpreceded effect on Cale’s
heart as he could sense something so warm, almost endearing, in the way the worn-out leather
covering the man’s hand glide faintly over his knuckles.

“I’m glad.” The knight finished.

Choi Han’s latter words came out in a voice so quiet it was barely heard. As he said that, he sighed
out his usual warm and gentle smile. A noticeable relief could be seen written all over the
handsome angles of his face, lightened up dimly under the hazy moon.

Then there was also something in the man’s expression that made him seem like an idiot, but Cale
thought he could just overlook it, for there was someone else he needed to question at this moment.

Some spiritual existences, actually.

‘You damn Crybaby geezer. And you too, the Glutton Priestess. Just what the hell are you doing?’

For some reason, his heart had been racing rather abnormally, ever since he felt the man’s touch
and encountered such an expression brimming with excessive gentleness.

Just what part of this situation was so damaging to his health that his heart was so busy restoring
his body’s vitality?

However, despite his questioning, both the Vitality of Heart and the Indestructible Shield remained
totally quiet, and so did the other ancient powers.

Had he scared them a little too much earlier?

Anyway, the atmosphere thus turned a tad too awkward to Cale’s liking, so, in the silent night, he
lowered his gaze without thinking, only to run back into the other man’s unmoving gaze as he re-
looked up. A pair of deep black eyes were staring at him passionately, but not rudely, as though to
see through the most naked part of his self, but not to ever dare touch.

Those eyes would be on him whenever they could. It was something that, by now, Cale should
have known so damn well.

Perhaps Cale had done a tad too much recollection today, but for a fleeting moment, those genuine
eyes easily opened some records in him. He could feel remnants of memories sparking in his head,
too fast for him to perfectly catch up, but imprinted too deeply to be forgotten.

In some memories, there were people smiling at him in similar manners, completely clean from
any traces of malicious intent. Many of them already died; a large part of the rest he could no
longer see.
The memories appeared to be a little too sentimental, for they caused strange thoughts that Cale
was sure wouldn’t match his character to suddenly appear in his head.

In the dim light of the crescent moon, while losing his own gaze into the man’s before him, Cale
thought that, for a person like him, to have someone still looking at him this way, smiling at him so
harmlessly for such a simple reason, … and making his heart beat so strangely like this, those lives
he’d crawled out through piles of dogshit, dragging with him the lives of others, and this life also,
perhaps, just perhaps, they all had a meaning, after all.

Be it a shameless conclusion to ease his mind, or be it a pathetic excuse to justify his own
existence, Cale decided to push that debate aside for now.

Call him a thick-skinned bastard or whatever, he couldn’t care less. But, just for a bit longer, and
then just a little more, let him completely wallow in this moment.

As the thought went on, Cale found his fingers moving slightly, as though to respond to the other
man’s shy touch.

Admittedly, this sensation of touch didn’t feel half bad.

Meanwhile.

‘Omma … appa~ …’

Inside the privy, a little fox was all but melting on the floor. One of his ears was pressed
desperately against the door.

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop. In fact, he’d even tried to suppress his hearing in order not to. But, as
time passed, the poor fox had no choice but to check on the situation outside.

Still, even now that his parents seemed to have been done with talking, the lack of their movements
suggested that they could still be conversing nonverbally … somehow, which meant he shouldn’t
go out just yet.

‘Omma … appa~ …’

The fox repeated, this time tearfully.

For his omma and appa, it was estimated that the boy would need to have a constipation … or
something, for a little longer.

End Chapter 16
Chapter End Notes

This is At_Dawn.

First of all, I apologize for the long break. I've been dealing with several unexpected
problems, especially the shocking hospital fees, so my mind hasn't been at ease for a
while now. Still, I'm really thankful and happy to know that many of you still enjoy
this fic and revisit it often. That really means a lot to me. T.T

I'm hoping that things can be settled soon, and I can be back with a new chapter.

Again, thank you so much for reading! *bows*bows*

 The Knight Tournament: Day 1 (1)
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Part I (Partly Sunny)

The weather was especially nice on the first day of the Knight Tournament.

It was fortunate, because the matches would be performed on an open stage at the center of the
Mythic Kingdom’s biggest amphitheater – the Réimeas Jarlath Amphitheater.

This particular building had the age of the kingdom itself, for the Knight Tournament had become
an unmissable event of the Winter Festival ever since it’d first been introduced as part of the
celebration for the kingdom’s birth.

Well, the event had been cancelled once, actually.

Yesteryear, due to the unfortunate incident that had occurred to the Crown Princess, the Winter
Festival had taken place in a spiritless and mournful atmosphere, and most activities had been
called off even after having been planned ahead for so long. After some discussions, the Knight
Tournament was eventually added into that group. It was a pity, but that was the best choice they
could come up with during such a distressing time.

The tragedy could have repeated itself, and there would have then been a double heartbreak
inflicted on the people of this kingdom just roughly one year after the mishap falling upon the
Crown Princess if not for Choi Han’s interference that day when the bandits attacked the king and
his second daughter on their way back to the capital, and, likewise, if not for Cale and Choi Han’s
presence on the day Princess Janessa’s birthday party had been held.

Anyhow, the Gods must have taken pity on this kingdom for what had happened to its future queen
and decided to give the kingdom’s capital this beautiful day amidst the gloomy winter. It was so
that the Knight Tournament could be carried out with one less impediment. The people couldn’t
stop thanking their gods for this blessing. Thousands of them had been standing in lines outside the
amphitheater ever since the crack of dawn, waiting for their turn to be checked in by the royal
guards. Many had arrived even earlier than that. Some at midnight, or even the day before. And of
course all of them were there despite the news about the most recent terror incident still sat on the
very first page of every single newspaper existing out there in the continent.

What’s more? The audience also looked to be diverse. Since this tournament was famous, not only
the people living in every corner of the Mythic Kingdom, but curious citizens from foreign lands
also poured into the capital, hoping to spectate breathtaking matches. Political, religious and some
other reasons might prevent the number of foreign visitors to get remarkably large, but the
undeniable attraction of this event made up for it, more or less. Among the ones waiting in lines,
several dozens of them were revealed to be from the Sage Kingdom, and there were some elves and
dark elves also.

If that still wasn’t enough to tell just how big and highly anticipated this tourney was, then the
sight inside the amphitheater should.

Being the largest, oldest, and most sacred building for traditional sports and duels between knights,
the Réimeas Jarlath Amphitheater possessed the size not any less than of the royal palace. The
building was perfectly oval in shape, with a central stage surrounded by ascending seating areas.
These areas were configured by some of the most talented architects back at the very beginning of
the new age, in a way so that the audience capacity could be expanded to the fullest without having
to sacrifice aesthetic and safety factors.

At one end of the oval venue, just right above and behind the royal seats, laid enormous statues of
two animals. One had the form of a lion whose wavy mane radiated a sense of ruling power; the
other was a smilodon baring its saber-like teeth in an imposing stance, ready to both defend and
attack.

A lord and a knight.

And the imperishable bond between them.

That was the ultimate meaning behind this tournament, and these two statues stood as the unfading
symbol of it.

OOMPH OOMPH OOMPH

From the other end of the venue, air-shaking sounds echoed after a succession of beats on huge,
medieval-looking drums.

This was a signal that indicated all priorly unreserved seats were now occupied, and a large
number of spectators had already been guided to their seats.

Most audience were now taking time to immerge themselves in animated conversations, enjoying
the fact that no old and boring judges were around to disapprove their loud talks like in the History
Contest, while whoever new to this tournament spent a seemingly endless period of time gawking
their eyes at the stunning interior of the largest venue in the kingdom, trying to familiarize
themselves with the thrill so extreme that it felt like it’d replaced the air in their breaths.

Though the audience might be doing different things, none of them forgot to pay a certain amount
of attention toward the inner gates. Those gates were where the royalty, nobles, and contestants
would pass through. Overflowing excitement flared in their eyes as they enthusiastically waited for
the appearance of the royal family, the nobles, and last but not least, the participating knights.

OOMPH OOMPH OOMPH

Tuuu tuuu tuuu

Another drum roll reverberated, this time in sync with the sounds of trumpets and horns, creating a
festive tune that seemed to convey a zealous welcome.

“Their hospitality is amazing.”

Choi Han commented with a smile as he listened to the spiritful melody being heard from outside
the room he was staying in, his eyes scanning over the room an extra time before reverting back to
where they should always be.

Cale, who was sitting idly in a comfy armchair, made a glance at Choi Han after hearing his
remark and feeling the man’s gaze returning back on him. Then, he withdrew the glance and
emotionlessly nodded, staring aimlessly over the small fox wiggling his back happily on the soft
and furry carpet.

Externally, with the way Cale had been unmoving ever since he set his back on this chair, one
would think his brain and body might have stopped functioning for some unknown reason.

Internally, it was pretty close to that.

‘This chair …’

… The armchair Cale was sitting on felt so warm and snuggly; the feeling was so pleasant that Cale
found it getting more and more difficult with the idea of having to separate himself from it at some
point. His mind had been diligently circling back and forth between that thought and the relaxing
sensation he was burying himself in.

Not only this chair, but all other furniture and accessories in this guest room, including the sofa
Choi Han just got up from, and the red carpet Yeong was now proceeding to melt into in ecstasy,
were all made with considerations for the guests’ comfort in mind.

Because the Knight Tournament was a multi-day event, depending on the number of participants,
in order to save time and energy for the participants and their families from having to move
between estates, the founding king made a request to construct a large part of the building
surrounding the amphitheater’s avenue into one block of guest rooms. Those who attended the
event would be escorted to their household’s respective room, and they would rest there with their
family until the end of the tournament.

Since in this world, Cale was no longer a noble, he hadn’t expected much while following the
servants to a room in a far corner. But his mental gear started to shift in a reverse direction the
moment he saw the names written on the room tag.

<<The Choi – Henituse Household>>

With them not having a noble surname to represent, Cale supposed the staff must have had a hard
time debating which one to place on their room tag, Choi or Henituse. They apparently ended up
with both family names in one.

That was a small detail, and Cale of course wouldn’t mind even if only Choi Han’s name was on
the tag. And yet, seeing their family names put together like that, and in that way … It brought
about an oddly satisfactory sensation to Cale. He wasn’t sure where that feeling came from, but as
his gaze laid on the proud smile on the other man’s gentle visage, as well as the way that man was
staring silly at the room tag, he knew there was no need to keep pondering over.
They both felt good about it, and that was enough to know.

But the room tag wasn’t the only good thing about this room. What was actually so wonderful
about it was the way the room was designed and equipped with all sorts of high-quality furniture
and decoration. For a place not supposed to be used often, they sure knew how to maintain it to
have this quality of a top-notch hotel even after all that vacant time.

Diving even deeper in the soft and warm chair, Cale made up his mind that his future slacker life
must at least reach this level of coziness. Because, what could possibly be the point of having your
own realm built without a place like this somewhere?

Knock knock.

It was then when Cale heard polite knocks on their door, and a just as polite voice got to their ears
through the door.

“We are the attendants responsible for escorting Sir Choi Han and his family.”

There was a puffing sound as Yeong quickly changed back to his human form, and Cale, while
compulsively pushing himself up from the ‘magic’ chair, beckoned Choi Han to open the door
after confirming that the child didn’t leave any extra ears on his head or tails on his back.

“Greetings! I will be escorting Sir Choi Han to the waiting room for participating knights.”

“Greetings! As for me, I’ll be escorting young master Cale and little master Yeong to their
reserved seats.”

The two attendants bowed and introduced their tasks in turn. In response, Cale and Choi Han made
a small acknowledging bow to them, with Yeong immediately following suit.

“We’ll be in your care.”

The family did that without much thought, but it seemed to have done something special to the
staffs because the two suddenly paused for a beat before resuming their professional manner, but
this time with rather questionably strange eyes.

“…Before we go, Sir Choi Han, please make sure to leave your personal weapons in safe hands.”

The attendants reminded, and Choi Han blinked as he remembered.

“Right, the rule …”

But before the attendants could give any suggestions of ‘safe hands,’ Choi Han calmly held up the
sword in his hand and offered it to the person by his side with sensible respect.

“Cale-nim, can you?”

He asked, and then couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curving up, ever so slightly. His
eyes slid from the subtle ruffle of the red hair strands as their owner nonchalantly inclined his head
in replacement for a yes, over to the delicate arm raising to match his. Long and pale fingers,
completely clean from scars, casually took hold of the straight and virile-looking sheathed blade
and shoved it into a magic bag in one neat movement.

Talk about safe hands. As if there could ever be anyone Choi Han trusted more than this beautiful
lord of his.

Meanwhile.

‘W-what is this feeling?’

The two attendants fidgeted awkwardly on their spots, not entirely sure what to make of the scene
they were witnessing.

Everything happened naturally, and the two men’s actions were decidedly normal, so why the heck
were they having this strange feeling of tasting something super sweet?

The two attendants knew they bettered hurry up and resume their duty, but there was something in
the air around those two men that made them feel like they would bear a guilt larger than a
mountain if they ever dared interrupt this tender moment of those two. So, they resolved to just
stand still and might as well enjoy the honey-like taste while they were at it.

Not one bit noticing the two attendants’ suspicious stares, Cale and Choi Han continued to send
expressive looks in each other’s eyes for a tad longer. Most of the things they would like to say to
each other were conveyed during that tacit silence.

Just when Choi Han regretfully tore his eyes away from his liege and proceeded to address the
attendants, his steps came to a halt at a touch he could not feel quite well through the leather armor
on his body. Choi Han looked back, and he saw the same long and slim fingers loosely hold on his
shoulder.

“One second.”

The owner of those fingers, Cale, ordered curtly, before stepping one step closer to Choi Han.

As morning light transpierced the terrace window and shone into the room, Choi Han could see a
shimmering halo surrounding the slender figure of his liege, and it only became brighter the
narrower their distance became.

Then, from a space so close it made his heart thump, Choi Han saw Cale briskly lift his right hand
and let it meet the other that was still on his shoulder.

Click clack.

Wordlessly, and with eyes as tranquil as lake water in mid-autumn, Cale undid the loose buckle on
Choi Han’s cape and began to skillfully fix it. This was the gray cape Cale gifted him that day
when they’d just started this obscure journey. Choi Han wore it almost every day, but that didn’t
mean his buckling skill was always perfect.

‘Ah’

Choi Han blinked and made a soundless gasp as he realized what his liege was doing. Then, almost
instantly, the gentle smile returned to his face, this time more pampering. His nose sneakily sniffed
on the easing and refreshing scent that reminded him of morning dewdrops, tempting him to lean
his face a tad closer, until the tip of his nose got tickled by the small, untamed strands of red hair,
and his lips were just an inch shy of touch on the other man’s pale helix.

Other present people could only see Cale with an emotionless facial expression, but only Choi Han
noticed the unusual faint shade of pink on his liege’s ears, and something about this ‘only’ made
him feel like he’d won a worthy prize even before the tournament started.

Choi Han would have liked to bathe in this triumph for a second longer, but he heard the
endearingly deep voice from Cale and wasted no time heeding the man’s words.

“Don’t overdo it.”

That was an understandable order, considering how destructive Choi Han could be if he wanted to.

“Understood.”

Choi Han nodded with serious eyes, watching as Cale finished with the buckle but still hadn’t let
go of his shoulder. He observed the man’s fingers run slidingly from the buckle on his shoulder
down his cape in mesmerizing movements before stopping at a small wrinkle and starting to flatten
it out a bit. Then, he saw Cale’s lips parting, forming words whose meaning didn’t seem connected
to his action.

“And definitely don’t get hurt.”

After that order, Cale finally removed his fingers from Choi Han’s caped shoulder. He also took a
step back, looking into Choi Han’s slightly widened eyes with serenity.

With Choi Han’s strength, Cale had no doubt that the knight would sweep through this tournament
like an unstoppable tornado all the way to the prize, so such an order would only be needless in any
case. Despite that, Cale resolved to say it anyway.

Perhaps it had something to do with the Super Rock’s advice, because he could sense himself want
to be a tiny bit more honest with Choi Han, even if most of the time he still couldn’t pinpoint
exactly where the dishonest part laid. In this case though, he did have an idea about it.

He wasn’t one to do pointless things, but he’d now admit that this didn’t, to him, feel at all
pointless.

It felt just right, and there was no harm in doing things that felt right.

And, evidently, the way Choi Han’s smile broadened into a quiet chuckle, and the way his
expression turned extra bright upon hearing Cale’s words, spoke loudly for that.

“I won’t.”

And the subtle accession to softness in his tone spoke for that as well.

Again, if they both felt good about it, then that should be all that mattered.

The two stared at one another for a beat longer, before shifting their gazes toward the staffs.

“Please lead the way.”

Said the young master flatly, and the staffs found themselves almost stumble on a jump.

‘W-what was that?’

‘What the hell was that wife-at-home-seeing-husband-off-to-war kind of feeling just now?’
It took the attendants a while to gradually absorb whatever thing had just happened. And even after
the absorbing process, they still had no clue what they should make of it.

There was one thing they were clear about, however, and it was that they actually didn’t hate
watching that scene just now at all.

No, forget hating, they were literally enjoying it, like the way little pets would enjoy their meals
blissfully.

Adverting their eyes from the two men’s waiting gazes, the attendants happened to catch an
innocent yet meaningful look from the boy Yi Yeong.

… Something about that look oddly embarrassed them. It was as though they were looking up to a
senior who patted their shoulders while laughing and loudly declaring ‘Newbie, eh? Must be your
first time! Don’t worry, you’ll get used to this in no time. Soon, you’ll even crave for it!’, which
didn’t match the child’s image a single bit.

Amid the uncomfortable sense brought forth by the disturbing mental picture, the attendants darted
their eyes away from Yeong, only to encounter a puzzled-looking knight and a young master with a
rather fed up expression, as though he’d had enough of going through situations similar to this more
than once. However, the second the young master caught their gazes, a smile instantly bloomed on
his face.

“Please, pay us no mind.” He said, smiling so friendly it gave them chills. “It’s not like we’re
running late or anything.”

The attendants flinched at the young master’s tone, which contained a hint of edgy sarcasm, and
hurriedly gathered their minds back to the task at hand.

“W-we apologize!”

They exclaimed in union and opened the room door in a rush.

‘It’s you two’s bloody fault that we are like this!!!’

But as they proceeded to escort the guests, the staffs couldn’t help but complain internally.

They didn’t mind experiencing this ‘complainable’ situation again next time they met, however.

By the time Cale reached his seat, the venue had been all but completely crowded, with the
exception of a few fancy and expensive-looking chairs reserved solely for the royalty.

“Hey, look, that’s him!”

“Wow, looking at him from up close is …”

“He’s … truly stunning…”

Audible murmurs started floating around Cale as soon as he and Yeong situated themselves on
their spots. Some murmurs were from regular spectators who most likely knew him by word of
mouth, and many were from the noblemen whose faces Cale recognized from his memory at the
Lewis Museum.

“Oh my! Stunning or not, isn’t he just a fame seeker?”

“Heroic deeds aside, it is already too much that he scrambled into the History Contest. Now his so-
called knight even dares touch this sacred tournament!?”

“Shhh … what if he hears you?”

“Nah, it won’t reach his ea-“

“But of course, sound certainly can’t travel over such a long distance, can it?”

There was a flashing moment when a block of noblemen jumped in sync. Their united jumps were
so eye-catching that Yeong almost unwittingly clapped his hands to applaud their performance in
awe.

As the nearby nobles craned their necks backwards without thinking, they slowly registered who
that deep and sarcastic voice belonged to. Needless to say just how much the sole fact that they’d
been caught by this person, whose expression didn’t even change when meeting their gazes head-
on, was hurting this huge and noble pride of theirs. The majority of them opted to feign ignorance
in an attempt to save their face, while a few others found it absolutely hard to overlook the obvious
‘disrespect’ and just leave it be, and proceeded to run their mouth when they still could.

Unfortunately, they were a second too late, and so they couldn’t.

There was a radiation of overwhelming power dominating the air, and the nobles froze as an
unknown fear swathed over their body from head to toes, rendering them speechless and totally
paralyzed.

‘He- how can such a person feel so strong?’

The nearby nobles and even regular audience couldn’t help but question in bewilderment. The
young man had such a slim and weak-looking physique that perhaps one strong gush of wind could
stagger him to the ground, but what they were feeling from the man at this moment was the
complete opposite of that.

“Huh!”

Not able to overcome this mysterious pressure, the miffed aristocrats reluctantly suppressed their
fury into an irritated groan before pulling their heads back to face the stage.

Seeing so, Cale, who was sitting right behind those noblemen, only separated by an approximately
three-foot crossway, leisurely withdrew his Dominating Aura. As soon as he did that, those
garrulous people were back at it again.

“Just leave him be! He’s trying his best to look fine in those peasant seats.”

“Tsk tsk. Pitiful!”

They whispered to each other, then giggled triumphantly over their own words, looking pretty
much like a bunch of immature folks in middle school.

Cale, however, could understand why those petty nobles were so hung up on him and Choi Han
being here, as well as the source of their so-called ‘triumph.’
Both Cale and Choi Han had accomplished things with enough weight to earn them titles of
nobility. Still, almost two weeks after the incident, and there was still no news of an additional
noble household announced. Then, Cale joined the History Contest under a special request, and the
rumor about Choi Han attending the tournament without an aristocratic family to back up must
also have flown around. This could only mean to them that the king hadn't favored neither Cale nor
Choi Han enough to remunerate them a nobility title. Given that, and with Cale and Choi Han
ignoring the norms to join in these kinds of contests that normally privileged solely the members of
the aristocratic circle, it was actually pretty surprising that seemingly only a small number of
nobles revealed their displeasure to them so bluntly.

“Pfft. Rot in that rock-hard chair!”

… But really, weren’t some of them a bit too childish?

Since neither Cale nor Yeong was noble in this world, it appeared the king purposefully arranged
them to commoner seats behind the nobles to avoid unnecessary frictions. Frankly speaking, it
wasn’t the wisest decision, given that the chatty nobles just now must have taken note of that fact
and were having a field day with it. Cale supposed it only worked somehow thanks to him not
being the type to seek violence or make a fuss easily.

Besides, unbeknownst to the nobles, Cale didn’t mind this supposedly meticulous arrangement in
the slightest. He was even relieved, in fact.

‘This spot is much safer.’

He had been nervous that the king might put him at the vanguard like that time with the Choi Han
versus Toonka battle (*), so it had been a huge relief the moment he saw his vacant seat in a mildly
middle position of the upper tier, averagely spacious with a crossway separating him and Yeong
from the noble area by three feet.

Honestly, it was like they got the most desirable seats out there to view the matches in safety.
These were the true VVIP seats to Cale, not those outwardly splendid ones in the front row. Having
to stay so close to such ferocious fights for a couple of days? Cale and his scaredy-cat self would
absolutely not last.

Still, there were privileges that only the royal and noble seats seemed to have. For instance.

“Hmmm … the cushion is so soft ... It feels so comfy. Tsk tsk, I can’t even imagine sitting in those
hard seats without it.”

One of the chatty nobles earlier made a remark in a pitying tone, purposefully letting his voice
heard by the people behind him.

Such a display of childishness caused a number of audience neighboring Cale and Yeong to frown
in annoyance. Unfortunately, that was all they could do. Frowning. What else could they do?
Those people were of nobility, while they, after all, were only mere commoners.

But that was the case to them. Cale, however, would like to differ.

“Here, put one of them on your seat and the other behind your back.”

Cale told Yeong that while tossing the kid two velvet cushions. He then also pulled two cushions
that looked nearly identical to Yeong’s out of his magic bag and calmly arranged them just the way
he instructed the fox cub.
‘Hmm … that noble is right. This feels much better.’

Cale secretly agreed as he leaned his back on the soft cushion, relishing the gentle comfort that had
taken over the painful roughness of the originally rocky backrest.

But that wasn’t everything Cale had prepared before coming here.

Thanks to the daily supplement of information from Mae and records from the Royal Library, Cale
was able to collect quite an amount of knowledge of this amphitheater’s anatomy as well as the
tournament’s rules for spectators. That was how he’d known that regular seats might not be as
relaxing as most people would have liked. In addition, Cale also learned that personal food and
beverages were both allowed, so he’d ordered Agnes to prepare some in advance. This could save
him and Yeong a fortune not having to spend on those pricey food being sold in the stalls way
further in the back of the venue.

Those were for amateurish tourists. Experienced tourists and locals all pocketed their own snacks
with them. Cale, of course, could only be in the latter group.

Cale then took out two uncanny-looking things that resembled two bubble blowers. Only that they
were relatively large in size, enough for Yeong’s fist to go through the circle, and that they seemed
to be made of branches of small trees growing in tamed shapes.

It was only until Cale expertly hooked those wooden things to his and Yeong’s seats and perfectly
fitted two cups of drink into each of them had the neighboring audience realized what such strange
things could possibly be.

Just like that, Cale leisurely took a sip of his lemonade, specially sweet-flavored by Choi Han, and
indulged himself in the plushy cushions, paying no heed to the suspicious silence around him and
Yeong.

While the chatty nobles from earlier became utterly speechless with the turn of event and were
busy chewing on their growing irritation, the other adjacent audience were staring at Cale with
admiration sparkling in their eyes.

‘This man … he’s the real deal …’

They had never seen someone planning ahead so thoroughly just to sit and watch dueling matches.

Yet, unbeknownst to them, inside the pocket-sized bag hung on his waist, Cale’d had even more
than that prepared. He’d stuffed in apple pies, cookies, and even more lemonade and tea just in
case. There were also blankets in case the weather got extra chilly, sunglasses in case the clouds
got lazy and let the sun overrule, umbrellas if it rained or snowed without warning, and so on.

As expected of our Cale! Always so thoughtful!

I’m so glad that my wood power was able to help with the cup holders.
Our Cale is really smart and thorough!

‘Why are they acting like this?’

Cale, who was now resting his back elegantly on the upgraded seat while taking another sip of
sweet lemonade, giving off a heavy vibe of a chaebol on vacation, heard the Ancient Powers’
fawning comments and wondered with a twitch of his brow. These Ancient Powers had been acting
rather oddly ever since that night, jumping at any opportunities there was to suck up to him.

Naturally, Cale brushed their suspicious flatters off his mind and refocused on the external, his
eyes wandering around the oval-shaped venue at a moderately slow speed.

Most noble families were present, unsurprisingly, given how grand this event was.

Ironically, the second key household of the tournament – the Baldwin Duchy, had no spots among
these thousands of seats. The Lewises were not to blame. They’d readily offer the Baldwins all the
front row seats should the noble house attend as spectators. It was just that, for the past ten years or
so, the Baldwins had found more interest in either keeping up with their daily duties or directly
battling in the matches than just sitting still and watching. Even the current head of the house,
Duchess Phaith Baldwin, was busy training the kingdom’s Knight Brigade at the fortress miles
away from the amphitheater. Additionally, save for the participating ones, most knights from the
Baldwin household only came to the tournament to attend guarding duty. On the surface, it seemed
as though the Baldwins were simply an aristocratic household overflowing with a sense of
dedication. However, everyone knew they only acted like that out of shame for what had happened
in the recent past.

As his vision broadened to the far-off corners and the building’s roof, Cale noted a large number of
mages among the guards. This was a contest strictly for the knights only, but that didn’t mean the
mages could just laze off doing nothing. In fact, the mages seemed even more swamped with all
sorts of works up to their neck. With just one glance, Cale could easily spot dozens of mages in the
back constantly casting thermal magic spells to warm up the air while some other mages were
working with the event staff to set up and control magical devices. The rest of them would
cooperate with the guards to help maintain the event’s security.

Contracting his eyesight after confirming the safety level of this tournament, Cale opted to take a
closer look at the rows of nobles just three feet away from his.

Except for Duchess Reachazai, Cale could not pinpoint most nobles’ identity just by their faces,
despite having an ongoing list of noble profiles from Mae, which he did not ask for. He hadn’t
bothered looking much into that list either because, wouldn’t digging into stuff that only
complicated his life be a betrayal to his pursuit of slackery?

Nods.

As though sensing his gaze, Duchess Reachazai, who was further across from Cale, glanced
sideways and nodded her head in the same subtle manner she’d displayed during the History
Contest. The Duchess was being thoughtful. She’d probably foreseen all the troubles that could
ensue from incautious interactions between Cale and the Reachazais and decided to better appear
distant in public. Cale, of course, had no reason to oppose that. It wasn’t like his family and the
Reachazais were especially close to begin with. They were just mere acquaintances under special
circumstances.

Having bobbed his head briefly in place of a greeting to the Duchess, Cale began to flick his eyes to
other nearby nobles in a quick scan. A few of them appeared to be typical gossip lovers, eerily
reminding Cale of the ajummas he’d seen in the markets sometimes as the young Kim Rok Soo.
The rest of them, however, barely talked. They acted composed and just occasionally exchanged
pleasantries, which Cale reckoned was to maintain their aristocratic image in front of the public.

Among the quiet nobles, there was that one guy that caught Cale’s attention for a split second
longer. This guy, who coincidentally sat next to Duchess Reachazai, had hair that made Cale
automatically think of well-combed napa cabbage kimchi. The guy wore narrow glasses and a
perfectly styled suit. He sat with his back keenly straight while reading some sort of book with
immense concentration as though nothing outside the world of that book mattered to him.

… To still be that nerdy even as he was about to watch thrilling battles, the guy must truly have no
interest in this sort of violent activity whatsoever.

In one of his guesses, Cale assumed the guy must be from one of those noble households whose
strength didn’t lie in swordsmanship but magic or business instead, and thus sent no one to take
part in this tournament. Their lack of participation was to be expected, since only dumbasses would
willingly show their weaker side to others. Of course, there were also cases like of the Reachazais,
in which they avoided this tournament mostly in concern of their knights’ wellbeing.

Tuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Suddenly, there was a noticeably prolonged sound of horn piercing the sky on its own, and Cale
could tell the atmosphere had completely changed after it.

All at once, the people present shut their mouths without asked. But even though they were silent,
visible anticipation was screaming out of the regular audience’s eyes. Unspoken excitement arose
and fiercely vibrated in the air.

It was then when the audience saw a distinct inner gate gradually opened, and a solemn parade
marched through the gate.

The marching knights dressed in shiny silver armors, and they made precisely even treads as they
strode across the stage and row by row disappeared into an inner gate on the opposite end.

At the end of the marching, eventually, came the long-waited appearance of the royalty.

Walking straight up to the throne-like seats in dignified postures were King Jeremy Lewis and
Queen Judie. Just a short distance behind them, Princess Janessa appeared, sitting still in a wheel
chair and being helped by her maid Clara. The O’Valouse brothers also emerged from the same
gate, accompanied by their own guards from the Sage Kingdom.

The royalty’ entrance was regal and befitted their stature. However, the sight of Princess Janessa
caused questions to rapidly rise in the spectators’ minds. It was only when they saw the princess
got off the wheel chair and walked to her seat on her own feet, with only mild difficulty that was
taken care of by Clara, did the audience realize it might simply be the result of some careless
moment of the princess, which was indeed what had happened a day ago.

Tuuuuuuuuu

Another long horn sound resonated, and the already quiet venue became even quieter as all eyes
were focusing on one certain man at a particularly grand seat in the front row of the royal sitting
area.

That man, King Jeremy Lewis, remained in a formal stance and began speaking into a voice-
amplifying device prepared by the mages. Thanks to that, his benign yet stately voice echoed loud
and clear to everyone within the amphitheater.

“It is an honor to welcome you all to the Knight Tournament of the great Mythic Kingdom.” The
King initiated, his tone polite and having an easily detectable sense of sociability. Then, he added
some sternness to his voice as he went on. “This is no simple contest. This is where the future of
our kingdom’s chivalry reflects, where a knight’s loyalty and bravery are proven, where their talent
shines and their effort pays off.”

There was a beat of pause, during which the audience had their eyes absolutely fixated on the king.
Their hearts could not hold back the excitement and started thumping strongly inside their rib
cages.

The audience then saw the king resume his speech, this time predictably to explain battling rules.

“Each matchup will be announced on the amphitheater’s magic mirrors and by the referees right
before each battle. When the two competitors are ready for their match, a horn sound will be given,
and they shall start their battle right after the sound has fully ended. Personal weapons are
prohibited. Participants are provided with weapons customized by the committee, according to
their reported preferences. No magic or aura. Those who can make their opponent surrender or take
the helmet off their opponent’s head will win and proceed to the next round. This is a single-
elimination competition. Only one knight can have the ultimate victory as well as the honor to
present the sacred wreath to their lord or the person they treasure most. Killing is not allowed.
However, injuring, rendering unconscious, and even incapacitating are all permitted.”

Having finished with all the nitty-gritty regarding the tournament rules, King Jeremy slightly
raised up his chin with a welcoming smile, his back straight and his voice weighing.

“Now.” And he paused for a split second, before proudly declaring to his listeners. “Let the
tournament begin!”

As soon as the declaration had been announced, an overwhelming wave of applause surged up to
the sky, mixing beautifully with the spirit-raising tune of the national anthem being played right
after the king’s speech.

Finally, the moment the spectators had been waiting for the most had arrived.

Among all those overly exhilarated people, however, there was a certain person who couldn’t
understand the hype all that much.

‘How vicious.’

That was Cale, obviously.

‘Rendering unconscious ... Incapacitating …’

It was said that the rules had been created by the founding knight of the kingdom himself, together
with the founding king. Reportedly, they wrote that non-killing thing with the intention of
preventing unwanted incidents during the tournament as well as assuring that no knights would
have to die unnecessary deaths. Moreover, to the founders, being able to fully control one’s own
strength so that they would only defeat but not kill their opponent was also an important skill that
all knights should master.

Even so, Cale still thought that those founders were quite crazy for allowing their own people to
maim each other in this sort of matches after all those considerations, since this permission could
very easily be abused. He had looked into a few early records of this tournament. In each of those
records, there was always at least one match that resulted in participants in coma or being
paralyzed for the rest of their life, mostly between houses with prior inner rivalries.

With such palpable brutality, it really wasn’t a surprise that the Reachazais, who had quite a
number of haters within the social circle, gave up on this tournament from the get-go.
‘But it’s not a problem to us.’

If there was someone losing an arm or a leg during Choi Han’s match, then it would undoubtedly
be his opponent, not the other way around. And as long as Choi Han didn’t flip the amphitheater
upside down or something, everything would be just fine for Cale and the family.

With that thought, Cale disregarded whatever terrible things that might befall other participating
knights during this tournament and leaned further into his cushion in a relaxed manner.

After all, those knights signed themselves up despite knowing all the risks. Cale had no extra
energy to worry for them.

OOMPH!!!

A short drum sound banged into the air, and the neutral voice of one of the referees rang in through
another voice-amplifying device.

“Now announcing the first matchup!”

As soon as he said that, everyone raised their heads to peer over at the three magic mirrors, each set
on one side of the amphitheater. One the screens, two names gradually became visible in an
estimatedly 240p resolution. It was said that the matchups were arranged randomly by a highly
secured magic system.

“Ha … ha ha …”

From a seat three feet in front of Cale, a weak, nervous laughter was heard from one of those
gossipy nobles earlier, and it sounded as though the man was having a dry throat problem.

From under his long lashes, Cale only gave the anxious noble a glance briefer than the speed of a
blink before gazing back at what was being shown on the screens, reactionless even as he listened
to the most important part in the referee’s announcement.

“The first battle of the first preliminary round will be between Sir Tir Teystrong of the Teystrong
Viscounty and Sir Choi Han of the Choi – Henituse family!”

“Oh my! Young master Teystrong is about to battle that beast. Viscount Teystrong, aren’t you
worried?”

One of Viscount Teystrong’s gossiping fellows whisperingly asked him from his right flank,
causing him to stiffen his shoulders visibly before answering with a forcedly firm response.

“What’s there to worry? My son is strong and skilled! He can slash a boar in half with one strike.
No beast can fear him!”

Cale didn’t laugh aloud at the viscount’s 'confident' statement, but he recalled what the man had
said earlier and couldn’t suppress a smirk from peering on his face.

‘Now his so-called knight even dares touch this sacred tournament!?’

At that moment, the inner gates at the two ends of the amphitheater slowly opened, and while the
muscles on the viscount’s face became the more stiff the wider the gates opened, Cale’s smirk over
here only turned more anticipating and vicious.
 Asking if Choi Han dared touch this tournament?

People sure liked to question the obvious.

End Chapter 17

Chapter End Notes

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

(*) Chapter 71 in the novel
 The Knight Tournament: Day 1 (2)
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

Though it’s late, happy new year to everyone! <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Part II (Partly Cloudy)

In a duel, there’re plenty of means that could be used to deal with an opponent.

Swords, daggers, aura, magic spells. Sometimes even poison or bows and arrows, such that weren’t
common in chivalrous, close-range combat.

But those were the cases in general. In the Mythic Kingdom’s Knight Tournament, such a variety
didn’t exist.

Heck, even the participants’ weapons were to be customized to similar levels of quality.

The reason was because, in this tournament, they sought ‘pure knights.’

It might sound a bit funny, but apparently the founders of this event thought of ‘pure knights’ as
those who possessed the Quadruple S: Strength, Skill, Speed, and Stamina. Moreover, each of
those properties had to be ‘pure,’ and their definition of ‘pure,’ in this case, was that the
measurement must be done upon a scale of physique.

Whatever had been on the great and mighty minds of those founders at the time, it led to the birth
of tons of restrictions, ensuring that the last man standing would be the knightiest of the knights, by
their standards.

As he pondered over all that, Cale wondered if the origin of ‘pure knights’ was from the Baldwin
lineage, considering the second founder of this kingdom was a knight from the Baldwins, who had
inherited part of a gift that initially belonged to the Nàdar Dynasty, which gave them traits
suspiciously similar to those of the Quadruple S.

But Cale didn’t get to dwell on that thought for long, for thousands of insanely loud cheers that
came riding on strong waves of drum rolls violently pulled his attention back to the upcoming
match.

As the two gates slowly opened wide, causing a faint vibration beneath their feet, the audience
became increasingly excited.

This was the first match of the tournament. Therefore, the expectations were high.

Unlike the majority of the spectators, Cale kept his legs crossed and his arms folded, appearing
calm and silent in his seat despite the craziness around. The reddish-brown eyes moved slowly
under the long lashes, totally ignoring the knight in the shiny and overly extravagant silver armor
cautiously walking into the central stage from one gate. Then, as those eyes shifted to the other
gate and fell on a certain man in black leather armor, they lingered. And the next moment, they
followed that man with every pace he strode.

It was because that man, whose face was hidden behind the black helmet, was Choi Han - Cale’s
one and only knight in this world.

Cale wasn’t sure how Choi Han was able to spot him and Yeong so quickly among the sea of
people, but he was certain, that all the way from the gate to the stage, the knight had his gaze fixed
on him. He could tell that even without seeing Choi Han’s eyes.

After all, the warmth from that person’s gaze was not something mistakable.

At the referee’s request through a sound-amplifying device, the shouts and cheers mostly subsided.
The audience watched with thumping hearts as the two knights faced each other on stage, listening
to the long horn sound as it spread across the avenue, dragged on, and died down.

And the very second the sound fully stopped.

“Arghhhh!”

The knight wearing the silver armor, who Cale recalled to be Sir Tir Teystrong, instantly reached
one hand to the hilt of his sword while yelling in an utterly dramatic voice as though the yell itself
was an essential part of his attack.

“HERE I COM-!”

He didn’t even get to finish the sentence …

Whoosh!

Like the strongest wind in a thunderstorm, from a position opposite to Sir Teystrong, a black
shadow dashed through the stage at a breathtaking speed, tearing what little sunlight of the winter
day apart.

“What-“

The audience gasped in unison, trying to figure out the scene right before their eyes. However,
everything was happening so fast. The black shadow was moving so insanely fast that, by the time
they could vaguely process what had happened, all that was left for them to take in their eyes was a
silver helmet rolling aimlessly on the ground. Several feet away from it, Sir Teystrong was
standing, completely still and helmetless, with his disheveled brown hair and dumbfounded face
fully exposed to the view. Right in front of him, his opponent stood facing him with a straight
back, contrary to the slightly slumped back of his own. The black-armored knight was silent and
calm, yet still so threateningly imposing by the way his cold stare could be felt slicing right
through him even as it was obscured by the black helmet.

For a moment, time felt like it’d stopped. Nobody moved. Nobody said a word. Even the wind
didn’t dare make bold moves.
It wasn’t until the black-armored knight himself skillfully returned his sword to his scabbard while
turning to the referee as though demanding him to speak, that the excitement of the crowd finally
came back, with twice the craziness at that.

“T-the winner of the first match is Sir Choi Han from the Choi – Henituse family!!”

The referee announced in a slightly shaking voice, causing another burst of feverish screams and
cheers from the audience.

“Wow!”

“Awesome!”

“What an insane speed! I could barely see anything!”

“Neither could I, but it was incredible nonetheless!”

No one was able to fully comprehend the match. All they could think of was the shadow of the
knight whose name hadn’t been known until recently, aiming at the other knight like a black arrow,
ending the match right at the time it started. Then they couldn’t help but secretly (or openly)
laughed at the way the knight from the Viscounty gradually registered what had occurred to him.
The more reality dawned on him, the more clearly the memories of Choi Han’s charge were
reformed in his mind, the paler and sweatier his face became. At some point, foam bubbled out of
his mouth, and it seemed a semi-coma eventually came as a blessing to protect what little peace of
mind he still had. In the end, two staffs were summoned to support him leave the stage, for his
whole body appeared to have been paralyzed.

Fear was just that powerful.

Dude might not have been injured, but his pride as a knight might just need a lifetime to recover.

To the audience, it seemed the winner of the match – Sir Choi Han, didn’t give a damn about the
state of his defeated opponent nor the cheers of the spectators. After seeing his opponent being
brought inside, the cool and ridiculously strong knight only raised his head to the audience seats
once. Then the man suddenly … ducked his head as though he was ashamed or nervous (?). The
next moment, he strode back to the backstage, looking strangely urgent. The audience didn’t even
get the chance to contemplate the visage of this new, powerful wolf, which was still covered by the
helmet.

“Dang! Look at the way he just walked away! Other knights would have stayed and showered
themselves in applauses, but he just left like that!”

“He didn’t even take off the helmet. I can understand though. His opponent was such a scaredy-
cat.”

“He’s giving me the vibe of the handsome, strong, yet arrogant and aloof male lead from the novel
I read recently.”

“Exactly!”

The ladies began chattering enthusiastically, analyzing the similarities of Choi Han to their favorite
character even without seeing his face just yet. Several seats from them, Cale listened to their
conversation with a nonchalant expression, his eyes fixated on the gate where Choi Han had
disappeared into.

‘“Cold”, huh?’

Cale thought of their choice of words while tilting his head, letting it rest on the palm of his hand.
An edge of his mouth couldn’t help rising, ever so slightly, forming a smile that seemed to hold a
joyful joke no one but him knew of.

‘He wasn’t being cold.’

To everyone else, even to the fascinated Yeong sitting next to Cale, Choi Han might have left them
with the image of a total badass with quite a personality for not revealing his face but instead just
rushing back inside after the match. However, to Cale … well, to Cale, Choi Han was still a total
badass, but the man’s reasons for his latter behaviors could be explained a little differently.

Cale hadn’t missed it. The way Choi Han’s body seemed to still for a split second as he saw Sir
Teystrong being scared out of his mind by his one single move. Not to mention, there was a small
amount of hesitation in the way the man gazed up at Cale right after that moment of stillness
passed, and even as he saw Cale, he rapidly faced down as though avoiding. Even the warmth in
his gaze had felt different then.

“Heh!”

Cale couldn’t help finding the fun in this. He knew exactly what the state of Choi Han’s mind had
been like when he’d found out he’d not only caused an utmost uproar in the very first match of the
tournament, but also left his opponent in an unknown state somehow.

The man was simply worried he might have overdone it.

Because overdoing was something Cale told him not to do.

‘That’s just like him.’

To always try his best to heed Cale’s orders in his silly, honest way.

Cale thought that was kind of cute.

And Cale was right.

In one of the two lounges for the participating knights, the mighty winner of the first match could
currently be seen rather anxious as he asked the present staff.

“About that … that knight is still alive… right?”

“… If you’re talking about Sir Teystrong, then yes, … most likely.”

“I didn’t damage any properties, right?”

“… No, sir.”

“Did I … end the match too quickly? Overdoing it?”

“… The match indeed ended incredulously quickly.” At Choi Han’s instantly hunched shoulders,
the staff hurriedly added. “But I wouldn’t say you overdid it, sir. In fact, such a thing has happened
before. It is not something unprecedented.”

The staff could immediately hear the sigh of relief from the young knight as he thanked him and
quietly settled himself down in a stone seat near the corner.

The staff soon left, leaving all the knights in this lounge to rest by themselves.

As Choi Han was relaxed, knowing he hadn’t failed his liege’s order so early in the tournament,
most of the knights in the lounge were concretely glaring at him.

There was a screen live broadcasting the battles in each lounge, and the referee’s voice was
amplified enough to be heard even outside the avenue, so the participating knights were able to
follow the tournament from their resting areas. Thus, most details about the first match were made
known to them.

Just as how the ladies had labeled him as the cold and aloof male lead, these guys had marked his
attitude as an act of conceit. They were wary, and of course, they were also jealous, but it wasn’t
like they’d ever admit that, even to themselves.

In another corner, however, a knight in a rough and rather rusty armor was also staring at Choi
Han, but without any trace of hostility.

That person was simply observing in silence, as though just measuring him up.

It was quite irritating, but Choi Han chose to let it slide.

He was sure he would face this person eventually, anyways.

Outside the lounges, within the avenue, the aftertaste of the first match still lingered even as the
second match would be soon announced after a short break.

Somehow, the noisy chattering still failed to muffle the mocking laughs and ridicules from the man
that was once Viscount Teystrong’s gossipy fellow.

“Oh ho, it’s unfortunate, isn’t it? Making the strong and skilled young master Teystrong, who can
slash a boar in half with one strike, fight the beast in his very first match. Tsk tsk, how cruel!”

‘Wow, these nobles are just like snakes!’

The nearby audience couldn’t help but inwardly exclaimed. They were disgusted by the way these
noblemen could have their tails twined like brothers at one point, and then have their fangs bite
hard on each other’s neck the next moment.

A few feet away, little Yeong was watching those nobles with an expression similar to most. At the
same time, the boy was amazed at how unimpressed his godfather appeared while sitting next to
him. Yeong could tell that the man had been way too familiar with such a display to deem it
worthy of any special reaction. It showed just how tough a life he’d been leading, having dealt with
even worse types of people.

Still, there was that. The tiny note of amusement hanging at the edge of his mouth, one that was so
inconspicuous that Yeong doubted he’d have noticed had it not been for his foxy astuteness.

Surely, his godfather – Cale – was enjoying the comedy played out before his eyes. It was just a
coincidence that the two main casts were those bastards who he would love to see eating shit, so
the play just happened to become even more entertaining.

It made even the innocent Yeong want to giggle in smugness.

But then, one of the casts foolishly crossed their line.

“Cheating! It must be cheating! What sort of normal human can even be that fast?” Trying to
swallow the mixture of anger and embarrassment in his throat, Viscount Teystrong choked out his
counter. “And didn’t you see? He began attacking as soon as the horn sound ended, without even a
warning! What kind of thuggish behavior is that? What kind of a knight is that?” There was a
mocking edge in his tone then. “An ugly duck is forever an ugly duck. It can dress like a swan, but
will never be one!”

As though expecting Cale to have heard what he’d said, the viscount moved his eyes sidewards
slightly. An edge of his mouth could be seen curve up, forming a smirk he didn’t even bother to
hide.

The noises around Cale and Yeong’s area suddenly turned into a mist of quiet murmurs. Eyes were
on Cale, anticipating a perfect storm they were sure he would very soon deliver. Which was exactly
what the viscount wanted.

‘Young ones are hot-blooded.’ He thought to himself. ‘You tickle their nose a bit, and they’ll
throw a tantrum.’

He was hoping Cale, upon hearing him accusing his knight of cheating and disrespecting him,
would lose his temper and cause a scene.

Since Choi Han embarrassed his precious son, it was only natural that his lord compensated for
that by embarrassing himself in front of thousands of people, right?

He was certain Cale’d soon take the bait after some more of his persistent provocation.

Unsurprisingly, he was wrong, like many others.

Smile.

There was a smile on Cale’s face, one that wasn’t easy to describe.

It wasn’t unamused. It did seem to originate from humor, but definitely not the kind of friendly,
harmless humor. Rather, this smile was like of an experienced predator as it watched a witless prey
attempt to set up a toyish trap within its territory, right under its watch.
It must be truly entertaining.

While to others, Cale’s smile just appeared almost unexplainable and oddly chilling, to Viscount
Teystrong, it was also extremely agitating. It grated on his mind, and before he knew it, he’d
already blurted.

“You rascal! What’s so funny huh?”

Startled.

The viscount could feel a chill run down his spine the moment he glanced at the young brat as his
sentence ended. It was because he saw the way Cale’s smile seem to widen just a tiny bit, and the
way his eyes turned narrowly crescent, like he found this situation so fun.

And it was scary as hell.

The people around couldn’t help wondering how such a young and weak-looking man could
exhibit this hair-raising kind of a smile.

Instead of giving them an answer, Cale gave them even more questions as he began opening his
mouth and replied in an easygoing manner.

“Pardon me for my lack of manners, sir!” He didn’t look at all apologetic. “About what you said,
there’s indeed something I can’t deny.”

‘What?’

Was the only word popping in the minds of the people.

Was Cale seriously agreeing with the viscount’s words? Wouldn’t that equal to a betrayal to his
own knight?

Even the viscount was at loss for words. He obviously didn’t foresee such a response. Before he
could say anything, however, Cale firmly held on the lead in the conversation and went on.

“But that is only about your last statement, I’m afraid.”

Viscount Teystrong’s last statement in his rant. The one which he used the metaphor of the ugly
duck dreaming of being a beautiful swan to degrade Choi Han.

‘Why the hell did he agree with it?’

Save for Yeong, who was simply curious, everyone around Cale was staring at him like they had
no idea what to make of his words.

“You’re probably wondering why the hell I agreed with it, right?”

Cale nonchalantly asked to no one in particular as he rested his cheek on his fist, his arm supported
by the elbow.

His blunt words caused the people to jump in sync, feeling exposed. However, Cale didn’t seem to
care. His face returned to its usual stoic expression, as though the earlier smile never existed.

“The answer is simple.” And Cale seemed almost bored as he continued, like he was tired of
explaining something so obvious. “Looking at Viscount Teystrong here, I just can’t bring myself
to deny that.” After a beat of silence, with a tone still as plain as ever, he added, serene eyes
looking straight at the confused face of the viscount like what he was about to say would be a dish
reserved solely for him. “An ugly duck in a swan’s outfit is still an ugly duck. Isn’t that right, Your
Grace?”

There was a pause. One that was filled with the word “processing.”

And when the process was complete, the meaning of Cale’s words blew up in the nearby
audience’s minds like a volcano of lights.

“Pfft.”

“Pfft … this is … really …”

Since Viscount Teystrong was still an aristocrat, the audience knew better than to openly
embarrass him, so they had no choice but to cover their mouths and turn away in an attempt to
suppress the laughter threatening to leave the space between the lips.

If anything, that only angered the viscount even more.

It was because he also understood what Cale had insinuated. While he was targeting Choi Han with
that metaphor, Cale was aiming at him. The ugly duck, which the viscount had implied to be Choi
Han, who he considered a lowly commoner dressing himself in a knight’s armor, was now himself.
In Cale’s eyes, Viscount Teystrong was none but an insignificant being with a title of nobility,
which, given his rotten personality, didn’t help at all in making him a noble person.

To Cale, he was just an ugly duck, or maybe even worse. And now that the surrounding people had
figured out the meaning behind his words, they might as well be thinking just exactly the same.

As though supposing the viscount wasn’t mad enough, his former fellow gossiper and some other
nobles didn’t even try to withhold their chuckles.

Damn, was he just made to taste his own medicine?

His tongue felt bitter!

“What nonsense are you blabbing about?” Since continuing dwelling on the metaphor would only
worsen the situation for him, the viscount hurriedly changed the topic. “Are you saying your
precious knight didn’t cheat? And that his attitude was not unknightly?”

“You said it.” Answered Cale, still totally indifferently.

“Hah!” And the viscount showed a mockingly surprised expression. “Then how do you explain
that monstrous speed? The way he struck right at the second the horn sound stopped, without any
warning? The way he didn’t take off his helmet to show respect to my son after the match?” He
looked increasingly furious the more questions he spewed out.

But that was on him. Cale couldn’t care less about that rising fury of his. His slender fingers
reached for his cup of lemonade, thumb rubbing it up and down a little as he spoke, his voice calm
and sincere.

“Viscount-nim, sir, we’re the grown-ups here, and with you being the lord of a territory, I trust that
you should not be completely brainless. So, instead of a lesson, I’ll just give you some reminders.”
And then he took a sip of his drink, ignoring the furious man whose face was turning redder and
redder along with every word spoken, before continuing.

“First, ‘speed’ is one of the traits within the Quadruple S, which was created by the founders
themselves.”

Though sword masters were relatively rare these days, everyone knew early generations had quite
a number of them, to the extent that the kingdom could be proud of. And since it was a fact that
those sword masters, outstandingly the second founder of this kingdom, were able to reach various
levels of tremendous speed, saying Choi Han’s speed was a cheat would not be different from
saying the second founder and sword masters of the ancient time were also cheaters.

“Second, ‘when the two competitors are ready for their match, a horn sound will be given, and they
shall start their battle right after the sound has fully ended.’ I believe this is exactly what was stated
by His Majesty before the match.”

The quote spoke for itself. Criticizing Choi Han’s instant attack would be equivalent to criticizing
the King’s words. It was an act that could send someone to the afterlife within a second.

“Third, this is a tournament where the participants beat each other up to a pulp, not some friendly
social gathering. ‘Without any warning?’” Cale ventured his gaze now, putting his cup down. His
fingers gently pressed on the edge of his cup, playing back and forth. His eyes were following
those movements, as though it was way more interesting than having to explain all these to the
Viscount. “I don’t recall ‘greetings after the match starts’ has ever been a rule in this tournament.
Our Viscount-nim should just go back to his little circle of friends if he so misses it.”

Imagine being on a battlefield and still taking time greeting your enemies before attacking …

“And lastly, removing his own helmet is an act a knight does when he shows respect to someone
he considers worthy of, either in the aspect of physical or mental strength, or both. ” It was actually
something he learned from the books in the Royal Library. Originally, knights rarely did such an
act because the pars for their opponents were set stupidly high. As time passed, it became
overused, but its meaning still remained the same for generations.

Cale paused his words for a split second then, finally withdrawing his attention from the cup. On
his seemingly bored face, something resembling a light smirk could be noted, but not quite
noticeably. As he reopened his mouth, that faint smirk was still lingering on the edge of his lips.

“If my knight doesn’t do such an act to your son, then sir, like father like son, I’m afraid we can
only question whether the young master is qualified.”

Something smelt burnt.

Viscount Teystrong was beautifully roasted. His head was burning hot. But there was so much he
couldn’t counter.

And all the people around him were at the verge of dying from suppressing their laughs. Many of
them weren’t even trying to hold back anymore.

‘Omma … He’s on fire today~.’

Yeong thought in admiration as he stared at his godfather. Cale’s face might remained stoic most of
the time, but Yeong could tell he was in quite a spirit today.

Yeong knew the reason.

This was appa’s competition, that’s why.

The viscount looked as though he would explode at that instant. Fortunately, a new announcement
soon came, and the referee’s voice echoed across the place, revealing the matchup for the next
match, so the people quickly quieted down.

Still, ‘pfft’ sounds could be heard every so often throughout the matches.

After some time, Viscount Teystrong took an early leave.

Just like that, the first round of this year’s knight tournament went on, rather uneventfully.

Since the first match ended in such an unpredicted manner, the audience raised their par even
higher for the others, only to be disappointed. It was probably just a coincidence, but most of the
matchups happened to be knights from families of the same faction. Fighting with a mindset that
they’d still have to hold hands with each other later led them to be overly cautious, making most of
the duels being a tad too friendly. In respect of chivalry, it was a good thing, but without some
actual tension, the fights failed to bring true excitement to the audience. Captain Philo Baldwin’s
match stimulated the atmosphere a bit, but his opponent surrendered just right when things started
to get good. After that, everything was just knights doing knights’ stuff. Nothing special.

Cale was bored, too. Next to him, Yeong looked a bit drowsy, so he told the boy to just take a nap
if he felt like it.

Cale wasn’t against this boredom, though.

He was someone who could stare at the wall for hours without getting tired of it. He would pick
that over watching bloody matches.

To others, these matches being tasteless was like a torture. But to Cale, it was a bless. A bless of
peace. Since friendly matches meant safety.

It was then when the referee announced the last match of the first preliminary round.

“Let us move on to the last battle of this round.” The referee’s professional tone resounded
throughout the place. “The final matchup!” On the two big screens, two names slowly appeared.
“Sir Rec Liveman from the Liveman household and Sir Finn Baldwin from the Baldwin
household!”

This led to a wave of whispers. The audience was confused.

Choi Han was a new face, but most noble families had been already more or less aware of his
participation in this tournament. Even commoners had heard of him due to the incident on the day
of the second princess’s birthday. He was new, he was attention-drawing, he held certain mysteries
that people wanted to uncover, but he was someone whose presence was expected.

This guy, Finn Baldwin, was not.

No one had known of any Baldwin with such a name. And that was super strange, considering how
 well-known this household was.

This household was only below the royal family in terms of power, after all.

The spectators, who had been dying for something more exhilarating, immediately perked up. A
truly mysterious contestant from the Baldwin of all families. This would be a real thrill.

The two large gates vibratingly opened. From one gate, a knight stepped out. This knight wore a
silver armor that looked old and rusty even through the screens, unlike the fancy and shiny armors
worn by almost all other contestants. Despite that, he strode to the stage with a confidence and a
strong aura that could be felt from afar. Something about him instantly distinguished him from his
opponent. Or rather, from everyone.

“Hey … I think I have a déjà vu …”

“Me, too … But isn’t she …”

The spectators, including the nobles, were whispering stuff that even Cale could not understand.
They were all wearing a confused and doubtful expression.

Cale frowned slightly, raising up his face to look at the screen above the gate where this rough-
looking knight appeared from. On this screen, the previously two names were now replaced by
only one.

‘Finn Baldwin’

Was what written.

Cale looked down at this Finn Baldwin, only to see that that person was also gazing at his seating
area, before turning away.

It was only for a few seconds, but during those few seconds, Cale had a scary feeling that the
knight was specifically staring at him.

The eyes that were hidden behind the worn-out helmet. They were as cold as the chilliest night.

A wave of chills ran down Cale’s back.

He suddenly wished Choi Han were around right now. He needed a warm gaze to balance it out.
Seriously.

End Chapter 18

Chapter End Notes

Sorry for not updating for so long!

I might re-edit this chapter later to further smooth it out.

 The Knight Tournament: Day 1 (3)
Chapter Notes

Disclaimer: Trash of the Count’s Family belongs to Yoo Ryeo Han author-nim. I’m
just a mere reader.

Sorry for being absent for so long! It has been quite hectic this year.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Part III (Hazy)

If the first match had ended with a glowingly black arrow of lights striking its opponent into
oblivion in a split second, the last match of the first round was a perfect replica of it, but with a
greyly silver streak of lights.

Yes, the mysterious knight with the name Finn Baldwin had ended their opponent in a way that
shoved a déjà vu into the heads of the audience, forcefully reminding them of how Choi Han had
concluded his match earlier.

From the way Finn Baldwin had had his match play out, to the calm walk inside without showing
their face to their stunned opponent, who was still in a complete shock. Thinking by the knees,
everyone present here could still tell that this Sir Baldwin had done all those things on purpose.

A challenge.

An unspoken message sent specifically to Choi Han, saying he wasn’t the only capable one in this
tournament.

Unlike the busting excitement ensued after the conclusion of the first match, the last match ended
with thousands of whispers, bubbling in the air crowdedly like the sounds of thousands of bees
when their hive suddenly got wrecked.

Not only was it because most people were highly capable of seeing through that message, but also
because the target of their discussion was an unknown Baldwin.

In his seat, with thoughtful eyes, Cale watched the knight attired in a rusty armor leaving the stage.
He heard the nearby spectators call that knight “the silver light,” and his brows furrowed a bit.
Cale was never fond of those “silver shield” or “silver light” nicknames people had given him
every world he’d been, but if someone else were about to claim those nicknames for themselves
right under his nose, then.

‘Shouldn’t they pay me some royalty fees?’

 I knew you would say that!

The Super Rock chimed in with a tone that said ‘We know you too well, boy.’ Cale simply ignored
him.

Jokes aside (though he was not even joking about it), Cale tapped his index finger on the arm of
his seat, calmly considering the behaviors of that rusty-looking knight.

It was undeniable that that knight aimed their challenging message at Choi Han. Even that chilling
gaze they had sent Cale at the beginning of the match would also be interpreted as a provocation,
because to a knight, disrespects to themselves would be nothing compared to disrespects to their
master.

Seemingly childish, but actually very thorough.

This Finn Baldwin had had materials all set up to build their own stage where they could have Choi
Han go all out against them.

The method was a bit extreme and uncalled for, but Cale didn’t think too negatively of it. He knew
Choi Han was a wise and mature person, so he trusted that such a provocation would only make his
knight inwardly uncomfortable at best. On the other hand, Finn Baldwin might actually make a
worthy opponent for Choi Han, ideally in the final round.

‘Bastard, has your blood started to boil?’

Cale leaned back comfortably as he thought, the corner of his lips slightly raised upwards, forming
an entrancing curve, and there was a rare expectation glinting within the calmness inside the
reddish-brown eyes.

It had been a while since he last witnessed his knight take an opponent in full force, after all.

To Cale’s question, the answer was a yes.

In one of the lounges, Cale’s knight, Choi Han, didn’t even give a glance to the entering knight,
who was walking straight to their original seat in the corner in a calm, almost arrogant manner, and
neither did he emanate any killing intent towards that same knight. Outwardly, Choi Han looked no
different from his normal self. However, if one looked closely enough, they would see, or rather,
feel a chilling glimpse at the bottom of his jet-black eyes. And, contrary to that coldness that could
freeze people to death, all the blood in his body was showing a potential sign of boiling.

He also saw that.

Through the screen in the lounge, Choi Han clearly saw the direction which the eyes of this
mysterious Finn Baldwin had drawn to. He wasn’t so sure at first, but the challenge sent his way
cleared the mist that hovered around the seemingly groundless suspicion his head.

That knight had pointedly directed a look full of warnings and thorns to HIS.PRECIOUS.LIEGE.

If that brat only wished for a battle between the capable with him, Choi Han would happily accept
the challenge. But this punk was foolish enough to cross the only line they shouldn’t even stand
near.
In the corner of the lounge, Choi Han narrowed his eyes meaningfully, not even once sparing a tiny
bit of his eyesight for the person who he knew well had been observing him ever since the start of
the tournament. Choi Han was strangely unprovoked, so only by the air around him, which, at
some point after the return of Finn Baldwin, had turned dangerously freezing, the remaining
knights in the room could tell just how agitated he was at the moment.

Finn Baldwin stayed unmoving.

Choi Han knew. That him being riled up was this bastard’s goal.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to show this fool what a hell their perfect plan would
lead them to.

With his long gloved fingers gently stroking on the scabbard of his swords, Choi Han locked his
vision to the battles that were destined to come.

Be it Finn Baldwin, Philo Baldwin, or anyone else.

Be it even Gods or Devils.

No one was going to profane that person and walk away unscathed.

Not on his watch!

After the lunch break, the sky became noticeably hazy. Bundles of greyish clouds mingled with
one another, churning like a big blanket of cotton and feathers, tightly covering the sun that should
have been revealed on the top of people. There was also a thin layer of white fog in the air. The
mages were all but exhausting themselves, trying to clear the air within the large amphitheater,
light the place up, and still continuously warm up everything.

Cale, who was safe and sound in his seat, watching Yeong nipping on the last piece of his apple
pie while noticing the hard-working mages ran past them every now and then to get their works
done, suddenly missed just how great and powerful electrical light bulbs and air conditioners had
been, all the way back when he’d still breathed the air in a planet called Earth. Around them, other
spectators were still on it with the topic of the matches earlier. Among them, Choi Han’s match and
Finn Baldwin’s match were the ones that had been brought up the most often. By their tone, Cale
silently noted the mixture of discreetness and mockery absurdly put together in every comment
they directed toward the unknown Baldwin.

Cale wasn’t so interested, so he didn’t pry too much into the Baldwin household at first, but with
the large amount of knowledge about said household in the Royal Library, it was impossible to
keep himself in the dark.

Yeong had finished his lunch, so Cale drew a tissue out of his magical bag and handed it to the kid,
his mind still distractedly on the topic regarding the household of the Smilodon.

As stated in history, the Mythic Kingdom had two founders, who were also two of the eight heroes
from the Great Revolutionary War of the continent. The first one was Jarlath Lewis, also known as
the kingdom’s first king. The second was Purnit Baldwin, the hero who had sworn to dedicate his
life to supporting the person he most respected.

To the citizens of this kingdom, Purnit’s loyalty was something worth worshipping. Then, at some
point, the Baldwins started to take it to a new extreme. In order to raise their standard for qualified
Baldwin knights, they had issued tons of rules in the clan. To other noble families, such rules
within a particular house were nothing they ever concerned much about. That was, until the
Baldwins started to criticize having concubines in vassal families, and then took the initiative to
only having one partner for each family member; even the lord of the territory wasn’t an exception.
Their argument was that only the royal family should have the right to raise a harem.

That apparently was like a stab into other noblemen’s most sensitive part. They, of course, never
agreed on something that would take a pleasuring right from them. However, the Baldwin clan was
only second in terms of power and reputation in this kingdom. Not to mention, they were also the
core of the kingdom’s military forces. Touching them was like offending the kingdom’s army
itself. For those reasons, as upset as they were, other noble families could only bury their
displeasure while hoping the Baldwins would never carry that ridiculous belief of theirs out of their
own house. At the same time, the more petty ones among them tirelessly wished everyday for a
day they could snatch away that stupid moral mask off the face of every single member of that
arrogant clan.

Maybe their continuous prays finally disgusted a god (or devil?). The previous head of the Baldwin
Duchy, Duke Pread Baldwin, who was also the husband of Duchess Phaith Baldwin, violated one
of the most important rules of the house.

That was how Philo Baldwin had been born, as well as why he had been a street dog throughout
the early years of his life until his face and physique, which heavily resembled his father as he
grew up, finally caught the attention of one of the noble houses that had been looking for a way to
make the Baldwins shut up for their own good.

Of course, Cale wouldn’t have known this scandal of the Baldwins to such details if not for Mae’s
diligent supply of information. After all, Choi Han had probably made it his mission to beat Philo
Baldwin to a pulp in this tournament, so Cale thought it was not a bad idea to learn a bit about
those who behind this Philo.

Anyway, from the information sent from Mae, when the scandal had been brought to the light, the
Baldwin Duchy received the biggest self-slap in the face in centuries. The pressure from the
public’s eyes led to the death of Duke Pread Baldwin not long after, leaving the mess on the
shoulders of the duchess and the first child, who was also Pread and Phaith’s only daughter. The
impact of the scandal was also what made the Baldwins much more subdued in recent years. Even
though they still firmly held their rightful authority, they often avoided showing up in parties
among aristocrats and such. Even in this tournament, they only sent their knights to take part in
without taking any spectating seats. And for several years up to now, the only two participants
from their family had always been Philo Baldwin and the first child of the house, who also served
as the crown princess’s personal knight and the vice commander of the Royal Brigade.
Unfortunately, after last year’s misfortune upon the first princess, this first child had been told to be
guarding the sleeping princess and not attend any event until her lord woke up.

Then, who was this Finn Baldwin?

For one, this name had never been heard before.

“Seeing his cheap armor, I say he’s the result of another affair in that house ha ha.” A scornful, not
at all hiding the hate, voice of a noble man whisperingly snickered.
Though others around him seemed to enjoy his joke, none of them really took it seriously. Because,
for another, someone that had obviously been blessed with the rare power of the Baldwin linage
would not be left alone outside as a bastard son for years like Philo Baldwin without being noticed.
If anything, Finn Baldwin must have been protected too well to the point no one outside the
Baldwin Duchy had known of his existence until now. And if that was the truth that the Baldwins
were having more than one individual with the ‘gift’ under their wing, then, as just normal noble
families, they must not tease them.

Though sitting at a position where he could hear the heating discussions from both commoner and
noble sides, Cale showed no signs of joining. First, that just wasn’t his character. Second, he
actually had a different guess on the existence of Finn Baldwin, but he wasn’t feeling like talking to
others about it.

Cale lazily raised his long eyelashes, laxly noting the absences of not only Sir Teystrong, but also
the serious dude with that kimchi hair that had sat in the row in front of him earlier. Not that the
dude’s absence was able to pique any part of his curiosity, however. Cale had thought the guy was
pretty much out of the place, after all.

At that moment, a long horn sound was shot in the air, successfully quieting down the amphitheater
that had been filled with chatters. The royal members appeared from their gate, elegantly taking
their seats.

Amid the slightly hazy air, the second round of the Knight Tournament had begun.

Contrary to the friendly encounters in the first round, the second round was slowly leaning towards
the direction of the violent mess the audience had been looking forward to. Specifically, taking the
honor of being one of the participants who started the early matches in the second round, Philo
Baldwin had brought his brutality to another level. His opponent this time was tenacious, which he
seemed to happily enjoy. After a heavy hit to the guy’s stomach that made him kneel on the ground
in pain, the Baldwin with the nickname street dog decided not to take off the poor guy’s helmet
immediately, but instead he tightly gripped the guy’s shoulder with one hand, while repeatedly
landing painful hits on his body. If it weren’t for the interference of the referees, that mad dog
might just kill his opponent for real.

From next to him, Cale could hear the young voice of Yeong whispering to his ears. The boy said,
in Korean:

“Omma, yeou~, they say he’s always been that merciless toward his opponent~.” The boy then
stopped to take a sip of his lemonade before adding, innocent golden eyes still locked on the
battlefield. “They also say he is much more violent this round, yeou~. They think he is affected by
the appearance of that rusty-looking knight~.”

Maybe because Yeong had started to feel bored, he suddenly took joy in utilizing his sharp hearing
of the fox to eavesdrop others’ conversations and then sharing what he could gather to Cale.

Listening to what the fox had said, Cale slightly raised an eyebrow. So that meant even Philo
Baldwin didn’t expect to see that additional Baldwin in this tournament then? No, did he even
know who Finn Baldwin might actually be? Cale reckoned even though Philo was also a Baldwin,
he was still in a position pretty much similar to his when it came to speculating the true identity
behind Finn Baldwin: having figured out almost everything, but having no proofs to prove
anything.
Which must have irked the hell out of that mad dog, who probably never received enough respect
in the house, given his background.

Considering that Finn Baldwin and the Baldwin mess as a whole might just be a huge swamp full
of mud, Cale decided he bettered not be crazy and step right into it.

Thus, Cale gave his godchild a brief nod of acknowledgment, but didn’t comment otherwise. Even
his eyes that were looking at the knight with golden hair as he walked down the stage were totally
void of emotions.

From a problematic household, stupid, hot-tempered, still lacking yet blindly cocky. And more
importantly, this Philo guy had shaken his dumb, disrespectful ass in front of Cale and Choi Han
more than once. There was obviously nothing about this guy that Cale should be concerned about,
except for his inevitable defeat as Choi Han finally kicked his ass into non-existence when the time
came.

A few more matches had concluded since then.

Because they were called in before Choi Han, Finn Baldwin couldn’t mimic Choi Han this time.
Instead, they gave the audience quite a decent battle. Still, it seemed the gap of strength was too
large, the match didn’t last long this time either, despite his effort. The enormous strength surely
confirmed the audience’s conjecture that this Finn Baldwin might also inherit the gift from Gods
that only a humble number of members in the Baldwin household could have the blessings of
receiving in each generation.

There was another thing that was noteworthy: Finn Baldwin didn’t take his helmet off this time
either, making people wonder if this was another challenging message toward Choi Han.
Something like “I won’t do it until you do!” kind of message.

Cale had a different surmise, however. He believed this unknown Baldwin wouldn’t remove their
own helmet even after seeing Choi Han do so. Why? Because they would surely be recognized if
they did that.

Leaning his cheek on the palm of his hand, Cale thought of this person as being a tad too
conflicted. Wanting to hide their true identity, but in the meantime refusing a complete disguise
with no traces to the truth. Was everyone with the blood of the Baldwins that incongruous in the
head?

Make up your mind and stick with your choice, would you?

While Cale was thinking that, the announcement for the next match had come.

At last, it was Choi Han’s turn again.

Looks with expectations, curiosity, and admiration in a mix were locked on the knight cladding in a
black leather armor as he, as imposing as ever, strode to the stage.

This time though, some spectators finally noticed, that this scaringly strong knight, whose
household was still unfamiliar to their ears, seemed to always have his gaze sealed on a certain
position among the audience seats, all the way from the gate. It was purportedly directed towards
an area for nobles, which wasn’t at all a surprise. All participants were known to have a noble
background, after all. Though Choi – Henituse had never been heard, most commoners didn’t
question it for long. In fact, even the stories about Cale’s and Choi Han’s heroic deeds not long ago
didn’t focus enough on their names, but instead circulated around with their nicknames such as “the
young master silver shield” or “the handsome sword master with utmost loyalty.”

On the contrary, most aristocrats knew a thing or two about the story, so they were much quicker
on the uptake. They were able to tell that the destination of Choi Han’s gaze wasn’t the rows for
the nobles, but the row right behind.

The row where his young master, Cale Henituse, was sitting at.

About this, some aristocrats, who had attended the princess’s birthday party not long before,
couldn’t help but feel a little confused. They had thought with the romance going on between Choi
Han and the lovely second princess, the knight would have at least glanced at the princess once or
twice, if not fully fixing his eyes on her like Philo Baldwin had done earlier. Despite their
presupposition, no such thing happened, and Choi Han’s attention outside his match never left Cale
Henituse, as though it belonged to that person, and that person alone. Which, was confusing.

Unlike the commoners and noblemen, the royal family had a much better grasp of the situation.
Heck, they even had the privilege of watching the exclusive lovey-dovey scenes from the Choi –
Henituse household for an entire dinner. Well, except for princess Janessa, of course.

Glancing at his daughter, who was in order showing growing signs of expectation, disappointment,
and unsureness, King Jeremy started wondering if he had made a wrong choice after all.

Yes, he had more than one way to prevent his daughter from finding out the unusualness in the
relationship between Choi Han and his master. And yes, he had chosen to use none. Instead, he
purposefully let Janessa be here and watch everything.

Before, he would never have done that. However, the incident on that day flipped his mind all
over.

Janessa, his cute daughter, who often listened to him and the queen very well, ran away all on her
own.

It was a lie if he said he wasn’t a tiny bit angry, because he was.

He, was, very, angry. At his daughter's naivety and recklessness.

That was why, after a talk with his queen, he’d decided it was time to stop overprotecting and just
let their young child see the truth with her own eyes.

Sighing silently, king Jeremy just hoped that after this short interlude in her life, his precious
daughter would remain strong and mature up instead of breaking.

Back to the stage, another long horn sound had ended, and Choi Han’s second match had begun
finally.

Contrary to what the majority of the audience had predicted, Choi Han no longer aggressively
ended his match within a second this time. In this round, Choi Han was obviously much more
patient. He was polite enough to wait until his opponent finished with his opening line, whatever it
was, before striking. Moreover, he wasn’t planning to defeat his opponent in one strike, either.
Instead, he skillfully went along with the rhythm of the battle, dodging his opponent’s attacks by
the gaps so narrowly precise one would think he was actually hit. Looking at those dodges,
ignorant people would laugh and say Choi Han’s strength receded after just a match. Fortunately,
many of the audience weren’t so ignorant. They might not be experts, but they still could tell it was
never an easy task to maintain such a clean, neat, and precise distance between two people all the
time like that, especially in a battle where one of the two wasn’t at all cooperative. But Choi Han
was doing just that, right in front of thousands of eyes. And he was making look ridiculously easy,
too.

So easy one would think he was just playing around.

They were wrong, however.

Though Choi Han was well aware of how much stronger and more skilled he was compared to his
opponent, he wasn’t going to take his opponent any less seriously. His chivalry didn’t allow him to
be that disrespectful toward another knight who didn’t deserve such disrespect. However, the result
of his first match had shown that concluding a match too quickly might not be taken very gratefully
by his opponents either, and doing that was pretty much risking Cale’s order, which told him not to
overdo (important!). Thus, after a careful consideration, Choi Han had determined to bring only a
certain number of his skills out in this round. That way, he would be able to smoothly keep his
match on course without overdoing anything!

Following that intention, Choi Han took out his sword in a blink of an eye. Every participant in this
tournament was provided with customized weapons that were much duller than normal weapons,
and Choi Han’s blade wasn’t any different. Even so, the dull sword in Choi Han’s hand still
appeared inexplicably more powerful than the swords held by any other knights. It was like seeing
an herbivore evolving into a predator.

Then, the owner of that newly evolved predator delivered his first strike, and then second, third,
and so on. And everyone was left gasping in awe.

Choi Han’s moves were aggressive and violent and deadly, and-

And they were so beautiful.

Such a martial art that was both vigorous and appealing, and still possessed an artistic anergy
flowing throughout it, was something which had never been seen in this continent.

Moreover, with those trikes coming from a knight with such a stately figure and obviously
knowing full well what he was doing, to the audience, it was like contemplating aesthetic, might,
and effort worth decades of a lifetime all in one. The scene was so exciting and fascinating that
none of the people present could take their eyes off it. Even the mages were beginning to neglect
their work at hand and belatedly realized they had let a part of the amphitheater be invaded by cold
air as they were engrossed in watching the match.

Relatively far away from the stage where the entrancing battle was going on, a blood red-haired
man was following every movement of the black-armored knight, like any other spectators. The
only difference was that his face was completely calm and indifferent. However, if someone
looked more carefully, they’d see something akin to the lights of proudness behind his eyes, which
were sharp and bright like jades.

That man was, unsurprisingly, Cale.

And of course, he was rightfully proud of his knight, who was receiving looks of admiration from
thousands of people, which Cale had always thought Choi Han deserved more than anyone else.

In addition, with how well he and Choi Han had known each other, almost instantly, Cale was able
to see through Choi Han’s intention of using his martial art demonstratingly as a solution for not
overdoing things, like Cale had told him. Which explained why his attacks hadn’t knocked his
opponent out cold just yet.

Seeing that, aside from pride, Cale also subconsciously felt a warmth gently spreading in his chest.

It was a warmth that only one person in this world could make him feel.

Contrary to Cale, who was enjoying a warm sensation in his heart, Choi Han’s opponent was in a
state of bathing in his own cold sweats.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew Choi Han wasn’t going all out on him. Because, had Choi Han done
such a thing, could he have been here running around right now? This meant Choi Han was not
planning to leave severe injuries on his body after this match or end him before he could even take
out his sword. Which also meant that, as a token of gratitude to Choi Han’s mercy, he should at
least try to last without giving up. He had thought so, but...

Though he appreciated the fact that Choi Han decided to spare him from becoming a laughingstock
just like Sir Teystrong in the first round, he still couldn’t help himself from wishing Choi Han
could finish his martial art demonstration as soon as possible. He admitted that it was exciting at
first to counter Choi Han’s unique moves one after another, but after about thirty minutes, Choi
Han seemed to begin enjoying the battle a bit too much for his opponent to breathe. Thus, the air
around him started to become even more intimidating, even as his strikes were still perfectly
controlled in terms of force. At this moment, not only Choi Han’s opponent, but also the audience
were feeling like this was the scene of a deer weakly trying to resist against an overly mighty wolf.

Which was scaring the shit out of the poor opponent.

He swore, he wasn’t a coward. No, this wasn’t because he was not brave enough. This was what
‘knowing one’s place’ should be like, actually.

Fortunately for him, after a few more minutes of struggling, the poor guy was eventually released.

With a kick that brought a sense of finality, Choi Han struck his opponent to the ground. Then, he
took two steps forward and took the helmet off his opponent’s head in a proper manner, officially
concluding his match not, in, an, embarrassing, situation.

This time, Choi Han and his opponent even nodded to each other once to show respect to each
other, before the guy, knowing his place very well, quickly ran back and away from the stage,
yielding it to the winner.

… The guy was even looking utterly pleased and relieved as he did that …

Unlike Choi Han’s opponent, who was totally fine with his peaceful defeat, someone from a seat
opposite to Cale seemed to be causing a ruckus out of it. It looked like the geezer wasn’t at all
pleased with the result that even a kid could foretell. Almost immediately, a group of people
appeared out of nowhere, shut him up, and forcefully dragged him away.

They were quite far from them, but both Cale and Yeong had fairly good eyesight, especially
Yeong, so they were able to recognize the two familiar faces over there.

“Yeou~, omma, I see the evil old man and the man who was here earlier~.” Said Yeong, his
childlike voice as he mentioned the old man was laced with a rare layer of hate.
“Uhm.” Replied Cale, but not really focusing on the people who had just left for unknown reasons.

The Famegreeder geezer and the guy with kimchi hair. Cale had registered them being together
into his head, and then pushed that matter aside for now.

Now was the time for his knight to shine, not for those fuckers to steal the spotlight.

It appeared Cale wasn’t the only person who thought so, because the audience, too, quickly
withdrew their attention from what could have been just some old man getting mad for reasons just
as stupid as himself.

On the stage, Choi Han, who’d all but spared that insignificant fuss a glance briefer than a breath,
had long returned the focus of his vision to Cale. This time, it was so obvious that all audience
around Cale were able to locate exactly where the knight’s eyes were landing on. Following their
dawn of realization, the air within the amphitheater suddenly held a … sorcerously strange feeling
into it …

They saw the black-armored knight standing there, like a lone wolf, who was meant to walk the
lone path, but his gaze tore through that path to get to someone else, like an orienting arrow in a
compass.

Then, firmly, the man raised one arm and took his helmet off. As a result, a handsome face with
young and unique features was revealed, surrounded by the thinly powdered air. Following his
breaths, which were so hot they seemed to burn the air, were wisps of white smoke, blending in the
air.

The powerful image of the robust young man got every gasping in wonderment, momentarily
speechless.

Then, that same robust young man suddenly devolved into a puppy...

Yes, he was a mighty wolf just seconds ago, and now he was here, looking up at the man who they
dared assume to be his liege, with, expecting, eyes.

Like a cute and totally innocent puppy, happily wagging his fluffy tail, waiting to be praised.

The crowd gasped again, but this time in a completely different sense of wonderment.

Even Cale was a bit startled. Then, he remembered Choi Han’s effort not to overdo, just as Cale
had told him to, and a light bulb shined bright in his head. He looked at Choi Han, who was still
looking at him with eyes that pretty much shouted “praise me,” and didn’t hesitate to give him a
thumbs up. Seeing Cale do so, Yeong next to him immediately followed suit.

Then, Choi Han saw that, and he beamed.

He, hecking, beamed.

Very brightly, too!

For a moment, even the desultory winds forgot to flow.

In the minds of the audience, an eerie image of an innocent puppy beaming delightfully toward a
little kitten and a cute fox cub, who in turn were giving him thumbs ups, was slowly forming and
seeping into their cerebellum, knocking their off balance. Then, they realized the innocent-looking
puppy was, in fact, a frightful wolf that could bite you by the neck and make you silent forever,
and they thought they must have become crazy, being downright blinded by the scene that seemed
to have been painted over with an uncanny coat of pink atmosphere.

With that bizarre note and the air that started to become much colder and hazier, despite the
mages’ effort, the first day of the Knight Tournament had finally been concluded.

That night, in the room labeled for the Choi – Henituse family, Cale was on his heavenly chair,
scrolling through the list of several nobles’ profiles on his contact mirror as Yeong was peacefully
lying on the comfy bed, enjoying a dream full of steaks, apple pies, and lemonade. On his mirror
were the images of a man with hair dyed with the color of kimchi and a woman with pale blond
hair. Cale calmly skimmed through the records.

A moment later, there was a click on the bathroom door, and Cale quietly raised his gaze to see
Choi Han, who had now changed into his normal attires, stepped out of the bathroom.

The knight must have just washed his hair. Droplets of water were dripping from the black locks
down his face, slowly damping the front of his gray shirt. The wet fabric then stuck to the hefty
chest of the man, and the shapes his chest muscles were clearly shown.

The image of the man steadily standing at the center of the vast amphitheater while locking his
earnest eyes on him suddenly returned to his head, and Cale unwittingly lowered his gaze. He
threw a towel to Choi Han and, with a composed expression, asked out of the blue.

“Was Finn Baldwin able to freely control the sense of their strength, even to you?”

Choi Han, who was obediently drying his hair with the soft towel, blinked at the question. He
thought for a bit. Then, he slowly nodded.

That was true. At first, Choi Han could only separate Finn Baldwin from the ones that were too
weak to pass the first round, but after Choi Han’s first match, that person abruptly felt much
stronger.

Usually, a sword wielder could only hide their true strength from others when they possessed a
higher level of strength.

Listening to Choi Han’s report while observing his expression, Cale slowly opened his mouth,
relaxed.

“It is because they have the gift from the gods, not necessarily due to them being stronger than
you.”

“Ah!”

Choi Han looked up at Cale, eyes slightly widened as the subtle implication behind Cale’s words
gradually dawned on him. In his black pupils that look like the surface of a night lake, the sole
image of Cale was reflected. And, Choi Han suddenly realized, in those jade-like eyes of his liege,
there was also no one but him. This brought a warm feeling to his thumping heart; the kind of
warmth that only one person in this world could give him, making him excited like a child.

Whether he noticed the transitions in Choi Han’s emotions, Cale didn’t comment about it. Instead,
with eyes filled with an utmost trust, he gave out a permission.

“Tomorrow, feel free to overdo as much as you like.”

 Hearing that, and looking into those eyes that were telling him to just go ahead and give those
bastards what they’d “earned” for themselves, Choi Han was only started for a brief second, before
he smiled, walked a few steps forward, and gently took Cale’s free hand into his, completely
ignoring the towel dropping down on the floor. Then, Choi Han inclined his body slightly to meet
his liege’s eyes, carefully rubbing the back of Cale’s hand before planting a long kiss on it.

Choi Han had just taken a bath, but his body temperature was still as warm as ever. As his lips
softly landed on Cale’s skin, a droplet of water from his hair mischievously fell right on the touch,
sending a shiver down Cale’s spine.

A shiver that he’d never experienced before.

A shiver that he realized he didn’t at all dislike or hate.

Though faintly flustered inside, on the outside, Cale was just as calm as ever when he looked
straight into the jet-black orbs of Choi Han as the man brushed his lips on Cale’s pale skin and
said in a low voice that felt slightly husky for some reason.

“Understood, my lord.”

Finn Baldwin and Philo Baldwin.

Gifts from the Gods and whatnot.

They both bettered be ready.

End Chapter 19

Chapter End Notes

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