Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[21st day of the 3rd Month of 781st Year of the Felix Calendar]

Kim Rok Soo, no, Cale Henituse had managed to get the dangerous butler out of his bedroom. He had to gather his thoughts and look around. Even a trash like the original Cale is bound to have a journal of some sort.

Lifting the bed pillows for a bit, there was a black notebook. Aha! There it is. He sat on the bed and read the contents of the book.

21st day of the 12th Month of 779th Year of the Felix Calendar.

779th Year. The original Cale would be sixteen years old. Why would this be the one bookmarked?

Wynter Eleanore Henituse. That’s the name of my daughter.

He kept on reading on before hiding it again. What the fuck..? A daughter!? This wasn’t mentioned in the novel!? The original Cale Henituse was just sixteen years old when his daughter was born! He blinked in shock. Of course, this place has a different marriageable age. But damn, sixteen?

He stood up and looked for a calendar, to his surprise; he arrived in this world a week before the tragedy of Harris Village happened. He might as well see this daughter. He let the servants get him ready into something simple. Ron, the vicious old man, was standing there.

“I’m going out, don't follow me,” Without waiting for a response, he left. By bodily instinct, he had rode a carriage and instructed the coachman where to go. As they were heading in a certain direction, Cale thought deeply.

Wynter Eleanore Henituse. This child was never mentioned in the novel, granted that Cale was a minor villain, but still. It would have mentioned her, especially someone who was turning two years old. Even the Ron and Beacrox of the novel never mentioned this trash having a daughter.

Then somehow, a cold thought ran through his head. Could it be that Wynter died before the novel even began?  

As soon as he saw that the carriage left, he walked into the forest. To his surprise it was just a few kilometers from the entrance of the territory, distance away from Harris Village too. When he looked in its direction, he could see the light coming from the windows.

He followed that light and saw that it was a small cottage house. The small cottage has a charming, rustic appeal with weathered wooden siding and a steeply pitched roof covered in mossy shingles. A stone pathway leads to the front door, which is painted a soft blue and framed by climbing ivy. White-framed windows with flower boxes overflow with colorful blooms, adding warmth to the facade. A cozy porch with a wooden bench invites visitors to sit and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Tall trees and lush greenery surround the cottage, giving it a secluded, storybook feel.

The cottage was so familiar with this body, that even Kim Rok Soo could tell that this trash is protective of his daughter. He idly wonders who is taking care of Wynter when Cale is not around. The mother, perhaps? But why does he feel like something amongst all that detail?

When he knocked on the door, he was expecting a woman at the same age as him. But what greeted him was a man? A somewhat plain looking man with brown hair. But the feeling he got from this man is that he is somewhat strong.

“Ah!” The man perked up at the sight of him, “Are you here to see the young lady, young master?”

“Yes,” He nodded, as he skimmed through his records of the diary of what nickname the original Cale gave his daughter, “I’m here to see Wyn. I missed her,”

If he was surprised by his next statement, he didn’t show it. The original Cale Henituse must have loved his daughter so much that even this body has a lot of love and care towards that small being. As this man, whom he found out was named Jacob when he spoke of himself in third person on accident, led him to the room where original Cale— no, his daughter was.

When they entered the room, Cale could tell it was made with love and affection. The small nursery is a soft, dreamy retreat with pastel pink walls and delicate white trim. A cozy crib with a floral-patterned blanket sits beneath a mobile of floating butterflies. A plush rocking chair rests in the corner, perfect for late-night cuddles, while a white dresser with tiny golden knobs holds neatly folded baby clothes. Twinkling fairy lights drape along the shelves, which display stuffed animals, storybooks, and a tiny vase of fresh flowers. A fluffy rug covers the floor, making the room feel warm and inviting—a sweet, serene space for a little girl to grow and dream.

‘The original Cale Henituse must have loved his daughter so much.’ He thought. He walked over the crib and peered over. The baby was almost two years of age, but she was well taken care of. She inherited his red hair, but he isn’t sure what the color of her eyes is.

“—recall when the Young Master had a hard time giving birth to the young miss.” He sharply turned to Jacob.

“What?” Did Cale hear this man correctly?

“Don’t you remember, Young Master? You gave birth to the young miss.”

***

Of all plot twists, this was something he was unprepared for. According to Jacob, who was apparently someone from Cale’s maternal family, Cale had been the one who carried Wynter for nine whole months. He had been using magic devices to hide the baby bump and everything when he's not at the comfort of his own home. Cale wasn’t the father, he was the mother.

Cale Henituse wasn’t a man. He was genderless, he just likes to be referred as male. Now looking at it in the mirror, Cale was an androgynous beauty. But his preferred clothing just made him more male, but he has the body parts needed to bear a child. No wonder this room was made with love and care, Cale was ecstatic to know he was going to have a child of his own.

‘Does anybody know about this?’ He asked Jacob. The only answer he found was that the Thames are the only ones that knew. He asked about the father of the child, Jacob says that Cale never said who.

The diary also never mentioned it. Meaning, he has no idea who the father is.

He looked down at the crib again, the sleeping baby was finally awake. She was the exact replica of Cale Henituse, but she has silver eyes instead of his reddish-grey eyes.

Smile.

Cale stared at the little girl who smiled so brightly up at him, her silver eyes shining with innocence. Despite the whirlwind of emotions raging within him, one undeniable fact settled in his heart—this child, Wynter Eleanore Henituse, was his. Regardless whether he was the original Cale Henituse or not, this child is his.

“Ma!”

His breath hitched.

Wynter reached out her tiny hands toward him, babbling in an attempt to get his attention. His heart clenched at the sight. This child, so pure and untainted by the world, saw him as her everything.

Instinctively, he picked her up, cradling her gently in his arms. She was light, fragile, but warm—so, so warm. His fingers ran through the soft strands of red hair on her head as she giggled happily, nuzzling into his chest.

Jacob watched with an unreadable expression before he spoke. “The Young Master rarely has time to visit, but every time you do, the Young Miss is overjoyed. She loves you very much.”

Cale remained silent, his mind whirring. He had memories of Kim Rok Soo’s life, and now he had to come to terms with Cale Henituse’s reality. A reality where he had a daughter whom he had hidden away from the world. A daughter who had never been mentioned in the novel. That alone set off alarm bells in his mind. Something had happened to Wynter before the novel began.

And he would make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

A soft tug on his sleeve brought him back to the present. Wynter was staring up at him, curiosity in her silver eyes. “Ma?” she repeated.

Cale felt his throat tighten. He had never been called ‘Ma’ before. He never even expected it. But the word felt… natural. Like it had always belonged to him.

“Wyn,” he murmured, brushing a stray curl from her face. “Did you miss me?”

Wynter nodded eagerly before wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. “Miss Ma,” she said with a small giggle.

Cale tightened his grip around Wynter protectively. He had a week before the Harris Village tragedy. A week to ensure that whatever fate befell his daughter in the original timeline wouldn’t happen this time. He just couldn’t let it happen. What if in the original novel, the secret organization involved nearby houses from the Harris Village and killed both Jacob and Wynter.

The thought of losing this little girl in his arms, whom he just met and held today, made him want to hurl. After losing everyone he had ever cared about, Wynter was a blessing he didn't have that would be placed onto his lap upon being in this world. She was his, and he would never let anyone take her away from him.

Chapter Text

In Cale’s opinion, he had been too distracted with Wynter.

She had been his focus ever since he had met her four days ago. He could tell that his father had been suspicious of where he had been going for the past few days now, he always managed to get Beacrox and Ron off his tracks whenever he was visiting Wynter.

Cale stared at the little girl who smiled so brightly up at him, her silver eyes shining with innocence. 

“Ma!”

His breath hitched, but then he smiled back at her.

Wynter reached out her tiny hands toward him, babbling in an attempt to get his attention. His heart clenched at the sight. This child, so pure and untainted by the world, saw him as her everything.

Instinctively, he picked her up, cradling her gently in his arms. She was light, fragile, but warm—so, so warm. His fingers ran through the soft strands of red hair on her head as she giggled happily, nuzzling into his chest.

Every action they both did together, it felt so natural.

The weight of parenthood, while new, felt natural to him, was it because this was the original Cale Henituse’s body and gave birth to Wynter? He would never know. Protecting her, ensuring she lived in a world safe from harm—that was his new mission. His mind spun with plans, strategies to keep her hidden and ensure no harm would ever come her way.

A soft tug on his sleeve pulled him out of his thoughts. Wynter blinked up at him, curiosity gleaming in her silver eyes. “Ma?” she repeated, her voice laced with innocence and trust.

Cale let out a quiet breath, his grip around her tightening slightly as if anchoring himself to the moment. She was here. She was real. And she was his.

“Nothing, sweetheart,” Cale kissed her head. Whoever her biological father is, Cale doesn’t give a damn about them. Wynter is his, and his alone.

“Does our Wyn-Wyn want to play with Mama?” He hummed as he looked at her.

Wynter giggled, clapping her tiny hands. “Play!” she cheered, bouncing excitedly in his hold.

Cale chuckled, his chest filling with warmth at her enthusiasm. He gently set her down on the plush rug in her nursery, reaching for a set of wooden blocks neatly stacked nearby. As he handed one to Wynter, she eagerly grabbed it, inspecting it with intense focus before attempting to stack it atop another.

Jacob, who had been silently observing from the doorway, cleared his throat. “Young Master, shall I prepare some refreshments?”

Cale glanced at him, nodding. “Something light for Wynter as well.”

Jacob bowed slightly before leaving the room, leaving Cale to watch as Wynter attempted to build a wobbly tower. Her small tongue peeked out in concentration, her silver eyes narrowing as she carefully placed another block on top. When it inevitably toppled over, she gasped dramatically before turning to Cale with wide, expectant eyes.

“Mama, help!” she demanded, thrusting a block toward him.

Cale chuckled, scooping her onto his lap before beginning to rebuild the tower together. As the moments passed, he realized something—this simple joy, this shared warmth, this bond he never expected to have, was more precious than anything else in the world.

And he would fight to protect it, no matter what.

***

As it turns out, Wynter liked Korean foods meant for babies. Cale made her a Juk(a boiled rice porridge often mixed with vegetables and/or meat), and she loves it. Should he get her accustomed to Korean cuisines? No, that would be too suspicious if they ever meet Choi Han. But still, it warms his heart to see her eating well.

“Wyn,” His daughter turns to him, “Is the food good?”

“Yum!” She gave him a toothy grin. Cale gently cleaned her face as her face was becoming a bit too dirty from the food missing her mouth.

‘Should I tell the family about Wynter..?’ Cale contemplates. The only disadvantage of that scenario would be the awkward questions of who is the father and how is the pregnancy even possible, seeing as no one outside the Thames knows that Cale is genderless but with the right organs to carry a child. The advantage is; the Henituse Family is very family oriented.

With Wynter being introduced as the first grandchild, she will be very protected. Especially with the looming war over the horizon.

‘... Maybe when Choi Han gets to the territory.’ He nodded to himself. He will spend a lot of alone time with Wynter for a while. Jacob is gone whenever he is around, but whenever Cale has to go back to the territory, he would be back. It apparently had been the arrangement for a while now.

***

Cale hums peacefully, three days later. It was in the middle of the night, he thought of spending the night with Wynter at the cottage. He had finally gotten the shield, so he was in an incredibly good mood tonight, he had picked up two kittens that he thinks that Wynter would love.

He kept smiling at the thought of his smiling daughter. When the gray kitten, Ohn, made a distressed meow. He looked down to the kitten and looked where she was pointing at.

At the direction of the exact cottage Cale had carefully picked for his daughter, was a large smoke.

Never in his life had he run so fast. All he could think about was Wynter.

His heart pounded, breath shallow as his legs carried him forward. The burning scent of wood and ash filled his nostrils, but he didn’t care—all that mattered was reaching Wynter in time. Flames licked at the night sky, illuminating the surroundings in an ominous glow.

“Wynter!” he shouted, voice raw with desperation as he pushed through the thick smoke, ignoring the heat that stung his skin. His mind was racing—she was in there. Alone.

A small, choked cry reached his ears, barely audible over the roar of the flames.

Cale's blood ran cold.

Without hesitation, he lunged forward, his shield flaring to life around him. Sparks danced against the barrier as he forced his way inside. His eyes darted frantically around the blazing interior until they landed on a tiny, trembling figure curled up beneath a fallen wooden beam.

Wynter.

Tears streaked her soot-covered face as she sobbed, reaching toward him. “M-Mama!”

Something inside him snapped.

He moved before he could think, lifting the burning beam with a strength he hadn’t known he possessed. He barely registered the searing pain as embers bit into his skin. With a grunt, he threw the beam aside and scooped Wynter into his arms, cradling her against his chest as she clung to him desperately.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “I’m here.”

Shield still flickering around them, Cale turned and sprinted out of the inferno, Wynter’s cries muffled against his shoulder. The moment they broke free of the flames, he collapsed to his knees, holding her tightly as she sobbed into his chest.

“Safe,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her soot-streaked forehead. “You’re safe, Wyn.”

When Cale got out of the house with Wynter, he could see Jacob. Jacob was fighting a group of people. And Cale could recognize them from the novel.

His heart dropped at the sudden realization.

The reason why Wynter was never mentioned in the novel. The secret organization had attacked even the nearby houses from the village. It means, they killed Wynter and Jacob in the novel.

‘The original Cale Henituse was grieving at the loss of his daughter when Choi Han appeared.’ His heart shook as he couldn’t even register Jacob's shouting at him to run away with Wynter.

On instinct, Cale clutched his daughter even closer to his chest as he activated the Indestructible Shield when someone snuck up on him. This body didn't know how to fight. He couldn’t fight without risking Wynter.

‘Someone..! Help us..!’

Chapter Text

Choi Han kept running and running.

He has to go to the Lord of the territory. The Harris Village was killed. He has to notify the Lord.

He skidded to a stop when he caught the scent of blood, and the familiar fresh scent of a certain group. He immediately followed it. He had hoped to be there on time, to get to that burning place on time.

But when he got there, a brown haired man was killed. He was late.

“JACOB!” Another person shouted in fear. Choi Han’s eyes span to the direction of the voice. There was a bright silver light, it was a shield he then realized. Behind that shield was a young man with red hair, he was clutching something close to his chest.

The secret organization was trying to get through that shield.

Choi Han went into action. He unsheathed his sword, and fought these men. He was quick, trying to be even quicker to put himself in between the shield and these bastards.

Cough.

He glanced behind him, the red headed man was coughing out blood.

“I-I can keep this up,” The red head said, “You deal with them,”

Choi Han nodded. He immediately turned his attention to these bastards, at the very least. Even if he was late from saving the other man, he should at least protect this man. He was fighting real seriously when—

“Wah!” He turned around. His eyes widened. How could he not realize that presence!?

Choi Han's grip on his sword tightened. A baby. In the middle of all this bloodshed, cradled in the arms of a man who was barely holding himself together. His instincts screamed at him—this wasn't just any child. This was someone precious.

The red-haired man shielded the baby with his entire body, his hands trembling but refusing to let go. His complexion was far too pale, blood dripping from the corner of his lips as he forced himself to keep the shining barrier intact.

“Wah—!” The baby, red curls matted with soot, whimpered again, her small hands clutching at the man’s clothes. Her silver eyes were glassy with tears, her tiny body shaking.

Choi Han moved before he could think.

With a fierce swing, his sword cut through the last of the attackers, their bodies slumping lifelessly onto the ground. His breath was heavy, his muscles coiled with tension. But the moment the fight was over, his attention snapped back to the man and the child.

“Are you okay!?” He rushed forward, his eyes scanning over the man’s injuries. His shirt was stained red, his breaths shallow, but his arms—his arms never loosened around the baby.

The man let out a ragged cough, his voice barely above a whisper. “...Did you get them all?”

Choi Han nodded sharply. “They’re dead.”

The man slumped even more, not even letting go of the child, “Thank goodness.”

Choi Han managed to catch the man. The shield must have severe backlash on his weak body.

The man coughed again, “He…Henituse Estate.. Bring us there.”

Then he fell, unconscious. Choi Han didn’t know who this man was, but if someone could help him in the Henituse Estate, then he would rush over with the man and the child.

“Meow~!” Two kittens rushed to their side. One gray and one red. The kittens immediately clung onto the unconscious redhead, they must have been his companions too.

Choi Han took a sharp breath, his heart still pounding from the fight. He didn’t know who this man was, but the desperation in his voice, the sheer determination in his exhausted gaze—he was someone important.

And the baby…

Choi Han shifted slightly, glancing at the small child now pressed tightly against the unconscious man's chest. Her tiny fingers clenched the fabric of his bloodstained shirt as if she could keep him tethered to the world just by holding on. The sight made something in Choi Han’s chest tighten.

No time to hesitate.

Gently, but firmly, Choi Han scooped the man into his arms, careful not to jostle the baby too much. She let out a tiny whimper but didn’t cry. Instead, her silver eyes blinked up at him, wide and searching.

The kittens circled his feet, their small bodies tense with worry. The gray one, Ohn, let out another distressed meow, while the red one, Hong, clambered onto the man’s shoulder as if refusing to be left behind.

Choi Han adjusted his hold, making sure the baby was secure between them before taking off in the direction of the Henituse Estate. He had no time to lose.

The wind roared past his ears as he ran, his feet pounding against the dirt road. He pushed himself faster, his mind racing.

Harris Village had been slaughtered. There was an unknown force moving in the shadows. And now, in his arms, was an injured man and a child—both seemingly connected to the noble Henituse family.

His instincts screamed at him. This wasn’t just a coincidence.

As he ran, the estate’s towering walls came into view, their presence both reassuring and imposing.

The guards at the gate, who had been slouching lazily in their posts, immediately snapped to attention at the sight of him.

“Halt! Identify yourself—!”

Choi Han didn’t stop. He moved like a blur, his voice sharp.

“I have an injured noble! Open the gates!”

The urgency in his tone must have reached them because one of the guards immediately shouted orders, and within seconds, the heavy gates groaned open.

Choi Han rushed inside, his grip tightening on his unconscious burden.

Another guard let out a startled gasp at the sight of them, his eyes widening in horror. “Young Master—?!”

Young Master?

Choi Han barely had time to register that before the estate exploded into chaos. Servants scrambled, someone shouted for a healer or a priest, and before he knew it, the man in his arms was being carefully lifted onto a stretcher.

Choi Han took a step back, watching as the baby was gently pried from the man's arms by a frantic-looking maid.

The baby let out a soft whimper, her tiny hands reaching for the unconscious man even in sleep.

***

Young Master Cale was brought unconscious!

He’s bleeding!

Deruth had never run so fast in his life as soon as a frantic maid and butler notified him of the situation. He could barely register the fact that his wife and two other kids are also running behind him. All he could think was his eldest.

When he entered the room, all he could see was the chaos unfolding right before his eyes. The healers are doing their jobs, Ron and the others are at one corner frantically doing something.

“What happened!? Is Cale okay!?” Deruth ignored that corner and immediately asked the healers.

“Count-nim!” A healer noticed his presence, “According to the young man over there, the young master had used some sort of shield when he was attacked outside the territory.”

Deruth looked at his wife. ‘Cale was outside? Since when?’

“Wait.” Basen said, “Hyung-nim was attacked!?”

The room tensed at Basen’s words. The healers continued working feverishly, their hands glowing with warm light as they tried to stabilize the unconscious Cale.

Deruth turned sharply toward Choi Han, who stood by the doorway, his expression unreadable but his stance tense. His clothes were splattered with blood—none of it his own—but his eyes burned with determination.

“You,” Deruth said, voice tight with barely restrained urgency. “Explain. Now.”

Choi Han took a breath before stepping forward. His voice was steady, but there was an edge of barely suppressed anger.

“I found him in the remains of a battle,” he said. “He was defending a baby.”

“A baby?” Violan’s sharp voice cut through the room, her usually composed expression faltering for the first time. “What baby?”

As if answering her, a soft cry echoed from the corner of the room.

Everyone’s heads turned.

A maid, her hands trembling, was holding the small red-haired baby wrapped tightly in a blanket. The child’s silver eyes were still glossy with unshed tears, but she was quiet now, looking around at the unfamiliar faces.

“She… She wouldn’t let go of the young master,” the maid whispered, her voice uncertain. “Even when we tried to separate them earlier, she—she clung to him.”

Deruth turned back to Choi Han. “Explain,” he repeated, firmer this time.

Choi Han met his gaze evenly. “I was running towards here from the aftermath of a massacre. A village had been wiped out—Harris Village.”

Gasps filled the room.

Choi Han continued. “When I arrived, it was already too late. Someone already died when I got there, he was probably protecting the young master.” His fists clenched at his sides. “He was fighting off the attackers, shielding the child with his own body. He managed to hold them off long enough for me to finish them.”

Basen swallowed hard, staring at the unconscious Cale. His elder brother, the one they had always known to be careless, indifferent—he had done this?

Ron, who had been silent in the corner, suddenly stepped forward. His usual calm, almost eerie demeanor was gone, replaced by something cold and unreadable.

“Who were the attackers?” he asked.

Choi Han hesitated, his expression darkening. “A secret organization.”

Ron’s eyes sharpened. “Do you know their name?”

Choi Han shook his head. “No. But they were the same people that killed the people of Harris Village.”

The room fell silent.

Deruth exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair. His gaze softened as he looked at his unconscious son, his eldest child, lying pale and unmoving.

“Make sure he survives,” he ordered the healers. “Use whatever you need. Just save him.”

One of the healers bowed. “We will do everything we can, Count-nim.”

Deruth turned toward the maid holding the baby.

“And the child?” he asked.

The baby, as if sensing the attention, hiccupped softly before curling deeper into the blanket.

“We should keep her safe,” Violan said firmly. “Until Cale wakes up and tells us what happened, she’s under our protection.”

Chapter Text

“You will be loved. You will be protected, even with someone like me as your mama,”

Cale woke up with a gasp. He then lurched to the side when he felt the pain on the inside.

“Cale!” He heard his family’s voice. They were all hovering beside him as the memories of the night before played in his mind.

“Wynter..!” He tried to get up but his family was stopping him from doing so, “No! Wynter is..!”

His stepmother stopped him, “Perfectly fine. We placed the baby in a crib next to your bed.”

His father made way for him to see her. His daughter, to his shock, was actually standing up and staring at him. When they stared at one another, Wynter gleefully laughed and tried reaching out for him.

Seeing that his body was in pain, Deruth was the one that gave Cale his daughter (not that they knew that part). His father placed Wynter next to him, his baby still grinning as she crawled over them.

He could vaguely see his family worrying over the fact that the baby is crawling over his chest. Wynter was cooing as she was snuggling to his chest.

***

Deruth and the others are looking at the baby who is currently snuggling in Cale's chest. Everyone does not know who this child is, but Cale is so openly affection towards this unknown child.

Basen and Lily do not know how to feel about that. Their elder brother being so affectionate to someone else, when he has never been so affectionate to them. So openly as well. And here, a baby was receiving that so flawlessly.

For Deruth and Violan, they had an inkling of what is the baby's origin. Violan was sure that this child was an exact replica of Cale, she hadn't seen any of his portraits as a child, but she was sure that this is what Cale would look like as a child.

As for Deruth, he was so close to having a panic attack. He knows what Cale looks like as a baby, as a child, a toddler. He spent days on end staring at his eldest when he was a newborn. This unknown baby girl looks exactly like Cale except her eyes, and it's giving him bad thoughts of the baby’s origin.

‘W-was Cale taken advantage of and I didn’t know?’ Was all Deruth could think.

“Mama, owie?” There were choked gasps within the room, both from the rest of the family and the servants that were on the side waiting for their orders.

“Mama’s fine, love.” Cale gave her a kiss on the head.

The silence that followed Wynter’s words was deafening.

Deruth felt his vision swim for a moment. His son—his indifferent, aloof, troublemaking son—had just been called Mama .

Basen’s jaw nearly dropped, and Lily clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide. Violan, ever the composed one, let out a quiet breath, her expression unreadable. The servants didn’t even pretend to ignore what they just heard.

Meanwhile, Cale, as if oblivious to the utter shock in the room, gently rubbed Wynter’s tiny back.

“Good girl,” he murmured, voice softer than any of them had ever heard from him. The warmth in his gaze was undeniable.

That only made everything worse.

Deruth swallowed, his heart pounding. This is real . This wasn’t some delirium from Cale’s injuries. He knew that expression. That was the gaze of a parent looking at their child.

His son, his eldest child, had a daughter .

He felt his knees go weak. He needed to sit down.

“H-hyung-nim,” Basen finally managed, his voice cracking slightly, “She just called you—”

“I heard her,” Cale cut in, not looking up from the baby nestled against his chest.

Violan was the one to regain control of the conversation. She took a slow step forward, her sharp gaze lingering on Cale before shifting to Wynter.

“Cale,” she said carefully, her tone bordering between gentleness and steel, “Who is this child?”

Cale sighed, leaning back against the pillows as he adjusted Wynter in his arms.

“She’s mine.”

That was it. Just those two words.

Lily squeaked. Basen blinked rapidly, looking like he just short-circuited.

And Deruth—

Deruth barely held in a wheeze . He felt like the entire room had just flipped upside down.

“ Yours? ” Violan repeated, still impossibly calm.

Cale nodded. “Yeah. My daughter.”

Another round of stunned silence.

The servants had tactfully (or maybe fearfully) retreated to the corners of the room, likely sensing the absolute storm that was about to break loose.

Deruth gripped the edge of a chair and forced himself to take a deep breath. Alright. Alright, Deruth, be rational.

He needed facts.

He squared his shoulders, looking directly at Cale.

“Cale,” he said slowly, “ How? ”

Cale frowned, shifting Wynter slightly as she started to nibble on the fabric of his sleeve. “How what?”

Deruth pinched the bridge of his nose. “ How do you have a daughter? ”

Cale blinked. Then blinked again.

Then—

“Oh.” He tilted his head, as if just now realizing how ridiculous this situation looked from their perspective.

Wynter chose that moment to giggle, still playing with the fabric of his sleeve.

Cale sighed. “She’s… biologically mine,” he admitted, finally throwing his family a bone. “I gave birth to her.”

Silence.

“ What? ” Deruth breathed, everyone’s breath stuck on their throats even in the servants. On the side, unnoticed by everyone, Ron had a dark look in his eyes.

Cale didn’t look at them, and just looked at his daughter who was still playing with the fabric of his sleeve, “Mom didn’t tell you.. I was born without any gender. But I have the right body parts to bear and give birth to children.”

“And the father?” Violan softly asked, sensing that this topic was hard on Cale.

“I don’t know who they are.”

The room, which had already been tense, now felt like it had frozen over.

Deruth’s breath came in short, uneven bursts as he tried—and failed—to comprehend what his son had just said. His mind refused to process it. It couldn’t be true.

But Cale’s face held no deception, no hesitation. Only quiet exhaustion.

Basen and Lily looked absolutely lost . It was as if their brother had just spoken in a foreign language they had never heard before.

Violan, ever perceptive, was watching Cale carefully, her hands clasped in her lap, her knuckles just slightly paler than before.

It was Ron, however, that moved first.

He stepped forward, his usual neutral expression unreadable, but there was something cold behind his eyes.

“Pardon me, young master.” His voice was eerily calm. “You don’t know who the father is?”

Cale tensed at that question.

It was a subtle thing. A barely-there shift in his posture, the way his hand tightened slightly around Wynter, the way his gaze flickered just for a moment before steadying again.

“…No,” he said, voice quieter than before.

Ron’s fingers twitched. His ever-present smile didn’t fade, but it sharpened.

Deruth, on the other hand, felt something deep inside him break.

His child—his child —had gone through something alone . Something life-changing, something terrifying , and he hadn’t even known .

He had failed.

His voice came out hoarse. “Cale… Why didn’t you say anything?”

Cale let out a tired sigh, his hand absentmindedly running through Wynter’s soft hair as she babbled against his chest.

“What would’ve been the point?” he muttered, not looking at them.

That hurt.

Deruth opened his mouth, then closed it, his hands clenched into fists.

Basen, struggling to keep up, shook his head. “Hyung-nim, what do you mean? You—this isn’t—” He inhaled sharply. “You gave birth? You really—”

“Yeah,” Cale cut in, flat and unbothered.

Lily, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, her voice small. “Did it… hurt?”

Cale blinked at her.

For a moment, there was nothing but pure silence.

Then—

A laugh.

Soft, almost amused.

And then another.

Until Cale was actually laughing —tired, slightly bitter, but still laughing.

Lily frowned. “What?”

“Oh, Lily,” Cale sighed, shaking his head, amusement fading into something unreadable. “You have no idea.”

That response made Violan’s throat tighten.

“Cale,” she said, voice firmer, “When did this happen?”

Cale exhaled through his nose. “When I was sixteen.”

Violan and Deruth exchanged glances.

Sixteen years old?

Their son had been hiding something this massive for almost two years ?

Deruth forced himself to swallow down his emotions, to think rationally. This wasn’t the time to break down.

“What… What do you mean by ‘no gender’?” he asked carefully.

Cale hummed. “Exactly what it sounds like. I wasn’t born with a set one.”

Basen looked at him in disbelief. “And you never thought to mention that?”

Cale shrugged. “Not relevant.”

Deruth nearly choked. Not relevant?!

“Cale.” Violan’s voice was sharp now. “Do you understand what you’re saying? This is incredibly important.”

Cale simply sighed.

“Look,” he said, finally looking at them properly. “I wasn’t planning on bringing this up, but Wynter exists now, and clearly, you weren’t expecting her. So let’s get this out of the way, yeah?” He leaned back slightly. “Yes, I carried and gave birth to her. No, I don’t know who the father is. No, it wasn’t consensual, I think. I don’t remember, I just remember being pregnant one day.”

The entire room froze .

Ron took a slow, deliberate breath through his nose.

Deruth staggered .

Violan’s lips parted slightly, shock flickering across her usually composed features.

Basen and Lily paled, their eyes wide with horror.

The servants were utterly silent, their faces drained of color.

Cale continued, voice detached.

“I was walking around the territory on the third month when I was sixteen. I don’t know what happened, I don’t know how, and I don’t care. Wynter’s here now, and she’s mine. ”

His arms instinctively curled around his daughter, his entire posture protective.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then—

Deruth abruptly sat down.

He felt like he was going to be sick.

Violan slowly exhaled, forcing herself to remain composed.

Ron…

Ron was already calculating who he needed to kill.

***

Everyone since then has been protective and very careful. Cale pulled that excuse out of his ass. But then again, the original Cale really does not remember how he became pregnant. The diary mentioned having a breakdown over it, the original Cale mentioned terminating the pregnancy until he slowly fell in love with the thought of having his own child.

His step mother looked at him again, “What’s her name, Cale?”

Cale softly smiled as he looked at Wynter who was cooing at her surroundings this time, “Wynter, Wynter Eleanore Henituse.”

Chapter Text

Look, if you ask any of the servants who were there when their Young Master Cale introduced and explained the existence of his daughter to the family, everyone was bound to be protective. Some scum touched their young master and got away with it.

He has not let anyone touch his daughter at all. But the entire Henituse Family is very welcoming towards the first grandchild of the family. Deruth, after he got past his distraught and mental breakdown, was very attentive when Cale was telling them things about his daughter.

She was born on the 21st day of the 12th Month of 779th Year of the Felix Calendar. Hence the name Wynter. Apparently spelt with a Y instead of an I.

She’s turning two years old this year. Meaning the winter celebration is going to grand.

When Cale mentioned the brown haired man who was protecting them during the fight (the information they got from Choi Han) was actually his second cousin from his mother’s side who has been taking care of Wynter whenever Cale wasn’t around and he was the one who helped with the childbirth, Deruth was quick to order a retrieval of his body to be buried properly.

Wynter likes apples? Deruth and Violan ordered an apple farm to be built in the estate.

Cale reads bedtime stories for Wynter? Basen was quick to order people to build a nursery across Cale’s bedroom with a small library filled with children's books.

And Lily? She swore up and down that she would be the best knight for her little niece.

In just a short amount of time, Cale’s reputation changed in the territory. From trash to a unique existence that was in hiding to protect his daughter.

“Meow~!” Cale could only smile as Ohn and Hong are both entertaining Wynter. The Cat Tribe children and his daughter had formed a bond so quickly.

“Wyn-wyn, walk?” He stood up from his seat.

“Walk!” Wynter cheered as she waddled towards him with open arms, Cale was quick and picked her up. Cale glanced on the side, Ron was waiting for him to say something.

“Ron, go ask Father for money, Wynter and I would like to take a walk outside.”

“Walk! Won! Wyn-wyn go walk!” Wynter very excitedly babbled to his butler.

Cale sighed, adjusting Wynter on his hip as Ron disappeared to retrieve the money. He already knew his father wouldn’t hesitate to hand over a fortune if it meant his granddaughter was happy.

As if to confirm his thoughts, not even five minutes passed before Ron returned with a small pouch of gold coins, far more than what was necessary for a simple walk.

“Young Master,” Ron said with a pleased smile. “Count-nim added extra, just in case.”

Cale rolled his eyes but pocketed the money anyway.

“Shall we, Princess?” he murmured, tapping Wynter’s nose.

Wynter giggled. “Pwincess!”

Hong and Ohn trotted beside them as they made their way outside. The spring air was crisp, but not too biting, and Wynter clapped her hands excitedly when she saw the busy streets of Henituse territory.

The moment they stepped outside the estate, the reaction was immediate.

The townspeople, who had long since adjusted to their young master’s… peculiar reputation, now saw him in a new light.

“Ah, it’s Young Master Cale—”

“Look! The little lady is with him!”

“Goodness, she looks just like him…”

“Is it true that Lord Deruth ordered an entire apple farm just for her?”

The murmurs followed them wherever they went, but not a single one was filled with scorn. If anything, there was admiration, curiosity, and… warmth.

Cale, used to being looked at with either indifference or wariness, found it mildly exhausting.

But Wynter?

She was thriving .

“Mama!” she called suddenly, pointing at a stall selling warm pastries. “Pwease?”

Cale sighed, already moving toward the stall before Ron could even say anything.

“Fine, fine. Just one.”

Ron, standing dutifully behind him, gave an amused hum. “Young Master, are you sure you don’t mean five ?”

Cale shot him a look. Wynter, however, was already happily babbling about the “yummy smell.”

As he paid for the pastries, he didn’t notice the small group of knights standing just a few feet away, watching the scene unfold.

“Are we sure this is allowed?”

“Count-nim ordered this.”

“We have to protect the little lady!”

Ron noticed the idiots, but he elected to ignore them to take care of his charges. At first, he is mad towards the circumstances that led to his puppy young master having the little lady (he still wants to play with the scum), but the joy in the puppy’s eyes was worth holding back his anger.

For now.

Speaking of anger, the punk that rescued the young master and the little lady had the stench of those bastards. While everyone is thankful to him for saving them, Ron and his son are cautious, he may not be part of Arm. But it still doesn’t change the fact that they had landed on this continent, and almost killed their young master and his daughter.

“Mama! Pple!” The little lady pointed at a stall.

“That’s a blueberry, love.”

“Ue erry?”

“Yes.”

“Otay.”

Looking over these two is quite important right now. The little lady is a curious little thing, it is very pleasing to know that such a tiny existence was enough to lighten up the young master.

“Mama, mik?”

“Which one do you want?”

“Ink!”

“The pink one? You want that?”

“Ye.”

“You sure?”

“Ye!”

“Okay.”

Aigoo, the little lady is going to be so spoiled.

***

Choi Han is simply in awe.

Once he got a good look at the red head he saved (he saved! The thought of that gives him the giddy feeling, it was a nice feeling). He was simply in awe of how beautiful this man(?) is.

Then again, this person was genderless, who gave birth to the cutest baby he had ever seen. By Earth standard, Cale Henituse is an intersex human with androgynous beauty. He clenched his fists, he swore to protect these two humans the best he could.

“You.. You wanted to be Cale’s knight?” The count asked him. He had already asked for help for the funeral of the people of the Harris Village, but he did not go back to see them off once more. Choi Han liked to believe that the people of the village would want him to move forward

“Yes, Count-nim, I want to protect Cale-nim and Miss Wynter.”

The count stared at him for a few moments, as if contemplating something. But Choi Han stood up even straighter, his resolve and determination not breaking. He wants this.

He had found his resolve.

He wants to protect Cale and Wynter Henituse.

“Alright. I’ll have someone test you then inform Cale.”

Choi Han smiled brightly, “I won’t let you down!”

Chapter Text

Staaaaaare.

Choi Han tried looking away from the silver eyes of the youngest Henituse. The one year old is staring at him in the arms of her mother. She was examining his face.

She held out an arm, “Han! Up!”

Choi Han choked in his spit as the baby once again demanded to be picked up by him. The other servants are staring at him, envious that the little lady was asking him of all people to carry her. Because so far, the only people that had carried the little girl aside from the Henituse Family were the Molans. And as they all realized, the Molans are quite territorial towards their charges.

Once, another male servant jokingly asked Beacrox (who was her carrier for the day) if he could carry the little lady back to the young master, but what he got was the glare that gave him nightmares.

Cale sighed, “Just carry her, just for a bit, Choi Han. It would seem that Wynter wants to.”

“A-are you sure? What if I dropped her, Cale-nim!” Choi Han fussed as Cale gently handed his daughter over Choi Han. Even as Choi Han tried to deny it, he was careful and attentive as Cale coached him on how to carry her better and safer.

Cale backed off for a bit, watching as Wynter was babbling to a confused Choi Han, who is more than happy to listen than understand whatever his daughter was babbling. She was lisping here and there, and Cale supposed it made sense; she was after all just one year and three months. But Cale couldn’t help but be amused by how his baby has three vicious men (Ron, Beacrox, and Choi Han) wrapped around her fingers.

Well, his Wynter is adorable. And also, it is nice for someone to hold Wynter every once in a while. He had used the Shield without the Vitality of the Heart, as result he had lingering health issues; such as his shaking arms. The tremors would happen once in a while, but he was too worried about letting go of Wynter so suddenly to tell anyone. He has to get the Vitality of the Heart.

“It doesn’t look like you are nervous.”

Cale smiled instead of responding to his father’s statement. Cale’s complexion has gotten much better in the last few days. Everyone had been taking good care of him ever since the incident, so of course he had gotten better already.

There was also the fact that everyone in the territory had accepted the fact that he was genderless(or was it intersex?), so he had asked the family's mage to use his magic to get his hair longer, almost by the waist. Ohn and Hong like braiding it nowadays in their room.

Wynter most certainly likes trying to put it into her mouth, just plain adorable really.

“But are you sure you couldn’t leave Wynter with us?” He could hear his father’s pouting. This father of his had been the most doting grandfather he had ever seen. While it breaks his heart to know that the Original Cale wants the same love and attention from this man, it also warms his heart that Deruth Henituse had been so accepting of Cale’s actual condition and daughter.

He had been spending time with his grandchild to earn the nickname “Pops” from Wynter. And he had taken that with pride.

“Father, you were the one who suggested to hyung-nim to take Wynter with him to travel around,” Basen gave their father a pointed look. Definitely not pleased to have his only niece away from him, Lily is also pouting at the thought of not seeing their golden baby for a while.

“Honestly,” Their mother sighed, also not happy about the fact that the youngest Henituse would be away from her. She, like everyone else, had been attached to Wynter in the way most doting grandmothers do. She looked at Cale, “Do take care of yourselves, alright? You have both Ron and Hans, let them take care of Wynter when you are tired, understand?”

“Yes, mother.”

His mother leaned in, “I have ordered all the finest clothes for both of you. I also have made a portable cot for Wynter, it is embedded with temperature magic so that she would not be too cold or too warm during naps.”

His eyes widened for a bit, then gave her a small smile, “Thank you, Mother.”

She gave a small smile back, “If you really are planning to travel around with Wynter after the celebration, make sure to come back for a bit then continue, then come back two weeks before Wynter’s second birthday.”

“Understood.”

***

“Byebye~!” Wynter was happily waving goodbye to everyone as they left. Cale chuckled at her cute antics.

Cale watched as the kittens turned into humans as they talked with Wynter, describing things she is currently seeing. They would ask him once in a while, sure, but it's nice to see kids being kids.

“Han! Han! Hwello! Hihi!” Wynter giggled as she kept calling for Choi Han's attention. And said man is indulging his daughter's play.

“Hello, Young Miss.” Choi Han gave her a smile.

“Hmp!” Wynter pouted, making Cale laugh, “Nyo! Wyn-wyn! Nyo Ung Is!”

Choi Han nodded at her “scolding”, “Understood. Wyn-wyn.”

Wynter squealed in happiness as she clapped. She then looked at Cale, “Mama, down pwease.”

“Okay,” He carefully set her down, and she was back playing with the kittens whom she calls “Nnie” and “ppa” respectively. Cale thinks she was trying to say Unnie and Oppa.

Cale looked at the window and saw that Choi Han was still looking as they walked, “You are good with kids.”

Choi Han scratched his cheek in embarrassment, “I often play with the kids at the village. And the young miss is an adorable happy baby.”

“Don’t let her hear you calling her that,” He playfully chided, “You’re gonna make her pout all day.”

Choi Han laughed in embarrassment this time.

“You would make a great dad,”

He glanced at the children, they were all laughing as Ohn played tickle with her. He glanced back at Choi Han to see him looking away, his ears red.

Cale tilted his head in confusion.

***

Nobody dared to touch Cale’s carriage in the Henituse territory. The carriage did not have the flag that represented the family, but the carriage itself had the Golden Turtle, the symbol of the Henituse family, drawn on it. It was representative of the Henituse family’s love for wealth and longevity.

However, as soon as they left the Henituse territory, they ran into a situation.

‘As expected, they really do show up.’

While they were rushing through a mountain range, tens of people suddenly showed up in the valley.

“Pay the toll if you want to cross this mountain!”

“Take out everything you have! If we found anything after you claim to have taken everything out, it will be 1 slap for every 1 bronze we find!”

Yes, it was the bandits.

There were bound to be bandits in a fantasy story, but the fact that there were tens of them was surprising. They probably relied on their numbers to attack this carriage, which only had 5 knights.

“Mama, nin-nin!” Wynter pointed at the bandits.

“No, love. They’re bad guys. Don’t be like them, okay?”

“Otay!”

Cale, chuckling at the cuteness of his daughter, looked toward the kitten On, who was yawning and asked.

“You think they can’t see the symbol on my carriage?”

“I guess so.”

“Idiots! Beginners!”

Cale nodded his head at Hong’s assessment. He was not afraid of bandits. Why would he be?

Knock Knock.

The knocking came from the small window by the driver’s seat before the window slightly opened, and Ron looked inside.

“Young master, it looks like we will need to take a break. There seem to be quite a lot of rabbits here.”

“Make sure those rabbits don’t disturb our Wynter.”

Was his simple order.

“As you wish.”

Cale and the kittens distracted Wynter as everyone outside dealt with the bandits. After all, Cale and the children were being protected by someone who was scarier than the bandits. He listened to the sound of the bandits’ screams coming from outside the carriage, as he started to calculate the time.

“About a day and a half.”

In about a day and a half, they would arrive around the area where the Black Dragon was being tortured. It was earlier than when Choi Han arrived in the novel. This was the reason he had made them rush forward without taking any breaks.

Chapter Text

It was dinner.

Everyone did make sure that Wynter wouldn’t have to see those bandits again. If she had asked about the “nin-nin”, they would have told her that the bad guys had to go “bye-bye”. 

Cale wouldn’t let anyone feed his daughter. But he was very specific on which food Beacrox would have to make for Wynter. Tonight, her dinner is vegetable soup and roast chicken that are sliced into small bits.

“Look at you so messy.” Cale sighed at his messy eater of a daughter.

“Mama, ah~!” Wynter pointed her spork (somehow this existed in this world) that had a chicken bite pierced through at him. Indulging his sweet daughter, he accepted her offer of a piece of her dinner to him.

“Yum? Yum?” She tilted her head on both sides, trying to get his input on the taste of the chicken.

“Yum! Beacrox did good with the chicken, right?” Cale patted her head, “What do we say to Beacrox, hm?”

Wynter turned to Beacrox, “Ank Ou!”

The corner of Beacrox’s lips twitched, but he bowed. “You’re welcome, Young Miss.”

“Wyn-wyn!” She pouted.

“Of course, Ms. Wyn-wyn.”

More pouting.

“Cale-nim.” Choi Han called. Cale turned around and saw him carrying various fruits. Raising an impressed eyebrow, Choi Han answered his unspoken question, “They are all safe. I simply thought that Wyn-wyn would like some fruits as her dessert.”

Looking at his daughter again. Wynter was looking at the various fruits with a drool on the corner of her lips. With a laugh, he answered, “You thought correctly. Give it to Beacrox to wash up, Wyn likes her fruits.”

“Fruits!” Wynter cheered as her head followed the fruits that were about to be washed up.

“Thank you.” Cale told Choi Han.

“You’re welcome, Cale-nim!”

***

As the night went on, Cale had to make sure that Wynter’s first camping outside would be safe and fun for her. Hans had been a willing participant in this plan, especially after finding out that this is Wynter’s first camping trip.

“Aigoo.” Cale sighed as he scanned through the items his family prepared for Wynter. They went all out. It had all sorts of things they all thought Wynter would like. But it was all gold. The cot his mother had prepared is already set up, waiting to be used.

Cale had dressed Wynter into a pink, long-sleeved baby romper made of a soft, plush material. It features a ruffled trim around the neckline and cuffs, along with a gathered panel across the chest. The romper has full legs and snap closures along the inseam for easy diaper changes.

Cale took out the frankenstein teddy bear from the bag. It had been one of the surviving things from the cottage. It was the teddy bear the original Cale had made himself for Wynter. Wynter had been attached to it, so Cale would never replace that. He would just sew it himself if it got broken again and again.

Oh, the things he would do for his daughter.

As soon as he placed her down on the cot, the kittens were quick to sleep beside her; as if protecting her in any kind of danger. Cale slowly and quietly left the tent.

Cale stretched his back for a bit, then looked at his trembling hand. As he was putting Wynter to sleep, he just then remembered that the Vitality of the Heart does not heal existing illness/problems. Meaning he had to find another way to get this healed. It had been the consequences of using the shield with this weak body, but remembering the night why he used it, made him just bear with it.

A steaming cup entered his vision, he looked up and saw it was Choi Han offering him what smells to be a cup of hot choco. He accepted the warm drink as Choi Han led him to one of the tables. The warmth was easing the tremors.

“Is everything okay, Cale-nim?” Everyone was still awake.

Cale took a deep sigh, “I fear what if the people that killed Jacob and hurt Wyn came back.”

While Cale was pretty sure it was the secret organization from the novel. He just had an iffy feeling of why the cottage was attacked too. The cottage was much closer to the gates of the Rain City than the Harris Village, so why attack a small cottage that has nothing to do with the village?

Was it boredom from those bastards? Or was it something else?

Cale felt like a bucket of ice water was poured on his head as an even dreader fact crept to him. Wynter was killed in that fire in the novel. It was probably the real reason why the original Cale was black out drunk when he met the original Choi Han.

Wynter was killed and he has no one to turn to for comfort.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a gloved hand covering his trembling ones. He looked at Choi Han again. The forever seventeen man was looking at him, “It’s going to be okay, Cale-nim. We are all here to protect you and Wynter. Please rest your heart at the knowledge there are people going to protect you two now. Jacob-nim would be at rest to know you guys survived.”

Cale’s eyes glisten with tears, but it never fell. “Thank you.”

There was silence. A comfortable one.

Then.

“MEOW!”

Cale sprang up from his seat and immediately went to the tent when he heard Ohn’s noise. As he got close, he could hear Hong hissing at something. Did a snake get inside the tent?

When he opened the tent curtains, his mouth dropped. Inside the cot were his children, and a white fox. No, scratch that. It was a nine-tailed white fox. Does Kitsune exist in this world?

No, ignore that thought. Wynter is playing with the fox as Ohn and Hong were both trying to pull their sister back away from the fox.

“Wynter!” He called for his daughter.

“Mama!” She perked up, her silver eyes shining, she pointed at the fox, “Puppy!”

“No.. No. It’s not a puppy, baby.” He picked her up.

“But puppy!” She insisted. Cale looked at the fox, who was trying to look innocent at him. “I play!”

“You want to keep the puppy?”

“Ye.”

“As a playmate?”

“Ye.”

“But your unnie and oppa are already here…”

“Puppy! Wyn-wyn likes!”

“It’s dirty, right now.”

“Hans clean puppy.”

“It’s not a puppy.”

“Nyo?”

“It’s a fox.”

“Ox?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

There was a silence between mother and daughter. The kittens are still hissing at the fox.

“You still want to keep it?”

“Ye.”

A sigh.

Chapter Text

Wynter gets to keep the fox.

According to Ron, its tribe is from the north. Meaning, this fox is a beastmen. Look, he has no problem with beastmen, what problem he has is the fact that this fox is acting all chummy with his daughter.

“Pen!” Wynter is currently playing with said fox. Whom she had asked him to name. Aspen or Pen for short.

Cale sighed and looked out the window of the carriage.

‘3 days.’

Cale calculated as they entered the village.

‘The Black Dragon will cause a mana explosion in 3 days.’

They were now in a Viscount’s territory that was right next to the Henituse territory. A villa belonging to the Viscount was built in the mountain on the right side of this village a few years ago.

Naturally, while it was labeled as the Viscount’s villa on the outside, in reality, it belonged to Marquis Stan, the person responsible for making the Black Dragon go crazy. The viscount of this territory was nothing more than a dog of the Marquis.

‘And in the mountain behind the villa hides the cave with the Black Dragon.’

The Black Dragon causes a mana explosion and sends the cave and the mountain flying. Cale looked at the small peak to the right of the mountain he crossed, and clicked his tongue.

Venion of Marquis Stan’s family. Cale was thinking about the Marquis’s second son. He was a crazy psycho who crippled his own older brother to rise to the position of heir. That psycho visits the villa every so often to torture the Black Dragon for fun.

“Tsk.”

Hans flinched at Cale, clicking his tongue, and quickly brought Choi Han over and started to speak.

“Young master, I will take Choi Han-nim and quickly look for an inn. Please wait a moment.”

The carriage was stopped outside of the village entrance.

“Whatever.”

“We will be right back.”

Cale nodded his head at Hans’s statement while observing Choi Han. He had a nostalgic look in his eyes. Just why would Choi Han fight with an existence that caused a mana explosion? It was because he could not throw this small and quiet village away.

Harris Village. This village was similar to the village that taught him about both love and hate. That was why he made a move to save the lives of these village people that he did not even know. Cale started to frown as he called Choi Han over.

“Choi Han.”

“…Yes?”

“Hurry back.”

Ah. A small gasp came out of Choi Han’s mouth. This 17 year old boy who had lived for tens of years started to have an innocent smile on his face as he nodded his head.

“Yes sir. I will be right back.”

“Han!” Wynter called for him, Choi Han looked at her with the same smile, “Hurry back!”

“Yes, Wyn-wyn.”

“Hehe.” His daughter giggled.

Cale motioned as if he was annoyed, but Choi Han bowed before quickly starting to walk toward the village with Hans. Cale, who actually preferred this Choi Han and the Choi Han who has been doting on Wynter than the one who had a blank expression, continued to watch him before suddenly starting to frown.

He could see a carriage quickly heading in their direction.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

Cale felt like someone with extremely sweaty hands was handing him a poisoned apple. It was a really bitter feeling. The cause of that bitter feeling was soon to be revealed.

“Such-”

Cale could not believe it.

He could see an old man who could not manage to avoid the carriage, fall down on the road. He could also see Choi Han rushing toward the old man, as well as the carriage continuing to travel down the road like it was not going to stop.

‘Such a cliche!’

There was a flag hanging on that carriage. A red snake. It was the symbol of Marquis Stan. Cale’s eyes started to shake. It was about to happen. An incident was about to happen.

Bang!

Choi Han flung himself to rescue the old man, and the momentum forced him to smash into a building wall. Only then did the black carriage belonging to Marquis Stan finally stop.

“Han!” Wynter gasped in shock, her silver eyes widened as she saw Choi Han smashing onto a building wall.

“Sigh.”

Cale let out a sigh as he opened the carriage door. It looked like he had no choice but to head over to the site of that cliche event.

***

“Young master, are you heading over there?”

Ron approached him as soon as he stepped out of the carriage.

“Who will go if I don’t?”

“Mama?” Wynter called for his attention by tugging on his sleeve. Cale smiled softly and picked her up. He kissed her cheek and handed her over to Ron.

“Be good to Ron. Mama is going to help Choi Han, okay?”

“Otay.”

The Vice Captain started to chase after Cale, who was heading toward the incident location without any hesitation. He surrounded Cale, as if the world was going to end soon, but Cale did not care.

A man slowly walked out of the other carriage. Venion Stan.

Cale started to frown deeply as soon as he saw him. There was only one line in the file that his father Count Deruth gave him regarding Venion Stan’s personality.

[A typical and authoritative noble]

Cale, well, Kim Rok Soo, could also use the information from, ‘The Birth of a Hero,’ to evaluate Venion.

Your typical villain.

However, it was quite a headache to meet that typical villain in real life, than it was as a character in a novel. Cale could not beat someone up for doing something bad or because he didn’t like them like Choi Han could. And he just didn’t want Wynter to see violence so early in her life.

She is too young to see that.

The situation had already escalated a bit by the time Cale arrived. In those few short moments, Choi Han had already become so angry that his shoulders were shaking violently.

“How can you get in the way of a noble person like that?”

“What the hell are you saying when someone could have gotten hurt? Who was in the way? This only happened because you were driving the carriage like a maniac!”

“Peasants should move out of the way when they see a noble’s carriage. It is not my fault that this peasant was so stupid he just stood there without moving!”

Choi Han was arguing with one of Venion’s lackeys, and Hans, who had been standing next to Choi Han, had a frown on his face as he approached Cale and whispered into his ear.

“Choi Han-nim seems to be extremely agitated.”

Hans seemed to have already realized that the owner of the carriage belonged to the Marquis’s family. He also seemed to have realized that the person standing behind that lackey was none other than Venion Stan.

That narcissist probably only stepped out of the carriage because he saw the symbol of the Henituse family on Cale’s carriage.

“Enough.”

Venion, the man with beautiful blonde hair, gently spoke to his lackey. As soon as Venion’s words came out, the lackey quickly moved behind Venion, as if he had never been angry in the first place. Only Choi Han was left huffing and puffing while consoling the scared old man.

Tsk. Cale clicked his tongue.

The lackey wasn’t actually angry. He was pretty far away from Cale’s carriage, but just like Venion, he probably saw the Golden Turtle on Cale’s carriage. That was why he was exaggerating, being extremely loud while scolding Choi Han, so that it would draw Cale out to the scene. Hans knew what the lackey was doing, which led him to frown while waiting for Cale to arrive.

Yeah, he drew Cale out. But their actions might scare Wynter, these bastards.

Cale glared at Venion and the lackey before putting a hand on Choi Han’s shoulder.

“You too.”

“But-!”

Cale knew why Choi Han was angry. This place was very similar to Harris Village, his second home. He was angry at the fact that these people put someone else’s life in danger but didn’t show even an iota of remorse, or any signs of apologizing.

However, the victim in this, the old man, was unable to get angry. It was because he did not have anything to support him like Choi Han had.

“They could have used another road, but decided not to and could have hurt someone. How can I just let this be.”

“Choi Han.”

Cale put some pressure to push down on Choi Han’s shoulder.

“Calm down.”

Choi Han’s black pupils looked directly at Cale. Cale could see the angry Choi Han, no, to be specific, the Choi Han that was being held down by the memories of Harris Village, starting to calm down. Cale leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Wynter is over there watching this.”

After verifying that Choi Han was calming down, Cale turned his gaze to look at Venion Stan.

Beautiful blonde hair and a slight smile on his lips. Perfectly ironed attire without a single wrinkle. Boots without a single scuff mark. However, the thing that caught Cale’s attention was the small amount of red at the tip of Venion’s white dress shirt.

‘Some blood must have landed on him while he was enjoying watching the Black Dragon being tortured.’

A crazy bastard. This Venion Stan was someone who enjoyed his meal while watching the torturer whip the Black Dragon until it was covered with blood.

“Nice to meet you. Are you someone from Count Henituse’s household?”

“Yes. Nice to meet you, Young master Venion Stan.”

As expected, the other party knew of Cale. Venion was not someone who had an easy life in reaching the heir position. The problem was that he was quite a bit rude.

“Mm.”

Venion Stan was the type that could gently smile at you, but you still feel nothing but disgust for him.

“I have not had any reason to come to this area, and have only heard stories, but I heard there was someone in the Count’s family who was a free spirit and did not seem like a noble.”

Venion smiled as he observed Cale. It was a very annoying look, as if he was trying to start something.

“I heard that young master Basen Henituse had been taking part in all of the gatherings of the nobles since last year-.”

‘Why ask something you already know about?’

Cale was not talented in these kinds of small talk. That was why he smiled brightly and respectfully answered.

“Yes. I am indeed that trash.”

Trash. The moment that word personally came out of Cale’s mouth, Venion’s lackey flinched.

“One of the trashiest of all of the trash probably.”

‘Wynter, don’t be trash like your mama, okay?’ He could only hope. Wynter has a bright future after all.

The corner of Venion’s mouth started to twist up. His expression seemed to say that he had never seen such a crazy person before, but Cale did not care.

Marquis Stan was someone who was strong enough to lead a faction, but Venion could not do as he pleased with other nobles until he was officially proclaimed as the future successor of the Marquis title.

A Marquis would normally officially proclaim a child as their successor in order to provide protection to that child, as well as have that child start building their network at an early age. However, Marquis Stan had not done that yet.

‘There are still three other children.’

Venion had two younger sisters and one younger brother. The Marquis enjoyed watching the competition between the siblings. Venion enjoyed watching the Black Dragon being tortured in order to destress from the competition with his siblings. The Marquis considered the competition between his children to be like an exciting sport. Naturally, the crippled eldest son was the result of this competition.

It was a completely crazy household.

‘Our Henituse family is an extremely great family in comparison.’ He thought to himself. ‘Wynter won’t have their type of crazy.’

“You’re a very interesting person.”

Venion just casually responded to Cale’s statement.

The wealthy Count, who resided in the outskirts of the northeast without being a part of any faction. Who would try to develop a relationship with that family? If anything, people would just be greedy to take that land as their own.

However, Venion didn’t like Cale as a person. The trash eldest son and a pretty smart younger son. Knowing about Cale and Basen’s relationship made Venion think of his own older brother when looking at Cale.

However, Venion kept up the act of a proper noble, and handed the reins of this incident to Cale.

“An unexpected obstacle has made me waste time, but I guess it was a pretty good thing since I got to make your acquaintance, young master Cale.”

An unexpected obstacle. Venion was referring to the old man. He was disappointed at the fact that his time was wasted because of this old man, and wanted to finish this on a happy note.

“But it looks like you need to teach your subordinate to clearly distinguish between the people who have the right to travel across this road and this earth, as well as the people who have the right to make them stop.”

As a well-known Marquis’s unofficial successor, this was the most he could do to the trash of a Count’s family. His tone was saying that, although they were both young masters, their statuses were completely different.

Of course, Cale was quietly listening, but he wasn’t the type to pay attention to a dog’s yapping. Glancing at where his daughter is, he smiled on the inside when he saw that Ron had successfully distracted her with fruits that Choi Han caught last night.

Venion finished what he had to say and looked toward the most uncomfortable looking person in the group.

Plop. The old man kneeled on the ground once Venion looked in his direction and bowed his head.

“M, my apologies.”

The hands of the old man, who was bowing so low that his head could touch the ground, were shaking. Choi Han’s hands were shaking as he watched the old man apologize.

Each territory’s residents would be shaped by the personality of the reigning noble. With the Viscount of this territory being one of Marquis Stan’s dogs, they were also very authoritative and looked down on the commoners.

The corners of Venion’s lips started to go up. He was satisfied. After observing Venion, Cale called out to him.

“Young master Venion.”

Once Venion turned his head, Cale asked him a question.

“Are you done?”

“…I am.”

Cale crouched down. His expensive clothes started to touch the ground. He then looked toward the shaking hands of the old man.

‘It’ll be dangerous if this continues.’

Cale was certain that he heard it.

“Huuuuuuuu~.”

The sound of Choi Han taking a deep breath. That had to be the sound of him holding back his anger. The moment Cale heard it, he could feel chills on the back of his neck, and felt that if this continued any longer, the one to get beaten to a pulp would not be himself, but Venion. It didn’t matter to him whether or not Venion was beaten to a pulp, but Choi Han could not punch a noble while he was associated with him. Especially not where Wynter is near and could hear and see it. That last incident was enough, he would not let his daughter see such a thing.

Cale put a hand on the old man’s shoulder. Venion’s eyebrow started to twitch. A noble’s hand was on a commoner’s shoulder.

“Old man.”

The old man seemed to be extremely shocked as he lifted his head to look at Cale.

“Y, yes?”

Cale casually asked.

“Where’s the bar?”

“Excuse me?”

“Where can I get some delicious alcohol? As you’ve heard, I am trash. I don’t feel refreshed in the morning if I don’t have something to drink. I need to drink to make sure tomorrow is another great day. So.”

Cale lifted the old man’s upper body up. Venion, who had been watching Cale, quietly judged Cale and shook his head after hearing Cale mention alcohol.

“Lead the way.”

Making eye contact with the shaking pupils of the old man, Cale started to frown as he continued.

“Are you not going to get up?”

The old man hesitated and looked back and forth between Venion and Cale. Cale just ignored him as he got back up and reached out the hand that had been on a commoner’s shoulder toward Venion.

“It was nice meeting you today, Young master Venion.”

Cale was asking for a handshake.

Venion quietly stood there and looked at Cale. At that moment, one of Venion’s servants urgently approached them and whispered quietly to Venion. However, it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Young master, we have been delayed enough already.”

“…Do not interrupt a conversation between nobles.”

Venion looked down at his servant without a smile on his face, and the servant quickly bowed. Venion smiled once again as he grabbed Cale’s hand.

“I will just be on my way then, as I am very busy.”

He then let go. It was a very short handshake. Cale started to smile like a drunk person, as he responded back.

“If we happen to meet in the capital, let’s have a drink together.”

“…I do not think we would appreciate the same thing, but sure.”

Venion’s smile was lukewarm. Cale decided to do something big to finish this conversation.

“Yes. Based on our interaction today, it truly looks like only young master Venion deserves to be the future patriarch of the Stan family. You are a very cool person.”

Patriarch. That word made Venion’s eyes get cloudy. As Cale expected, Venion started to smile brightly once again, and offered praises for Cale as well.

“Young master Cale is also a very interesting and free-spirited person. Let us meet again in the future.”

‘No. I have no desire to see you ever again. Even if I do, it will be from far, far away.’

Cale hid his true feelings and nodded his head. Venion quickly got back on his carriage, as if he was truly busy, and disappeared.

Cale watched the carriage disappear before patting Choi Han’s shoulder.

“Half of the nobles are like that.”

Choi Han’s shoulders flinched at Cale’s words, but Cale was already crouching in front of the old man again.

“Old man. You can’t get up? Did you hurt your leg?”

Pat pat.

Cale inspected the old man’s body as he said that. He did not seem to be injured. Cale started to observe the man with a confused expression. He then called Choi Han over.

“Choi Han.”

Instead of responding, Choi Han just looked at the back of the crouching Cale.

“You take this old man home.”

“N, no, I am okay. That bar you were talking about.”

“No need. I can’t drink.”

Cale stopped the old man from trying to lead him to a bar, and looked toward Choi Han, who was standing next to him.

“Since you saved him, might as well do it all the way and take him safely back home.”

Choi Han’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but he could not say anything. At that moment, the old man’s voice filled Cale’s ears.

“My place sells alcohol.”

“Hmm? Old man, your place was a bar?”

Cale’s eyes showed that he was really surprised. The old man awkwardly smiled, but continued to speak in a slightly more relaxed expression.

“Yes, sir. It is this village’s only inn. It has a bar and a restaurant as well.”

“Since it is the only inn, that must be the best place. Hans!”

Even without Cale saying anything else, Hans quickly approached the old man and helped him up, before starting to ask about the inn. Once the two of them started to move, things started to get rowdy around them.

Ron quickly approached Cale with Wynter in his arms and brushed the dirt off Cale’s clothes. The Vice Captain and the rest of the group headed toward the village entrance. The only people left there were Cale and Choi Han.

“…Cale-nim.” Choi Han called as Cale took Wynter from Ron’s arms, his early irritation disappearing just as her babbling entered his ears. She was babbling about the new play she and her siblings are doing with Aspen.

“What?”

“Are you not angry?”

“About what?”

Choi Han hesitated for a moment, and could not continue speaking. Cale shrugged his shoulders as he started to speak.

“The fact that he looked down on me? Or how he made such an unbelievable statement to you? How he almost killed that old man and, instead of apologizing, said that he was an obstacle?”

Cale’s voice was calm and firm. He did not seem angry at all. In fact, it sounded indifferent. Cale continued to speak.

“Do you have to keep moving when you see someone in front of you? Why didn’t you try to avoid him? Don’t you see that you could have hurt the old man? How can you casually say that a person was an obstacle when you almost killed him?”

Choi Han paid attention to Cale, who was looking at a faraway mountain range. At the same time, he made sure to listen to Cale’s every word. Cale continued to speak firmly.

“Venion, why is the old man apologizing to you? You should properly apologize to him.”

Cale could speak like Choi Han, and there were times he wanted to do that. But

“I am not someone who can speak like that. Nor do I want to. I’m also not that angry.”

But this was not the time. Cale knew that this was one of the things that made Choi Han look cool, but he did not want to look cool like that.

The old man wasn’t injured, and he didn’t do anything that would get the blade pointed toward his family. The fact that he himself looked bad would be beneficial to Basen and Wynter didn’t have to see his trashy self, so it was good anyways. 

“I’ve learned in life that it is best to act like this.”

Compromise against power to a reasonable degree, accept irrationality to a reasonable degree. At the same time, live as I please within limits.

Cale smiled at Choi Han who was looking at him with a complicated gaze.

“Also.”

Cale was someone who always returned the favor, no matter how long it took. If someone looks down on him or does something to him, he will always get his revenge.

“That bastard will probably soon be kicked out of his house.”

“…Huh?”

Choi Han could tell that the bastard Cale was referring to was Venion. That was why Choi Han showed a rare shocked expression on his face, as he looked toward Cale.

Cale had a mischievous smile on his face. The two kittens, who were approaching him silently, halted their movement.

Cale’s smile grew larger as he continued to look toward the mountain to the right of the village. He thought to himself the thing he could not tell Choi Han.

‘I plan on snatching that bastard’s dragon.’

Once the dragon is gone, Venion will have to face the wrath of the Marquis, and would have a new obstacle in his way of becoming the family patriarch. Shouldn’t someone who doesn’t know when to stop on the road face at least one obstacle?

Cale was willing to put a large obstacle in Venion’s way. Of course, it would be done in secret. He casually spoke to Choi Han, who was looking at him with curiosity.

“If you’re curious, you can help me out.”

“Whatever it is, I definitely want to help.”

Choi Han started to smile as well. It was a pretty evil smile for such a good-natured person, but the kittens were intrigued by that smile as well.

Cale looked toward the mountain that was supposed to blow up in three days' time, and started to mumble. The fact that he was looked down upon by Venion, as well as the blood on Venion’s sleeves and the sight of the old man bowing to Venion were all still on Cale’s mind.

“You won’t regret it.”

He will be able to pay him back for it.

“You definitely won’t regret it.”

Chapter Text

“Young master, this is the best room we have.”

“Seems acceptable.”

The old man led Cale’s group to his inn. The exterior of the inn looked as rustic as the village, but it had everything you would need, probably because the merchants visiting the Henituse territory stayed at this inn on their travels. The old man had been in shock when their group reached him and Hans, and he saw Wynter. Guess it finally dawned on him why he can’t drink.

“This is the first time we have had a noble staying with us. Please look favorably upon us, even if it is lacking quite a bit, and just consider it as a place where lesser beings live.”

Cale stared at the old man. He seemed more comfortable than when talking to Venion Stan, but he still seemed scared at the fact that a noble would be staying at his inn.

It was fine for him to have a little bit of anxiety, but too much was uncomfortable for Cale as well.

‘It’s no good like this.’

Cale patted the old man’s shoulder and tried to calm him down.

“Old man. Relax. I don’t like people who put themselves down like that. This is the place that people who come and go from our territory stay to rest. There is no way such a place will be lacking.”

The old man’s pupils started to shake. He wet his upper lip with his tongue, before finally starting to speak after a bit of hesitation.

“Young master, are there a lot of good people like you in the Henituse territory?”

“What are you talking about?” Yes. He had been trying to keep cursing at a minimum around Wynter, she is in fact a fast learner. She had once copied “shit” from his father, which got him a stern talking with his mother.

“Excuse me?”

“I am the biggest trash in our territory. Almost anybody you find will have a better personality than me.”

“Ah.”

The old man let out a gasp. On and Hong, who had taken control of the couch in the room, were meowing and shaking their heads, but nobody seemed to notice.

“You can go do what you have to do.”

The old man bowed deeply at Cale’s dismissal and left the room. Cale found it annoying that the old man still seemed to be stiff, but decided not to care.

Knock knock knock.

Someone else was knocking on the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and deputy butler Hans brought a small box inside.

“Young master, you asked only for this box, right?”

“Yes. Hand it over.”

Deputy butler Hans showed curiosity as he handed the box to Cale. It was the only luggage Cale personally brought with him. He would just assume there was alcohol or snacks inside if it was a normal box, but this box was not normal.

It was the highest quality magic box with a magic lock on it. The seal on the magic box was the logo of the Flynn Merchant Guild, one of the three large merchant guilds, and one that had an intimate relationship with the Henituse family.

Cale casually commented while looking at Hans.

“Isn’t a butler not supposed to show their emotion on their face? Especially curiosity?”

“One of the proper etiquettes of a butler is to show all of their emotions to their master.”

“Funny man.”

“I guess I am a bit funny.”

For someone who didn’t want to go to the capital other than for the kittens, Hans was a bit impudent, but Cale still thought he was much more personable than the other butler candidates. Seeing Hands starting to get used to him, Cale just responded like normal.

“Get out.”

“Yes, sir.”

And Hans left immediately, as usual. However, he had a question about their travels before closing the door.

“Will we be staying here for three days?”

“Yes. Take care of everything.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hans responded as he closed the door. Other than the Vice Captain taking charge of the envoy’s safety, Hans was responsible for everything else. However, he did not show any struggles in doing so, and efficiently took care of everything.

“He seems like a good butler.”

The silver kitten, Ohn, said that as she approached Cale. Cale nodded his head. Then, the red kitten, Hong, followed behind.

“It doesn’t seem that hard for him either.”

Cale agreed with that statement as well. Ron was one thing, but other than Ron, Hans was the one who had the least difficulty dealing with Cale. He was scared of Cale, but did not find him to be difficult.

‘He’s a pretty decent butler.’

Cale brushed aside the kittens coming toward him and opened the box. The method of opening a box with a magic lock was simple. Cale’s fingerprint. That was the only key that could open this particular box. Cale put his index finger on the center of the magic seal.

Beep. Click.

The box made a small noise before opening.

Inside the box were the items Cale had prepared during the four days prior to leaving for the capital.

“I’m really curious about what this is.”

“Really curious.”

Cale ignored the two pairs of golden pupils looking at him, and just vaguely answered.

“Things that will help rescue a poor soul, screw over some douchebags, and prevent me from getting hurt.”

Ohn and Hong looked up at him with curiosity, but Cale just caressed the items inside the box with satisfaction. He recalled the conversation he had with Billos, the Flynn Merchant Guild’s bastard, before he left.

‘Young master, just where do you plan on using these things?’

‘I don’t see why I have to explain that to you.’

‘…I see. But it is going to cost quite a bit to purchase all of these items.’

‘…Is it possible to rent them?’

‘For you, of course, it is possible.’

The majority of the items inside the box were magic tools. Cale had expected them to be expensive, but it really was too much. Cale had to use up all of the allowances he had earned from his father. He also had to return it all to Billos once he got to the capital.

‘Annoying. I didn’t want to get involved with him in the capital, but I had no other choice.’

‘Two of the items are not able to be rented out to outsiders. I rented them in my name, for you. So you must return these to me at the capital. In person.’

‘Sure.’

Cale grabbed one of the items in the box. It was a round, black orb with a lot of symbols engraved on it. The red kitten Hong put his paws on Cale’s knee to ask.

“Really curious about this.”

“A Mana Disturbance Tool. It is worth almost a billion galleon.”

Gasp. Both Ohn and Hong let out a gasp.

“It cost 20 million galleons just to rent it.”

Hong slowly lowered the paws that were on Cale’s knee, before going toward the corner of the bed with his sister, On. They were trying to keep as much distance as possible from the black orb.

Cale recalled the information about the orb. Billos had found exactly the item Cale was looking for.

‘It causes a disturbance in the flow of mana within a certain range, making all magic tools stop working. It is also sturdy enough that, even if something like a mountain blowing up happens, it will not break.’

‘Something like a surveillance tool will break right away then?’

‘Of course. However, you do need to install this 27 hours in advance. It is created to slowly infuse a force that will disrupt the mana flow so that it will not be noticed by mages.’

‘How long will it last?’

‘40 minutes. Isn’t it great? Of course, if there are mages nearby, they will be able to resolve the issue within 5 – 10 minutes.’

‘I will keep that in mind.’

The corner of Cale’s lips started to go up. It was the most expensive item he rented from Billos, but he will have many uses for it on this trip.

‘I really like how durable it is.’

The Flynn Merchant Guild was a very useful place. Cale smiled with satisfaction, before throwing this black orb, which was smaller than the size of a toddler’s fist, toward the kittens crouching in the corner.

“Huk!”

Meeeow!

One of them gasped, while the other meowed and avoided the black orb, but in the end, they had to sit quietly in front of Cale with the black orb in front of their eyes.

“You know how to read a map right?”

Ohn tapped her tail on the ground in response.

“Of course. We were potential successors to the Fog Cat Tribe at one point.”
“Right. My sister is right.”

Cale took out another important item, a map, from the box. It wasn’t very detailed, just having the general landmarks around the Henituse territory. Most of the merchants going to and from the Henituse territory used this map.

“We are in this village right now.”

Cale pointed to the mountain to the right of the village.

“You see this mountain?”

“I see it.”

“Very easy to see.”

This was what Billos had said.

‘Ah. The range is similar to the durability.’

One mountain.

“If you go toward this mountain, you will see a villa in the distance. Behind that is a cave.”

There were no mages around the Black Dragon right now. The people of the Magic Tower respected Dragons as the greatest magic race, and did not wish for humans to torture and domesticate a dragon. They considered it to be a big disgrace to magic.

The people around the cave and the villa were knights and soldiers that the Marquis trusted, as well as the people who did the dirty work for them.

“Don’t go near there at all. You cannot get caught.”

Cale had heard about these two children’s situation. That was why he was confident they could do this, but he still wanted to give them a warning. It would be bad if their curiosity led them to go around the cave.

“There is something being tortured in there. We’re going to rescue him, so you have to be careful.”

“Something?”

“Yes. It is even younger than you, Hong.”

“…Even younger than me?”

“Yes. 4 years old.”

Of course, that 4 year old was strong enough to send On or Hong flying once the mana restriction chains were removed.

“We’re going to save him?”

Ohn and Hong’s eyes lit up as they pressed down on the bed with their paws.

“Save? Sure. Just stay in your cat form and go bury this orb in the mountain without getting caught.”

There should be close to no chance of getting caught in their cat forms. Cale put the black orb in a small pouch, before putting it over Ohn’s neck like a necklace.

“Where should we bury it?”

“Anywhere on the mountain.”

“Really, anywhere?”

“Yes.”

The siblings looked at each other before nodding their heads.

“Easy.”

“We even managed to get past our Cat Tribe’s elders to escape.”

Cale agreed with them.

“It should be easy for the two of you. You two have enough skill for it. I wouldn’t ask someone useless to do something like this in the first place.”

The two kittens looked up at Cale with their golden pupils again. This pair of siblings, who were almost killed by their own tribe for not having abilities, even though they never got a chance to learn, were starting to get emotional. Their tails were wagging, and they crunched their noses to hold back their tears.

Cale understood what these two were thinking and sternly continued.

“I will give you as much beef as you want once you successfully return.”

The two siblings immediately jumped through the window and stealthily headed into the mountain.

Naturally, the siblings did as Cale expected and earned their reward. They were able to have a 10-tier beef steak to themselves. 

***

“Wyn-wyn, look at mama, darling.” Cale called for his daughter who was distracted by Aspen. He had dressed her up today, she is wearing a light blue dress featuring short sleeves and a flared skirt. It is adorned with white lace trim at the collar, cuffs, hem, and along the front panels, creating a layered effect. The dress also has a pattern of small white dots or embellishments and is accented with light blue bows, including a larger bow at the neckline and smaller bows on the sleeves and skirt. Underneath the dress is a white garment with lace trim at the hem, resembling a ruffled skirt or petticoat. She is also wearing a pair of light blue shoes with straps.

Cale took several pictures when she was waddling around their room after he dressed her. His family requested pictures of Wynter in her dresses.

She finally turned to him. She balanced herself as she stood up to run as fast as she could towards him with Aspen following her, “Mama! Look! Wyn-wyn pwetty!”

Cale carried her, and peppered her face with kisses, “That’s right. My Wyn-wyn is so pretty!”

She was laughing and squealing in delight as she tried to push his face away from him, “Mama! I show Han and Won!”

Cale laughed, “Alright, baby, let’s show our pretty Wyn-wyn to Choi Han and Ron.”

“Yay!”

As Cale and Wynter went down the stairs, all attention was on the mother and child. Their heart warms at the sight of the happy duo. Especially those that knew Cale longer, it was a sight to see. To see the infamous Cale Henituse look so happy and content, his eyes filled with love and affection as he looks at his daughter.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Wynter was quick to run where Ron was, as he was in her line of vision first. She tugged on his pants, Ron crouched down, “Won, look!” She was twirling side by side. “I pwetty!”

“Oh my.” Ron was quick to compliment her, “Did your mama dress you up?”

“Ye!”

“Oh dear, our young miss is going to be even more pretty when she is big.”

“Hehe.” Then she finally found Choi Han. She was quick to leave Ron to go to the swordmaster. Cale was beside Ron as he was watching her.

“Han! Han! Look! Wyn-wyn pwetty!” She was showing off her light blue dress.

“Oh wow! It’s blue too!” Choi Han picked her up.

“Ue!” Wynter flails her arms around in happiness, “Wyn-wyn wikes ue!”

Cale was watching her in undisguised love and happiness. The redhead may not have noticed, but Ron did. And the old man is happy because his charge is happy.

***

The next day, Cale drank the lemonade that he had now gotten used to drinking, and asked Choi Han.

“Have you ever seen a dragon?”

Chapter Text

“…A dragon?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve seen something similar once.”

‘Similar, my ass.’

Cale knew what Choi Han was talking about when he said something similar.

Forest of Darkness. He was talking about the vicious monsters deep inside the Forest of Darkness. Among those terrifying monsters were creatures that were somewhere between lizards and dragons.

Choi Han had killed that dragon-like monster as soon as he advanced from the middle stage to the final stage of his Dark Destruction Sword Art.

“You did? How was it?”

Cale pretended to not know about the event, and asked Choi Han. Choi Han was the only other person in Cale’s room right now.

“…It was a monster.”

“How so?”

“Its appearance, its strength, everything. It was a monster in all aspects.”

“Is that so?”

Cale nodded his head and continued to speak. But his actions and his words were completely opposite.

“Then you have not seen a dragon.”

“Excuse me?”

“Dragons are like people.”

Clack. Cale put the cup with the lemonade that was both sweet and sour down on the table. He then responded to Choi Han, who was looking at him with curiosity.

“Dragons, Beast people, Dwarves, Elves, they are all like humans. Why? Because they also have emotions and lives.”

That aspect wasn’t important to Cale. His main point started from here.

“However.”

Choi Han might have noticed Cale’s sudden change in demeanor. He sat up straight and focused on what Cale had to say.

“Such an existence has fallen into darkness since it was born. The only thing currently lighting up the darkness in its life is torches, and it has never even seen the light of the sun. What kind of life do you think it is having?”

Tap.

Cale tapped the table with his index finger.

“It is being forced to become an existence without rationality.”

Tap.

He tapped on the table once again.

“It has had to suffer through its loneliness, without any family or anything to lean on.”

Tap.

Choi Han’s gaze fell every time Cale’s finger tapped the table. Choi Han’s fists were clenched underneath the table, to the point you could see his veins starting to flare up. Cale did not know about this, as he continued on.

“It is tortured and abused every day, and is only left alone when it is barely alive.”

Choi Han’s expression stiffened, and anger was in his eyes. Cale knew Choi Han would react this way. There was no way a good person like this would not get angry after hearing such a story. He should also have figured out why Cale brought up such a story in the first place.

Cale took another sip of his lemonade, before finishing up his story.

“And that existence is nearby.”

A short silence filled the room. Cale looked out the window, before slowly turning his gaze to look at Choi Han. He didn’t know what Choi Han was thinking about, but his whole body was surrounded by a bloody aura.

‘Is he getting angry at the fact that it is being abused because he is a good person?’

Contrary to Cale’s hypothesis, Choi Han was currently recalling the tens of years he had to survive on his own in the Forest of Darkness.

That was why the silence continued for a while. Finally, Choi Han made eye contact with Cale and asked.

“Will you save it and try to tame it?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Excuse me?”

Cale acted on reflex, and asked back in shock. Choi Han also became shocked at Cale’s questioning his sanity.

“Why would I try to tame it?”

Cale waved his hand around like Choi Han was crazy.

There was no way that a dragon that was abused by humans would be willing to serve a human. In fact, it probably was full of hate and disgust for any and all humans. Even if that human was the person that saved it.

Dragons believe that they are above all creatures, including humans. This is a natural instinct for dragons, so, even without being in contact with any other Dragon in its whole life, it will still feel this way.

That was why dragons cannot grow under humans. This attitude makes it impossible to domesticate and train Dragons without using torture and abuse to break down its mind.

‘Dragons are born extremely arrogant. But, most importantly, if I raise a dragon…’

Cale could feel it. He felt like he would get wrapped up in some annoying incidents if he raised a dragon.

There were less than twenty total dragons in the Eastern and Western continents combined. Raise one of those dragons? That was pretty much the same as saying, ‘I will be at the center of all the happenings of the continents.’

It was also a dragon that was supposed to die. It would be better for it to go off into its own little world and not get in anyone’s way.

Cale was definitely against this dragon coming with them. As long as he gets rid of the mana restriction chains, this four year old dragon will live a much better life than Cale. Dragons weren’t called the kings of the world since birth for no reason.

“Then?”

“Why are you asking such an obvious question?”

Cale laughed at Choi Han’s question before he answered.

“Let it go so it can live a free and peaceful life. Shouldn’t a dragon live like a dragon?”

“…I see.”

Choi Han’s clenched fists slowly started to relax.

“Then will we be saving that dragon?”

“Yes. So I need your help.”

“Anything. I really will do anything to help.”

Cale was worried that Choi Han would escalate the situation, and shook his head.

“No need to go overboard. I have no plans to kill anybody, if possible, either. We will do it as quietly as possible.”

“Cale-nim, you really-”

Choi Han started to speak with admiration, but Cale looked at the clock, before cutting him off and saying what he needed to say.

“Go tell Ron to prepare some alcohol on the first floor.”

“Are diff- what?”

Cale had ordered the knights to drink as a reward for their hard work. Cale has no plan of drinking because of Wynter, he would not show that kind of behavior towards his daughter. He does not want her to copy his bad behavior after all. So while everyone is drinking and partying, he would be playing and walking around outside with Wynter and the kids.

“We are just going to play outside, all of you continue drinking.” He told them as he carried Wynter out of the inn. As soon as they got out, there was a beautiful butterfly following them. Wynter is very fascinated with the butterfly.

“Mama! Look! Bufly!” He almost laughed at how she butchered the word “butterfly”.

“Yes, it’s a pretty butterfly.”

Cale set her down so the children could play. Yeah, it was better to tire her out so he would have time to rescue the dragon tonight.

“Hey!” He called for all the children, they all ran towards him, with Ohn helping Wynter so she would not trip. “Shall we go to the village and look around?”

***

“I’m going to be resting. Hans, Ron, don’t come in to wake me up unless it is an emergency, alright?”

The knights had been drinking since the middle of the day with Cale and children touring around the small village, which resulted with a large purchase of fruits, because Wynter and Aspen liked them.

“Of course I do, young master. Please rest well.”

“Young master, this Ron will be standing right outside your room.”

Cale’s expression stiffened at Ron’s response, but he watched the two of them leave, before stealthily giving an order to Choi Han.

“Use the windows to quietly come back to my room.”

Choi Han nodded his head and quickly followed the other two out of the room and closed the door. Cale safely and securely put the tired and sleeping Wynter in her cot, she was out for the night, which is a blessing for this mission.

Meeeeeow.

“Is it time now?”

Cale nodded his head at On and Hong, who followed him up to his room, and immediately opened the box.

Click.

The magic lock clicked open, and Cale removed an outfit from inside the box. Once he finished changing, Choi Han entered through the window, and then his eyes opened wide in shock.

“Cale-nim?”

Before putting on the mask, Cale threw the black outfit in his hand toward Choi Han.

“You wear it too.”

The orb from yesterday should temporarily stop the magic recording devices, but that was not enough. Cale did not want to get caught. That was why he had been drinking since the middle of the day and prepared these outfits.

“What is this?”

The black outfit had a single white star and five smaller red stars surrounding it on the chest area.

‘What is it? The outfit of the secret organization.’

‘The Birth of a Hero’ novel clearly and accurately explained the outfit of the secret organization that Choi Han runs into time after time. This outfit was specially ordered by Cale following the explanation as accurately as possible. Just to be on the safe side, Cale even had the outfit created separately, and personally added the stars.

That was why it was a bit crude up close, but it was pretty decent from a distance.

People who see this outfit will not remember the crudeness of the stitching, they will just remember that it was, ‘A black outfit with one white star and five red stars.’ For Venion, who has not personally met the secret organization like the Marquis did, the report from the subordinates who saw this outfit will definitely give him a significant headache and anger.

“…Are we doing something bad?”

Choi Han asked once more after seeing Cale not respond. Seeing Cale with the black mask on as well definitely made him seem like a villain.

“Yes. We are doing something bad.”

Cale started to smile underneath the mask.

“We’re doing something bad to Venion.”

“Ah.”

Choi Han seemed to finally understand, as he quickly pointed to the other mask in Cale’s hand.

“Please give it to me.”

Even good people will have someone they don’t like and want to screw over. That was no different for this 17 year old, who spent tens of years alone in this world.

“Ah, and these kids are from the Cat Tribe. They are beast people.”

Cale casually introduced Ohn and Hong to Choi Han as if it was nothing, and they just simply exchanged greetings as well. The Cat Tribe children, who were sensitive to a person’s true character, already had a good idea about Choi Han’s strength, and Choi Han had noticed they were not your average cats during their travel.

“He’s Choi Han, this is Ohn, that is Hong. End of introductions. Everybody get ready.”

There was a short time to get ready before Cale ordered Choi Han, who had just come out of the restroom wearing the same black outfit and black mask.

“Let’s go.”

He then added on, as he stood in front of the second story window.

“Carry me when you go out the window. I can’t jump so far down without getting hurt.”

Choi Han let out a sigh for the first time in front of Cale. On and Hong approached Choi Han and patted him with their paws to console him. Cale urged them on once again.

“Let’s hurry.”

The group that safely exited the inn headed for the mountain with the Viscount’s Villa and the Dragon’s prison.

***

The location that the kittens, Ohn and Hong, buried the black orb was out of Cale’s expectations.

The Viscount’s villa was 30 meters away from the dragon’s cave. On and Hong had buried the black orb 50 meters away from that cave, in an area filled with trees and shrubs, making it very difficult for the orb to be located.

“You two are kind of amazing.”

“Something like this is a piece of cake.”

Ohn was saying it was easy, but Cale could see Ohn’s nose twitching in joy.

Cale, Choi Han, On, and Hong crouched around the location that the black orb, officially known as the Mana Disturbance Tool, was located, and looked toward the cave entrance that was 50 meters away, as well as the Viscount’s villa that was farther away.

“You remember the plan?”

Cale had explained the plan on their way over. Realistically speaking, there wasn’t much of a plan.

“There are a total of 6 people on guard at this time.”

Cale recalled the information he read in, ‘The Birth of a Hero.’ The Black Dragon was smart, like most dragons. It had been gathering information for the four long years it was held captive, and there was a reason it attempted its escape two days later at around this time.

There were, approximately, a total of 30 people residing in the villa. Originally, there were close to 100 people, but it slowly went down as they realized during the last four years that nobody really came to this area.

Of course, among the 30 people, there were 3 high-leveled knights at the Vice Captain’s level, as well as 7 mid-leveled knights. There were also soldiers, the torturer, and random laborers. The number of people here showed just how much attention the Marquis has been putting onto this location.

However, Cale had Choi Han. Choi Han was someone who could take down the strongest knight in the Roan Kingdom in 10 moves. Someone like that was on their side.

“Let me explain one more time. There is one high-leveled knight and two mid-leveled knights at the cave entrance, as well as two soldiers. Inside the cave, there is just one high-leveled knight, and the torturer is at the end of the cave.”

Choi Han flinched after hearing the word torturer, but Cale did not care. Cale did not care to know about the things that were going through Choi Han’s mind right now. The important thing was that the black orb would activate soon, and that they needed to move quickly in response.

“The magic recording devices located from the villa to the cave entrance will not work for 40 minutes thanks to the black orb that Ohn and Hong buried. That is the same for the alarms, magic traps, and anything else. Nothing will work for 40 minutes.”

They needed to domesticate this dragon, the greatest magic using creature in the world, but they could not ask any images for help. That was why Marquis Stan chose to fill this area with magic items instead. The reason that there were only a few guards around the entrance was also because they trusted their magic items.

That was why the dragon had no choice but to cause a mana explosion to escape.

‘An eye for an eye, and money for money.’

Since the Marquis used money, Cale used money as well. Cale patted the magic bag on his waist. This was a magic bag that allowed you to store a lot of items. Inside this bag were all sorts of magic items, useful tools, and objects.

“I just need to take out the guards?”

Naturally, Choi Han would be doing the battling. Why would Cale even try to fight when such a strong person was next to him? Cale thought paper-cuts hurt a lot, so he didn’t want to even think about getting cut by a sword.

“Yes. You are the only one I can rely on to cover my back.”

‘At least for now.’

Cale looked at Choi Han with a serious expression, and Choi Han nodded his head and sincerely responded back.

“I will definitely live up to your expectations.”

“Yes. As I mentioned, make sure they see our outfit and then knock them out. Don’t kill them, and don’t show them your sword art. You remember what to do after that, right?”

Choi Han’s unique transparent black aura should be easily camouflaged by the darkness, if he uses it carefully. Cale believed Choi Han should understand, since he had already told him many times.

“Yes, I remember it all.”

“Good, I’ll leave it to you.”

Cale patted Choi Han’s shoulders, before handing him the voice changing device. It would be bad if he had to talk during the fight and they recognized his voice.

“It’s expensive, so don’t break it.”

“Got it. You do not need to worry about it.”

Cale then looked toward the kittens. Cale responded to their wagging tails, that seemed to be asking for something.

“I will give you meat once it is over.”

That did not seem to be the right answer, as they snorted and turned away. Cale didn’t think much about it, instead verifying the time with his watch.

‘Five minutes left.’

The sky had already gotten dark, and it was night time.

He needs to finish this quickly so he could get Wynter out of the cot and sleep beside her. Ah, it’s only been a few minutes but he already wants to be beside his daughter.

Cale then recalled the conversation he had with Billos.

‘The magic items that have been influenced by the Mana Disturbance Tool will instantly stop working, and most of them will turn off to prevent it from blowing up. However, the highest quality magic items will start beeping to signal that they are broken. It isn’t like alarm magic, instead, it is more like a clock alarm.’

‘It will probably be loud?’

‘I don’t know where you plan on using it, but it should be loud enough for the enemy to hear.’

Billos started to smirk and continued on.

‘However, if there are a lot of magic items in the area, it will probably get chaotic with all of the alarms going off at the same time.’

Chaotic was enough for Cale.

“Get ready.”

The kittens also covered themselves with charcoal to cover the color of their furs. They then left Cale’s side and disappeared into the darkness, such that Cale could no longer see them. The two of them would not be showing themselves in front of the enemies today.

However, Cale knew that they would follow the plan and be around him.

Choi Han folded up the handkerchief he was using to clean his blade, and put it in his pocket.

Once all of the preparations were finished, Cale stood up.

Brrrrrrrrrrrring.

Something started to vibrate right underneath where Cale had been sitting. The black orb had started to activate.

Click. Click.

The seconds hand of Cale’s watch slowly approached the set time.

And finally, the last click.

“Let’s go.”

At Cale’s order, Choi Han followed the plan and ran ahead quickly, while On started to create fog in the area. Cale was at the center of the fog, making it difficult to see him. At the same time,

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring-

The black orb finally activated.

“I guess they aren’t all the highest quality magic items.”

Some of the magic items started to ring loudly to sound their status. Cale followed behind Choi Han with the fog surrounding him, and headed toward the cave.

Starting now, it was a battle against time.

Choi Han was already fighting against the knights in front of the cave.

‘Scary bastard.’

In that short amount of time, the soldiers already had injuries on their arms and legs, and were knocked out on the floor.

“Who are you? How dare you come to this place!”

Choi Han easily dodged the attack of the high-leveled knight. He then took a step forward and made a deep cut on the side of the knight. He then avoided the blood spurting out of the cut, and used his elbow to attack the knight’s back, followed by the back of the knight’s neck. The knight faint instantly.

“Shit! What the hell is going on?!”

The high-leveled knight inside the cave soon showed up as well.

“Poison.”

Cale spoke through the voice changing device. The fog surrounding him started to expand, and Hong started to stealthily move around and spread the poison to paralyze the enemy. The fainted individuals would not be able to move for a while, even if they did wake up.

Cale then made eye contact with the high-leveled knight and said one word.

“Cover.”

Choi Han instantly stood in front of Cale and darted toward the cave entrance. Cale followed behind him.

“Block them!”

At the high-leveled knight’s shout, two mid-leveled knights immediately charged toward Choi Han. Their swords started to glow, showing that the knights had inputted their aura into their swords. However, those two swords were instantly cut down.

Clang. Clang. The upper half of both swords fell down to the ground.

“W, what the? Is he a swordmaster?”

Both shock and despair was in the voice of the high-leveled knight. The only thing that could cut through an aura-filled sword was a swordmaster’s aura blade. After instantly cutting through the enemy weapons using his aura, which was camouflaged in the darkness, Choi Han used his sword and scabbard to attack a mid-leveled knight’s neck and stomach at the same time.

“Ugh!”

“Guuh!”

‘…He just needs one hit per person.’

Cale could not hide his amazement as he crouched behind Choi Han and continued to move.

‘Should I hire this guy to be Wynter’s bodyguard?’

At that moment, they could hear some ruckus from far behind them.

“Intruders!”

It was coming from the villa. Cale turned his gaze back forward.

The mid-leveled knights staggered before falling down. Cale made eye contact with them. They had been poisoned by Hong’s paralysis poison.

“P, poison…!”

“A, assassin!”

Choi Han made them faint before quickly rushing toward the charging high-leveled knight and swinging his sword. Cale used that opening to go through the cave entrance. Even while he was doing that, he made sure the mid-leveled knights who called him an assassin saw the six stars on his outfit before fainting.

“Ugh! Where did these people come from!”

“So loud.”

Choi Han easily avoided the mana-filled sword of the high-leveled knight. He was dragging this out on purpose.

While Choi Han was acting as the distraction, Cale entered the cave behind the Cat Tribe children, who had stealthily entered earlier on. After verifying that Cale had entered, Choi Han moved to the front of the cave entrance.

He then called out to the high-leveled knight.

“Come.”

Of course, his gaze was not looking at the knight, but all of the enemies coming from the villa with torches.

“I leave it to you.”

Choi Han could hear Cale’s changed, yet still calm voice behind him, and started to smile. However, he quickly focused on releasing only some of his strength. Dark Destruction Sword Art. This sword art consisted of two components, darkness and destruction. Of the two, the force of destruction started to surround Choi Han.

“Nobody can get past this spot.”

He was someone who always kept his word.

While Choi Han was protecting the entrance, there was someone else protecting something in a different manner in the cave. That person was none other than the torturer. He was the one to protect the dragon’s prison. By the time Cale arrived inside, he was already in a state of chaos.

“Why, why?! Why is the Magic Crystal Ball not working?!”

The Magic Crystal Ball that the torturer held onto was one of the emergency backups that Venion had prepared in case something went wrong.

“D, don’t come here! Do you know what is in here?!”

The torturer was shaking violently while looking at Cale. He had no choice but to be scared. If the torturer received an attack higher than an average person’s strength, he would instantly blow up.

It was one of Venion’s safety measures as well. The strength of the blast would make the prison key and the prison itself blow up with the torturer as well. Naturally, the torturer knew about this.

“If you come, everyone here will die!”

Tsk. Cale waved his hand while looking at the shaking torturer. Once he did, fog started to form in the air and headed for the torturer. On, the owner of the fog, was hidden in the shadows of the cave and still hidden.

“A, aaaaaah! Go away!”

The sounds of battle from the cave entrance. The approaching fog. Of course, the inside of the fog was completely filled with poison. The paralyzing fog quickly surrounded the torturer.

“Just what, ugh, p, poison…!”

Ugh. The torturer’s body started to shake as he fell to the ground. The torturer looked so terrible, being unable to speak or move as he forcibly shook on the floor. Cale approached the torturer and rummaged through his clothes.

If you could not attack him, you just had to hit him with poison. Either that, or make a deal with him to hand the key over. However, he didn’t want to use the latter method.

‘Here it is.’

Cale grabbed the key and closed the eyes of the torturer, who was starting to lose consciousness from the poison. Cale wondered if they had used too much of the poison, but didn’t really care.

‘I don’t think he will die, but if he dies, oh well.’

Cale snapped his fingers. Two little black bundles fell from the ceiling almost instantly. It was Ohn and Hong. Once they came under the torch that Cale was holding, he could finally see the two of them clearly.

Cale verified that Ohn and Hong were safe before heading to the farthest corner of the cave.

Once he arrived, he could see a curled up black existence inside this now-useless magic prison. It was the dragon. The thing that shocked Cale more than the dragon itself was the blood covering the dragon and the scent of blood in the air.

Cale quickly approached the prison.

The dragon continued to keep its eyes closed, even as Cale approached. The dragon was probably in a state of chaos right now.

Cale put the key into the lock and opened the door.

Click. It unlocked with a light noise. Cale slowly opened the iron gate, and entered into the prison.

It was pretty large to be called a prison. There were whips and other torture tools, as well as the luxurious couch that Venion sat on to watch. Cale headed to the corner of the prison.

A small figure about 1 meter long was laying on a stack of hay in the corner. The inner eyelids of the dragon were shaking as it laid there with its eyes closed. There were chains on all of its limbs, and the mana restriction chain was on its neck, making it unable to use any strength.

“Hey.”

Cale crouched in front of the dragon. The dragon did not open its eyes even after Cale called out to it. Cale verified his watch. It was time to leave. He continued to speak to the dragon.

“Let’s leave.”

Cale used the key he had obtained from the torturer to undo the chains.

The dragon opened its eyes at that moment. Cale started to smile after looking at the dragon’s eyes.

It was still a very strong gaze. It had not lost its will to live just yet.

It was not the dying gaze that Choi Han had run into in the novel. It was still a gaze with a strong desire to live. That was why it was filled with energy, anger, and resistance.

It was the gaze of a dragon.

“What a nice gaze.”

Cale lifted the dragon into his arms.

Chapter Text

That silver eyed baby is not human.

The black dragon concluded. She is staring at the great and mighty him, even when he is invisible. The red human is asleep. He just came here to observe the human, really.

When he followed them back to this place, he was surprised to see him cooing at a small human who was waiting for the big human. They both have red hair, they have the same scent; therefore he concluded that they are related.

He is a great, smart, and mighty being after all.

He cautiously flew towards the awakened small human. Her silver eyes are staring at his bright blue ones before she grinned and pats his head.

“Hwello.” The small human whispered. “I Wyn-wyn, ou?”

Him?

“I’m a great mighty dragon!” He boasted.

The tiny human giggled and continued patting his head. It felt warm. Just like the trembling hands of the red human. He pointed at the red human, “Who is he?”

The small human, Tiny Wyn, giggled again. “Mama is Wyn-wyn’s Mama!”

“Mama?” He questioned. But he’s a male? Is that possible for humans?

“Hm!” She nodded, the tiny human squirmed for a bit, scooting closer to her mama. She patted the space beside her. “Agon ppa, sleep.”

“You want me to sleep beside you?”

“Out, cold.” He guessed she was right. So he lay beside her, curling up to her warmth. There was a shift in the sheets. It was the red human. He moved from his side of the bed to pull the tiny human closer, and as a result; he was also pulled with her.

They were warm.

***

They are leaving the village today. He heard the other humans say it. Going to a place called “Puzzle City”. The tiny human, who he found out was named Wynter, was playing with the two cats he had seen last night. They weren’t normal cats, so he knew they were beastmen.

Baby Wynter, as he liked to call the tiny human, was waving at him. The strong human noticed his presence but not the red human. The red human is busy catering to Baby Wynter (well, he was asking the brown haired human to cook specific food for her).

She… She is actually very cute. Not as cute as him of course, but still cute.

But still though, how come Baby Wynter’s Mama is human, and Baby Wynter is half?

***

The group of humans had arrived in the city. It is full of rocks, why are they even here?

“Agon ppa~!” He flew to where Baby Wynter is. She is sitting on a big blanket, the two cats turned into a human just to feed her.

“Yeodongsaeng, here!” The red cat offered his spoon to her, “Sweet potato!”

“Tato~!” She cheered before eating the potato.

“Ah, dongsaeng is here!” The grey one greeted him, “Come! Mama Cale isn’t here yet, so we are taking care of Wynter.”

“Eh? Where did he go?”

“Somewhere.”

“Ah.”

Well, might as well enjoy the company of these three.

(Whom he later on called Noona, Hyung, and Yeodongsaeng respectively in the near future.)

Chapter Text

Pout.

Wynter is pouting.

Reason? Choi Han is leaving today to find Rosalyn and Lock, and she is not a happy baby because of that.

They were standing in front of the inn. Cale was standing there with his arms crossed and looking at Choi Han. Choi Han looks conflicted, Wynter is clinging onto him right at this moment.

There was no special feast or farewell party for the leaving Choi Han. Neither Cale nor Choi Han wanted something like that.

“Wyn-wyn, you have to let go of Choi Han.” Cale tried coaxing his daughter into letting go of the swordmaster. But alas, it is in vain, as she is clinging tightly onto his chest.

“Nyo!”

“Wyn-wyn.” Choi Han laughed nervously, “I have to go…”

“Nyo~! Papa Han no go!”

Silence.

“D-Did the young lady just—?” Hans looked aghast at that. The Vice Captain, while odd that he was there, was also in shock. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ron’s hand is twitching.

“C-Cale-nim..!” Choi Han’s hands were mimicking his at this point.

“Papa Han no go!”

“Punk. Let go of the young miss.” Beacrox stepped in.

“Nyo~!” Wynter is teary eyed now, “Papa Han!”

Cale sighed as he stepped closer at the two. He reached out and caressed her back, “Baby, Papa Han has to go to his work, but he’ll be back, okay?”

Wynter sniffed, “Nyo, no go.”

“He has to. But he’ll be back, with presents! Would Wyn-wyn like presents from Papa?” Cale said. Wynter sniffed again, and looked at Choi Han in the eyes.

Choi Han was quick to give in, while blushing madly, he told her. “P-Papa Han will bring back presents for Wyn-wyn, okay? So you have to be a good girl to Mama, okay?”

“Otay.” Wynter finally let go of him, so Choi Han was able to hand her over to Cale. She was still sniffing, at least she wasn’t crying like Cale expected her to. While his daughter calling Choi Han “papa” was unexpected, he should have also expected that. Wynter was only 15 months old. She had never known her father, and it’s not like Cale knew who he was either.

Wynter has many male in her life. Beacrox and Jacob were called Unkie by her after all. But he just didn’t expect for her to latch onto Choi Han, was it because he saved them?

Choi Han did something unexpected.

He leaned down and gave Wynter a kiss on her cheek. “Papa will be back, okay?”

“Pwomise?” She held out her pinky finger.

Choi Han hooked his pinky with hers. “I promise.”

Cale sighed before taking a small bag out of his pocket and gave it to Choi Han. Choi Han accepted the bag. Choi Han recognized the bag. It was the same size as the bag that Cale had given to the Black Dragon. Choi Han opened the bag to find potions and other types of useful items inside. Choi Han lifted his head from the bag and looked toward Cale. Cale just bluntly spoke when they made eye contact.

“What? You promised to go back to Wynter, so you better come back safe.”

“I will be back soon.”

Choi Han’s response, that seemed to contain a bit of joy, which made his lips twitch a bit. His gaze then turned toward the rest of the group.

“See you at the capital!”

“Ahem. I will be training myself so that I will be the young master’s personal guard when we are at the capital.”

Deputy butler Hans cheerfully said goodbye, while the Vice Captain responded in a very annoyed voice.

“I will keep my blade sharpened.”

“See you later.”

Beacrox and Ron said goodbye as well. Of course, the kittens patted Choi Han’s leg with their paws to say goodbye. Finally, the Black Dragon, who had been using invisibility magic to stay in the yard during the day and lay by Cale’s window at night, sent some invisible mana to Choi Han.

“I’ve already received so much, but I seem to keep being on the receiving end.”

Choi Han put the magic bag in his pocket before starting to smile. Cale could not see it because his back was turned, but this was the first time the rest of them saw Choi Han with such a bright smile.

“I will see you all at the capital.”

Choi Han respectfully said goodbye before heading out of the inn. Someone like him, who had spent tens of years in solitude that felt even worse than death, now had somewhere to return to. He also had people he needed to pay back for their grace.

‘I need to make sure to properly complete this task and go back to Cale-nim and Wynter.’

Choi Han walked away from Cale and the rest, and headed out of Puzzle City.

(Ron and Beacrox were staring at the punk’s back. Irritated at the fact that the young lady called him papa and he had the audacity to kiss her cheek.

“We should have tried to cut off his lips if he was going to pull that stunt.” Ron frowned.

“Agreed.” Beacrox nodded.)

The next morning, Cale’s group got on the carriage and prepared to leave Puzzle City as well.

“Young master, we are ready to go.”

“Okay.”

Cale nodded his head at Ron’s words, and Ron quickly closed the window and got the carriage to start moving. They were starting back on their journey. He was tired. Wynter had been crying for Choi Han the whole night. He had to console her a lot because of it, but in return, he had not slept.

How did the original Cale handle her when she was teething. Surely, she kept him all night with her crying in pain.

“What are you looking at?”

Cale was staring at the kitten siblings, who were fidgeting while trying to avoid his gaze. The kittens flinched and turned their eyes away. Cale started to smile.

“What? Did you meet a dragon or something?”

Gasp. Cale heard the kittens gasp, but just ignored it. Choi Han may have left, but now a dragon was following them. However, he did not have time to worry about that fact. He called for Ron to be inside the carriage so he could sleep.

After a day’s worth of travel, they were now getting ready to make camp. Wynter is still a pouty baby, she is not one happy camper tonight.

“Excuse me, if it is okay, may we share a part of your campsite?”

A carriage arrived by Cale’s campsite area, and the person that seemed to be the driver got off and approached the Vice Captain.

“May I ask who you are?”

The Vice Captain asked, even though he already knew the answer after seeing the red snake on the driver’s armor. The driver bowed to the Vice Captain and Cale behind him and introduced himself.

“My name is Tom, and I am a part of Marquis Stan’s estate.”

‘Shit.’

Cale almost said that out loud but refrained to do so as he was holding his daughter, as he looked at the shabby looking carriage without a crest. The window opened and Cale could see the face of Taylor Stan.

“My name is Taylor Stan. I saw Count Henituse’s crest, and am asking for help, even though I’m sure it is not ideal.”

If it is the strong Count Henituse’s campsite, Taylor thought he would be safe for the night. It was not so good in Cale’s eyes.

Cale had now met Marquis Stan’s eldest son Taylor and the crazy priestess Cage. He thought about the dragon that would be hunting a boar or deer for him right now and started to frown.

‘Damn it.’

One left and three showed up.

And not just three average beings. One was a dumb dragon, another was a crazy priestess who wanted to be excommunicated, and the third was a punk from Marquis Stan’s family.

“Sigh.”

Cale could not help but sigh. He dropped his head before lifting it back up again. Once he did, he could see that it had become much quieter. Cale thought the silence was odd, and looked toward Hans.

Hans smiled awkwardly, before stealthily gesturing toward the driver, Tom, and Taylor, who was looking out of the carriage window.

Taylor had a bitter smile on his face as he started to speak.

“If it is inconvenient for your party, we will leave.”

The eldest son of the Marquis family, and the son who was pushed out of the family. After his legs became paralyzed, Taylor’s life turned 180 degrees overnight, from one of luxury and power, to one where his family gave him just the minimal amount of support needed to survive.

Those nobles, who knew that anyone other than the successor to the Marquis title in the Stan family would die immediately, started to avoid Taylor, finding him to be an annoyance. They even purposefully ignored him in front of Venion or the other siblings to try to curry their favor as well. The current Taylor’s situation was even worse than that of a bastard son of a baron’s family.

Taylor knew about Cale, the trash of the Henituse family. A luxurious golden turtle as their symbol, as well as being a handsome young man with red hair. There was no one other than Cale who fit that description. Even someone like Count Henituse, who did not join a faction, could find it uncomfortable to associate with someone like him. They were all like that after his body became paralyzed.

Taylor had remembered the reality of the situation after hearing Cale’s sigh. But at that moment.

“Why would you leave?”

Cale walked out of the carriage while carrying Wynter. Cale walked toward Taylor’s carriage with a stoic expression on his face.

“This isn’t my property. I wouldn’t do something so childish when we are both fellow travelers.”

Cale and Taylor made eye contact with each other. Cale then quickly peeked inside Taylor’s carriage.

‘She is there.’

The crazy priestess, Cage, was observing him from inside the carriage. Cale had read about how her curses were really scary. Some people even said her curses were at the level of a necromancer, the cursed profession.

Cale turned his gaze away from Cage and reached his hand out.

“I am Cale Henituse of the Henituse family.”

Taylor gazed at the hand reaching out to him from outside the carriage. He then looked back at Cale’s stoic expression.

Click.

Taylor opened the carriage door. Proper etiquette indicated that he should step out of the carriage to return the greeting.

“It is difficult for me to step out because of my legs.”

“I am aware.”

Taylor looked once more toward Cale, who did not seem to care about the proper etiquette, and shook his hand. It was just a short handshake.

“Nice to meet you, young master Cale.”

‘Not at all.’

Cale was not happy about this meeting at all. He quickly tried to turn around because he did not want to be introduced to Cage. Unfortunately, Taylor was an extremely respectful person.

“This is my companion, priestess Cage-nim. She is a follower of the God of Eternal Rest.”

Eternal rest. This was a term for death. Cale held back another sigh, and looked toward Cage. Cage gracefully greeted him like a proper priestess.

“Nice to meet you, young master Cale. My name is Cage. May the peace of the night always be with you.”

‘Peace of the night.’ That was the general greeting those who served the God of Death gave to the public.

Peace of the night my ass.’

Forget peace of the night, Cale felt like he wouldn’t be able to even sleep properly tonight. He felt like he was drinking lemonade as he looked toward Cage, who was gently smiling.

‘She’s acting all nice and innocent, even though she finds that to be so annoying. That is the number one reason she wants to be excommunicated.’

She really was good at acting. Cale smiled at Cage, who still had a very stereotypical smile of a priestess on her face, and confidently replied.

“I do not believe in a god.”

Cage’s gaze became curious. Her gaze seemed to be asking what kind of crazy thing Cale was saying to a priestess, but Cale welcomed it. Cale just wanted her to keep thinking that he was trash.

“You are an interesting person.”

“I guess I am a bit interesting.”

Cale just casually responded to her statement and looked around the carriage. It was extremely shabby for the eldest son of a Marquis. Just one knight, a subordinate, who also served as the driver, and the two of them, Cage and Taylor.

“I’m curious though,” Cage interjected into the conversation, “Who is this cutie?”

She and Taylor are both looking at Wynter, who is munching on her cookie. But Wynter is also staring at Cage.

“Ah.” Guess he should introduce her. It’s not like he was hiding her from the world. “This is my daughter, Wynter.”

As if on cue, she said. “Hewo” still munching on the cookie.

“Oh,” Cage clutched her chest dramatically, “She is adorable.”

“She is.” Taylor agreed and looked at Cale again, “May I know who the mother is?”

Cale nodded, “Yeah. You’re looking at the mother right now.”

The two were frozen.

“Eh?”

***

Wynter yawned, and it was his cue as well, he slightly bowed toward Taylor as he said goodbye.

“Then I will be on my way, young master Taylor. I have to put my daughter to bed.”

“Thank you for your benevolence, young master Cale.”

“It was nothing.”

Cale turned away from Taylor, who had a curious look on his face. He then immediately headed back to his carriage without looking anywhere else. Of course, he gave an order to the Vice Captain who was walking by his side.

“Looks like they only have one knight. Vice Captain, you take care of their guard duty as well.”

“Yes, young master.”

Cale verified what the Vice Captain had said to Taylor’s knight before getting back on the carriage. It was regarding guard duty at night. Cale verified the knight’s expression turning bright before the knight got back onto the carriage.

Click.

The door closed with a loud click. This made everyone turn their gaze toward the closed door of the carriage with the golden turtle crest, before returning to do their duties. Only Taylor and Cage, who didn’t really have anything to do right now, just continued to stare at the closed door.

The two kittens greeted Cale inside the carriage.

“I’ve seen those two people.”

“Hong. I was there too.”

The kittens, who had been watching everything through the window, slowly approached Cale and sat down next to him before starting to talk to each other. They weren’t looking at Cale nor even talking to him, but it was clear that the question was toward Cale.

Cale answered the witty kittens’ question.

“Pretend not to know.”

“Like the dragon?”

“Yes.”

The kittens nodded their heads to show their understanding. Cale watched them nod, before crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

‘The Healing Star.’

That was the name of the ancient power he wrote about in the letter to Cage and Taylor. The reason Cale came to know about this power was because of the Plaza Terror incident.

‘The Healing Star,’ is a single-use power that can heal any injury or illness to the body’s original, healthy state. The crown prince was in possession of such a power. The deceased queen had given it to him.

During the Plaza Terror incident, the secret organization makes their move once the royal family arrives. Magic bombs across the capital and in the plaza go off at that moment at the same time.

In the novel, Choi Han was only able to stop about half of it. That in itself was amazing, such that the kingdom considered him a hero, but Choi Han himself thought about the lives of the victims of the bombs, making his hatred for the secret organization become even worse.

‘At that time, the secret organization installed bombs on some people during the incident.’

Choi Han, along with the genius mage Rosalyn, protected the people from the bombs and helped with their escape. At that time, there was an old man that Choi Han had failed to save.

The man had lost his right arm and leg while taking a bomb off and throwing it away from himself, and this incident had made Choi Han extremely upset. Watching the old man’s hurt body, the crown prince thought about, ‘The Healing Star.’ That was how the power was originally introduced in the novel.

Naturally, the crown prince did not use the power on the old man. Instead, he consoled Choi Han, who was feeling responsible for the old man’s death, and raised him up as a hero.

‘It is only normal.’

Cale did not think the crown prince made the wrong decision. Who can judge him for wanting to use his power for himself?

Of course, Choi Han or Rosalyn would have used it for the old man.

“By the way, is little brother dragon still following us?”

Cale nodded his head at Hong’s question.

‘Since it is like this, I might as well use the dragon for my benefit as well.’

His original plan was to save him and then be done with him, but if the dragon was going to follow him around the country like a little puppy, he might as well put it to good use. He had already thought about how to use that dragon the last few nights as well.

Cale knew the location of the 5 magic bombs that Choi Han had found in the novel, but he was not sure about the location of the remaining 5 magic bombs that ended up going off.

The five bombs that were located were found by using Rosalyn’s genius-level mana detection abilities to find them one by one.

But now, Cale had an existence that was worlds better than Rosalyn at detecting mana following him around like a lost duck.

“Might as well make it work hard.”

The kittens flinched at that statement, but Cale did not see it as he was thinking about all of the work he was going to make the dragon do in the capital. The dragon, who had no idea about any of this, delivered a boar to the campsite early in the morning once again.

Cale, who slept in after staying up late planning out the things that needed to be completed at the capital, went out to verify the boar before noticing an odd atmosphere.

He had eaten and slept in the carriage last night. He was doing his best to not interact with Taylor and crew. That was why he could not understand this odd, and somewhat, dark atmosphere.

“Hans. What is going on?”

Hans put on an awkward smile and greeted Cale. Hans, as well as the rest of Cale's group, were quickly getting past their suspicions about the meat and fruit being delivered to them.

Although Cale had no idea what Ron thought about it, since Cale and Choi Han both had said that it was fine, they just went along with it. Beacrox was easy to convince since he was always excited to see ingredients of the highest quality appear every morning.

“Haha, young master, did you finally wake up?”

Hans slowly peeked toward Taylor and Cage, before approaching Cale.

“You see, I think young master Taylor has gotten the wrong idea.”

“Wrong idea?”

Cale could see the boar, as well as Taylor on the wheelchair, and Cage pushing Taylor’s wheelchair behind him. He approached the dead boar and stood next to the wheelchair as he started to speak.

“What is going on?”

As usual, the boar that the dragon delivered was enormous. It was larger than a tiger, the type of boar that would excite Beacrox quite a bit.

And, as usual, there was a drawing next to the boar. The dragon must have found it annoying to draw the fork, as only the knife was drawn this time.

“…Young master Cale. I’m sorry.”

What kind of utter nonsense was this?

Taylor had an apologetic smile on his face as he turned away from the boar.

“It seems like my movements have been detected.”

Movement? Cale could then hear the priestess Cage mumbling behind Taylor. She was angry.

“We left in secret, so how is it possible? There is someone who can avoid my detection? This is too much!”

‘How would someone at your level detect a dragon?’

Cale was done figuring out what was going on.

Something, or someone, that was able to catch such a large boar so easily and drop it off at their campsite without being detected by the priestess Cage or anyone else. That strength and stealthiness was something only an expert would have. Next to that feat of strength was a drawing of a knife.

It was a small knife to Cale, but they seemed to be seeing a very large knife. Cale looked back at Taylor, who was looking at him with both despair and sorriness.

“…Young master Cale. This incident –”

“Beacrox.”

Cale called out to Beacrox.

Marquis Stan’s second son, Venion, was probably extremely busy right now. Why would someone like that pay attention to the disabled eldest son? It wasn’t like Venion knew, ‘The Healing Star,’ was at the capital.

“Yes, young master?”

Beacrox, who was standing there with his kitchen knife prepared, responded with excitement on his face.

“Looks like we’ll be eating steak for breakfast.”

“Young master, it looks like we will get the highest quality steak once again.”

Taylor, who was staring at Cale with a blank expression, suddenly started to speak.

“… Once again?”

Cale nodded his head and responded.

“We have someone in our party who delivers food for us.”

“…Who is it?”

Cale snorted before responding.

“He is surprisingly shy so you will not be able to see him.”

“Agon ppa!”

Ignoring Wynter’s comment (he did not want to know how she knew about the dragon), Cale saw the leaves on a tree not far from the campsite moving up and down and shook his head. Cale shaking his head made both Taylor and Cage turn red from embarrassment.

“Ahem, I, I see. It seems we had the wrong idea.”

“It’s not your fault. Beacrox is an excellent cook, so please have some steak before you go.”

Beacrox stopped caressing the boar and looked up at Cale. Cale could not look at Beacrox because of what Taylor said next.

“Young master Cale, I heard that you are heading for the capital. If it is okay with you, may we follow behind you?”

‘I knew it would be like this.’

It was as Cale had expected.

“Please feel free to do whatever is best for you.”

There was no way they would find out that he had written the letter just from them traveling with him. If it was going to be like this anyways, he might as well take care of them until the capital and have them owe him a debt.

These two could be very useful in the future if he used them properly.

“Thank you. We will be under your care until we get close to the capital.”

Cale started to smile a bit at Taylor’s words.

‘At least he’s not completely unreasonable.’

Close to the capital. Taylor was only asking for help until a location that would not make things difficult for Cale or Count Henituse in dealing with Venion or Marquis Stan for associating with the disabled Taylor. There would be all sorts of complications if they went into the capital together.

“We will determine that later on.”

Naturally, Cale had a different opinion. There were still many items in the magic box waiting to be used by Cale.

“Of course. Please feel free to let us know whenever is most convenient for you, young master.”

“Sure.”

Taylor and Cage looked toward the casually responding Cale with curiosity. However, Cale avoided their gaze and started to speak to Hans.

“Bring my meal to the carriage.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cale headed back to the carriage. At that moment, someone called out to him.

“Young master Cale.”

It was Cage. She seemed to have a headache, as she started to frown and walk over toward Cale. Cale had a bitter taste in his mouth while watching Cage approach him.

“What can I do for you, priestess-nim?”

“Do you really not believe in any god?”

‘Now what the heck does she want?’

“Yes, none of them.”

“… I understand.”

Cale quickly headed to the carriage after hearing Cage’s response. Taylor approached her as she watched Cale walk away.

“What’s going on?”

Cage rarely engaged with people other than people from the temple or her close friends. That was why it was really odd for Taylor to see Cage frowning and reaching out to Cale. She shook her head and responded with a very bitter expression.

“It’s odd.”

“What is?”

“Well, it’s like.”

Cage touched the back of her head.

“I have this bitter feeling that the God of Death is caressing the back of my head with a sympathetic expression.”

“…What kind of feeling is that? Did you not sleep properly?”

“Maybe. But the God of Death is very happy to see both him and the young miss, he has been cooing so loud every time she’s near.”

“Maybe he also finds the young miss adorable?”

“Maybe.”

Cage continued to feel that way every time she looked at Cale. The only time she felt this way in the past was when the temple had forced her to do a lot of manual labor in order to build a new temple. She had felt this same feeling when she plopped down from exhaustion and the God of Death was looking down at her with concern.

‘There’s no way young master Cale will order us around like that damn temple.’

Cage decided Taylor was right about her not sleeping properly, and tried to shake the feeling away. But it concerns her about how focused the God bastard is on the tiny little thing. Now, he’s demanding to bless her and give her gifts, the bastard.

‘I’ll curse him later.’

That was how Cale’s crew grew bigger and they continued toward the capital with no other issues.

***

Every time Cale got tired of sitting down and stepped out of the carriage, Taylor’s group continued to look toward him, but they did not have any conversations.

They continued to travel like that until they were at an inn about one day’s worth of travelling away from the capital.

“Young master Cale, you like alcohol, right?”

Taylor and Cage came to look for Cale.

“What can I do for you?”

Cale wanted to know why they came to visit him so late at night, but his expression was not that odd. Taylor smiled at Cale’s demeanor.

“Cale Henituse, the trash who cannot go a day without alcohol.”

When Taylor was still the potential successor to the Marquis, he had received all of the information about the nobles as well. Cale’s information was so unique that there was no way he could forget it.

“But I don’t think that is all.”

“You stopped drinking for the young miss, right?” Cage heard from the butler, Hans, how young master Cale hasn’t drunk any alcohol since bringing the young miss home. Glancing at the red haired child that is on their lap, Cage was quick to change the alcohol to grape juice.

“Could she drink this?” She asked him.

Cale shook his head, “She just had a bottle of milk. It might give her a tummy ache.”

“Tummy owie.” Wynter second the motion.

Cage chuckled, “She is adorable, like she’s a mirror of you.”

“Physical-wise, sure.” Cale shrugged, “But attitude wise? God, I hope she doesn’t become trash like me.”

Cage and Taylor looked at each other. Trash? He has been nothing but kind to people like Cage and Taylor. They had been observing him for the past few days. They could see how much he loved his daughter. He had been doting and caring for her like she was the most precious thing in the world. There are two butlers within the group, but he has never let her out of his sight for so long.

‘I don’t think that the so-called trash act is the one she’ll be inheriting.’ Taylor secretly thought as he took a sip of the juice. The little lady is observant, smart even. At almost two years old, she is very intelligent. Like her mother.

After they had done their business, the group had just continued drinking and talking. Wynter somehow found Cage intriguing, so the little red head is sitting on her lap currently babbling about her tattoos.

“Oo dis?” She pointed at the arm filled with tattoos.

“They’re.. Drawings! This auntie asked someone to draw on her arm!”

“Ooo”

Wynter turned to look at him, “Mama! Want ra!”

“No.”

“Mama!” She pouted. Cage looked at him apologetically.

“No.” Cale took out a child-friendly pen and a piece of paper, he set it on the table, “Draw here instead.”

Wynter pouted but did ask Cage to be put down so she could draw (do squiggly lines) on the paper.

“Did I just avoid a future where my daughter would be a heathen with tattoos?”

“Hey!” Cage looked offended at the being called a heathen indirectly. The two men chuckled as the sound of Wynter happily drawing in the background was more prominent.

Chapter Text

Rumor has it.

Cale Henituse arrived in the capital with a child. A child that looks exactly like him with silver eyes.

Some would say that it wasn’t true, but many would say it is the truth. The so-called trash of the count’s family just arrived in the capital, and he already has a rumor behind him. The servants of the Henituse Manor in the capital, while at first scared of the eldest young master, but when they saw how he interacted with the little lady, they all couldn’t help but fawn over the mother and daughter pair.

Yes, they had been told of this. And their loyalty is with the Henituse Family, there was just no way they would leak such information to anyone.

And besides, the little lady is adorable.

“Mama~!” The mother and daughter are currently playing hide and seek in Cale’s bedroom. With Cale and the other children as the hiders and Wynter as the seeker.

Their hiding place?

The kittens are on Cale’s shoulder, the dragon on Cale’s head.

And Cale? He’s just following behind her, since the baby has no proper senses to tell that he’s behind her nor could she really turn fast to see them behind her.

“Hmph!” She was pouting as she still couldn’t find her mother and siblings.

The servants, peeking in from the slightly ajar door, stifled their laughter at the sight before them.

Their feared Young Master Cale , the so-called trash of the Henituse family, was waddling behind his tiny daughter with the patience of a saint. On his shoulders sat two feline children, watching the game with lazy amusement, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. 

“Where Mama?” Wynter huffed, her tiny arms crossing in frustration as she turned in circles, her silver eyes gleaming with determination.

Cale barely held back a snort. How does she not realize?

Hong, perched on Cale’s shoulder, flicked his tail in amusement. “She’s getting better at this game.”

Ohn gave a small, thoughtful hum. “She’s persistent.”

The baby dragon, ever the dramatic one, whispered into Cale’s ear, “Human, should we let Baby Wynter win?”

Cale rolled his eyes but said nothing. He didn’t have the heart to let his daughter completely lose.

After another frustrated stomp from Wynter, Cale finally sighed, letting his voice drop to a playful whisper.

“Wyn-wyn, did you check behind you?”

She gasped, spinning so quickly that she nearly toppled over.

And there, right in front of her, was her Mama .

“Got chu!” she squealed, launching forward and tackling Cale’s legs.

Cale, who absolutely could have dodged, let himself fall onto the soft cushions placed on the floor, catching Wynter in his arms.

“Ah! You got me,” he admitted, dramatically flopping back. “You win.”

Wynter giggled, clapping her tiny hands before cuddling into his chest. “Mama best hider.”

The baby dragon puffed out his chest proudly. “ Of course, our human is the best! ”

The kittens purred in agreement.

Meanwhile, the servants, who had been watching this entire scene unfold with barely-contained squeals, exchanged looks before disappearing down the hallway. They were all watching with joy, until the head butler told them to go back to their work.

“Mama,” Wynter huffed as she was laying on Cale’s lap. “Papa Han, where?”

Cale hummed. “Who knows.”

He didn’t have the heart to correct his daughter in terms of addressing Choi Han, whenever he would correct her; she would be crying and calling for her Papa Han. So he was letting her call him Papa Han.

If Choi Han is Papa Han, then he is Papa Han.

It was a relaxing time as Cale hums a familiar Korean tune, his daughter and the rest of the children dozing off on their side. This is the kind of life Cale wants.

***

“Are you sure it’s the truth?” A fake blonde had asked the person he was talking to.

Tasha nodded, “That’s right, Count Henituse had sent a letter saying there were two people attending the banquet in a few days' time. So when I sent a wind elemental to the Henituse Estate, imagine my surprise when I saw them.”

In the recording orb, was the rumored trash with a baby. Alberu was busy making arrangements for the banquet when the rumor has it that Cale Henituse entered the capital with a baby, a red haired baby. So he sent his aunt to confirm it, along with the fact to see what is the reason why the Henituse Territory is sending two people.

Alberu Crossman stared at the recording orb in front of him, his expression unreadable. The dim light of his office cast long shadows across the room, but his sharp blue eyes gleamed with something between amusement and disbelief.

Cale Henituse.

With a child.

A child that looked exactly like him.

A child who called him Mama .

Alberu pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling slowly. “You’re telling me,” he said, voice steady despite the absurdity of the situation, “that Cale Henituse , the man who had been known for being trash for the past ten years, had hid a child this entire time?”

Tasha smirked, leaning back in her chair. “That’s what it looks like.”

Alberu looked back at the recording, watching as Cale—infamous for his laziness and erratic and drunkard behavior—gently hummed to his daughter, Wynter, while she slept against his chest. The two kittens curled up beside them.

It was… domestic.

Soft .

And utterly at odds with everything Alberu knew about Cale Henituse. Everything in this scene is pointing to the fact that he ruined his own reputation to protect and hide the existence of his daughter. What a guy.

Alberu leaned back, rubbing his temple. “And nobody in the capital knew about this before now?”

Tasha shrugged. “The Henituse servants are loyal. Not a single leak from their side. If not for the fact that the noble families are already sniffing around, I wouldn’t have thought to check either.”

That was the problem.

Now that Cale had arrived in the capital, rumors were bound to spread like wildfire. The noble families—especially the vultures looking for political advantages—would be clawing at the chance to learn more.

A noble—an unwed noble at that—raising a child alone was already unusual.

But Cale Henituse , the infamous trash , being a devoted parent?

That was headline-worthy gossip.

(In the near future, he would just see the hype of having a child in his arms that he would call his. )

Chapter Text

It was early in the morning, Cale stirred the pot carefully, watching as the juk thickened to the right consistency. He had woken up earlier than usual to make sure Wynter’s breakfast was perfect—if only to prevent her from throwing a tantrum about it later. The little gremlin had been very insistent last night.

“ Mama make! ” she had demanded, staring at him with big, unblinking silver eyes.

And Cale, despite being a self-proclaimed lazy trashy bastard , found himself agreeing far too easily.

Now here he was, quietly working in the kitchen while the rest of the estate was still asleep. The rice porridge was coming together nicely, and the soft rice cakes were nearly done. He had also prepared a fresh cup of apple juice because, of course, Wynter had to have her apples in some form every meal.

With a tired sigh, he lifted the pot off the heat and began carefully plating the food. Just as he was setting everything on a tray, a familiar voice spoke up behind him.

“Young Master, why are you sneaking around?”

Cale didn’t even flinch. He had sensed Ron’s presence the moment he walked in.

“I’m not sneaking,” he muttered. “I’m making breakfast.”

Ron raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer, his sharp eyes glancing over the neatly arranged food. It has become common knowledge that the eldest son of the Henituse Family does know how to cook, but only for his daughter. His daughter had been the only one who had the privilege to have a taste of his cooking. “For the little lady?”

Cale simply hummed in agreement.

Ron let out a quiet chuckle. “You spoil her too much, Young Master.”

Cale scowled, still moody from being sleepy. “So?”

Ron merely gave him an amused look before taking the tray from his hands. “Let’s not risk you dropping it, hmm?”

Cale rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. He was feeling a little sluggish this morning.

The two of them made their way back to Cale’s room, where the tiny bundle of chaos was still fast asleep. Or so he thought.

The moment the door creaked open, a tiny voice mumbled, “Mama?”

Cale sighed. So much for letting her sleep in.

“I’m here,” he called softly, setting the tray down on the small table.

Wynter groggily lifted her head, her hair a messy halo around her face. Then, as if she suddenly remembered, her eyes widened in excitement.

“Breakfast?” she asked, voice still heavy with sleep.

Cale huffed out a laugh. “Yes, Wyn-wyn. Breakfast.”

In an instant, Wynter sat up, clapping her hands eagerly. “Mama best!”

Ron, watching the entire exchange, chuckled under his breath.

Cale merely sighed, already resigned to his fate.

He was utterly, hopelessly wrapped around his daughter’s tiny fingers.

***

Ron had been the one to bring in his breakfast after he got Wynter to take a bath. The little gremlin did not want to take a bath today, but she had to clean herself before she caused some chaos.

Cale sighed, rubbing his temples as he watched Wynter cuddle the white fox in her lap. Aspen, for all his noble fox-like dignity, was absolutely content being treated like a plush toy. His bushy tail swished lazily as Wynter buried her face into his fur, giggling in delight.

Cale resisted the urge to groan.

“Wynter,” he said, taking a sip of his tea as Ron set down his own plate of food beside him. “You do know Aspen isn’t a pillow, right?”

The little gremlin barely glanced up, too busy hugging the oversized fox.

“Pillow.”

Cale sighed. “He’s not a pillow.”

“Soft,” Wynter argued, pressing her tiny cheek against Aspen’s fur. “Warm.”

Aspen flicked his ears, clearly not bothered by the situation in the slightest. In fact, the damn fox actually looked smug.

Ron, ever the sadist, simply chuckled as he refilled Cale’s tea. “It seems the young lady has already decided, Young Master.”

Cale scowled. “That’s not how this works.”

Aspen, the little bastard, chose that moment to yawn and stretch lazily, making himself even more comfortable in Wynter’s arms. Cale narrowed his eyes.

This fox was a problem .

Ever since Aspen had imprinted on Wynter, he had practically become her second shadow. The other children—Hong, Ohn, and even the black dragon—had already accepted him as part of their strange, chaotic little family. But Cale?

Cale was still trying to figure out how the hell a fox beastman (a nine tailed-fox) imprinted on his daughter like some werewolf romance novel nonsense. What in Twilight bullshit is that?

He was tempted to ask Ron to make Wynter a new fur coat if it weren’t for the fact that she is too attached to the damn fox.

“Wynter,” he tried again, voice tired. “Wouldn’t you rather hold a stuffed fox?”

“No,” she said immediately, hugging Aspen even tighter. “Pen best.”

Cale pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to regret this later, aren’t I?”

Ron simply smiled. “It seems inevitable, Young Master.”

Aspen just wagged his tail.

That little shit.

***

Cale is watching all the children with a small smile on his lips. Wynter had decided to try drawing. The cat tribe children and the black dragon are doing the same, well… Almost all of them; the black dragon apparently can’t hold a pencil or non-toxic crayons. Aspen was too lazy to do the same, he was just curled up next to Wynter.

Cale had a relaxed smile on his face. At that moment.

Knock knock knock.

The Black Dragon immediately turned invisible again, while the kittens started to pretend to be normal kittens by purring and rubbing their faces on Wynter with Aspen at the same position. Cale got up to head to the door.

“Ah.”

Clang!

He accidentally hit the glass of water while getting up, and it fell down and broke into pieces. The carpet started to get wet with the water.

‘… I have a bad feeling about this.’

Cale suddenly had a bad feeling for no reason. He quickly headed for the door.

‘Why do I have such an ominous feeling?’

Cale could not figure it out.

‘Is it Choi Han? No, it can’t be. Unless he travels like a lunatic, there is no way he arrived here already. He won’t be here for another 3 days.’

There was no way someone like Choi Han would force an injured Lock to move faster. Even though Choi Han had potions that Cale had given him, the wolf tribe was disowned by the gods. Since potions were made with divine power, it did not work on them.

And there was also no way that Rosalyn, the careful and cautious person who hid her magic abilities at first in the novel, would use advanced magic to transport them all to the capital.

But, most importantly, Cale had told Choi Han that he would be staying at a specific hotel in the capital. He was going to go meet Choi Han there once before leaving Ron and Beacrox to take care of the rest.

But then again, that punk made a promise to meet with Wynter again. He probably wasn’t going to stay in that hotel.

“Mama?” He turned to his daughter, who tilted her head as she was staring at him with worry in her eyes. He tried to smile assuringly to her, but she just frowned in worry.

“Mama’s fine, baby. Continue drawing, okay?”

“Otay.”

Cale calmed himself down before vigorously opening the door.

“…You-.”

Cale’s heart sank as soon as he opened the door. An urgent and desperate voice quickly reached Cale’s ear.

“Cale-nim. I’m sorry. You were the only person that came to mind.”

A desperate Choi Han was standing in front of him. He seemed to have rushed here as quickly as possible, as he looked like a total mess.

Cale felt like he had seen the scariest thing in his life. Next to Choi Han was the deputy butler Hans, who had a similar expression as Choi Han, but with a bit of confusion mixed into it. However, the moment Cale saw the person who came with Choi Han, as well as the person on Choi Han’s back, he quickly opened the door.

“Come in for now.”

The person on Choi Han’s back was none other than the Wolf Tribe member, Lock.

“Bring him with you.”

Lock of the Blue Wolf Tribe, the successor of the Wolf King, seemed to be in a dangerous state.

Lock was currently going through the pain before transforming into berserk mode for the first time in his life. Cale did not know why this state that happened a year later in the novel was already happening. However, he looked around at everybody and said just one thing.

“Don’t worry.”

***

Choi Han and Lock. Behind Choi Han was Rosalyn. These three people walked into Cale’s room.

“Hans. Go bring something to drink.”

“Excuse me? Ah, right away!”

Cale closed the door without letting deputy butler Hans into the room. Cale then pointed to the bed for Choi Han, who was looking at him, to put Lock down.

“Lay him down first.”

“Got it.”

Choi Han carefully put Lock on the bed. Cale slowly approached Lock. Lock definitely had the purest of pure blood, making him look like a weak human. However, he was pretty tall for being a young boy.

“Haaaah, haaaaa, haaaah.”

Lock was huffing and trying his best to open his eyes. He had a deep frown on his face, and his body was limp, like he could not put any strength into it. It was already too late to prevent the berserk state from arriving.

Cale looked at the tall, but still young boy in front of him, who was doing his best to keep his eyes open, and told him to relax.

“Just keep your eyes closed. No need to strain yourself.”

There was no strength in Cale’s stern tone, but it had a way of making people listen. Lock slowly closed his eyes. The voice of this man, whom Lock did not know, flowed into Lock’s ear.

“Everything will be okay.”

As Cale was giving out orders to everyone, Rosalyn had already noticed the baby dragon who was very happy to see a mage. As he informs them of what was happening to Lock, and how they could help them. Cale felt like something was about to happen.

And then…

“Papa Han!” An excited squeal rang around the room as if it weren’t for Choi Han’s sense of balance, Wynter would have toppled him when she latched onto his leg. And without any hesitation, Choi Han picked her up.

Wynter was patting Choi Han’s cheeks as she was still calling him whilst bouncing in his arms.

Cale sighed, “She cried all day during the first day you were gone. She was looking for you.”

Choi Han nodded and gave his attention to Wynter, he kissed her chubby cheeks, “Did Wyn-wyn miss Papa?”

“Mhm!” She nodded her head, “Wyn-wyn mish Papa! Where you go?!”

“Ah..” He turned to Cale, who just shrugged, so he turned back to Wynter. “Papa went to pick up your Lock-oppa and Aunt Rosalyn.”

‘Oi… Did you just give them those roles on the spot?’ Cale looked at Choi Han incredulously.

Rosalyn looked at Choi Han in shock and confusion. Poor Rosalyn.

“Mama says”

“Said.” Cale gently corrected her.

“Mama said!” Wynter huffed. “Papa will come back! And Papa made pinky promish to Wynter!”

“Papa came back, right?” Choi Han grinned.

“Right!” She giggled.

“Uhm..” Rosalyn hesitantly approached them. “What?”

Cale sighed once again as he looked at her, the so-called Papa and daughter pair have their own world (poor Lock). “I’ll explain after you guys handle Lock’s berserk.”

***

Wynter was in awe as she watched her Papa Han and new Aunt Rosie (she says so) fight Lock in his berserk form. She was a very happy cheerleader for her so-called papa. He casually taught the children the wonders of observation and taking their observation into a new skill. While he wished he wouldn’t teach this to children, they were far too stained by the world. At the very least, his children should know how to survive.

Huh.

Since when did the kittens, Aspen, and the baby dragon become his children? Well, no matter. If they caused trouble with their new knowledge, he would just clean it up.

So when Cale called for Choi Han to make a report. What stunned him was the fact that Choi Han immediately hugged him.

“Choi Han?”

***

Choi Han felt like he could breathe again.

During the days he wasn’t around Cale-nim and Wyn-wyn, he would have the urge to come back home.

‘Home? When did, in the small amount of time I was with them, I came to view Cale-nim and Wynter as home?’ Choi Han thought as he was still clinging onto Cale-nim, with arms around his waist.

Choi Han leaned his head onto Cale-nim’s shoulder as he made his report. His Cale-nim’s warm hand was soothing to his shaking body, he could feel the tremors that had become permanent to Cale-nim’s arms. What happened to the Wolf Tribe reminded him of the Harris Village and the night he met and saved Cale-nim.

There were just too many what-ifs in his head as he was fighting the secret organization.

‘What if I didn’t manage to save Cale-nim and Wynter?’ was the most prominent. His time with them was short, true. But he was attached to the two red heads.

Wynter with her joyful, playful, and lovable nature. Cale-nim with his nurturing side that he always sees firsthand. It was a warmth of a family that he had been longing for during his time in the Forest of Darkness. And the thought of not having them and experiencing them? It scared him a lot.

It scared him of the thought where there was a timeline where there was never a 16 months old calling him Papa. A timeline where an expressionless face greeted him as they saw each other, but eyes filled with warmth were not given to him.

“You saved them, Choi Han.”

‘Yeah. I did save them and you two.’ A smile on Choi Han’s face was evident but unseen by Cale.

(Rosalyn was peeking through the door.

Are they a couple or what? This scene is going to give her cavities!

Oh well. Time to play with her newly acquired niece.)

Chapter Text

Cale could only stare at the ceiling, he had woken up. Four days after that the commoner had beaten him up. His arms shook.

‘He could kill all of those assassins that killed his village but couldn’t even kill a weak ass noble like me?’ It was so ironic. His so-called loving family couldn’t even visit him. Not one shadow of theirs had appeared in his vicinity. Ron and his son are gone, they left with that commoner.

He was in utter despair. He stood in his empty, cold room. He looked at the corner where there was a glint of light. It was a piece of silver.

Silver. His heart ached.

In the desolate wing where his room stands, he fell to the ground and sobbed his heart out.

He didn’t even have a body to bury.

She was gone, gone forever.

His precious daughter, the daughter that he had carried and raised so lovingly. Gone into flames just like that. Even his cousin, Jacob, was gone. He resented Choi Han, if he had been on his way to the territory from that accursed village, he would see the cottage.

‘He could have saved them.’

But he didn’t. He was too late. Too late to save Jacob. Too late to save Wynter.

The thought of his daughter made him cry even more. His daughter who was just fifteen months old, would never grow old.

The walls of his room felt suffocating. The air was thick with the scent of blood, the remnants of a life he could no longer grasp.  

Cale’s hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms as if pain could ground him, as if agony could replace the hollow abyss in his chest.  

He had nothing left.  

No tiny arms reaching for him. No sleepy murmurs of *Mama* in the dead of night. No childish giggles as she clung to his sleeve, demanding to be carried. No warm weight pressed against his chest as she dozed off, safe in the arms of the one person who was supposed to protect her.  

He had failed .  

A strangled sob tore from his throat as he curled into himself, his body wracked with grief. He clawed at his chest as if he could dig past flesh and bone, as if he could rip out the unbearable ache that threatened to consume him whole.  

There was nothing left to hold.  

Wynter was gone.   

She was so small—too small to be taken away so cruelly. Too young to be reduced to ashes . Too innocent to be stolen by the hands of fate, leaving nothing but whispers of what could have been .  

He choked on his breath, his head pressing against the cold wooden floor. His fingernails scraped against the surface, his body trembling.  

How could the world keep spinning as if nothing had happened? How could the sun rise when she would never wake up again?  

His baby.  

His little Wynter.  

A delicate flower torn from the roots before she could even bloom.  

He should have been there. He should have been there.   

Instead, he was here, trapped in a house that never loved him, drowning in silence, abandoned by the people he once called family.  

Alone.  

Completely, utterly alone .  

He turned his head slightly, his bleary vision catching sight of the small piece of silver reflecting the dim morning light.  

He reached for it with shaking fingers, clutching it to his chest as if it could bring her back.  

But nothing could.  

Because Wynter was gone.  

And Cale Henituse, the so-called trash of the family, the man who wanted nothing but a peaceful life, had nothing left to lose.  

Nothing at all.

***

Days blurred into nights, and nights bled into days.  

It didn’t matter anymore.  

Cale drank until the world dulled at the edges, until the crushing weight in his chest was numbed by the burn of alcohol down his throat.  

It wasn’t enough.  

Nothing was enough.  

His room was in shambles—empty bottles strewn across the floor, his bed untouched, the scent of stale wine clinging to the air like a phantom. He hadn’t stepped outside in weeks, hadn’t spoken a word to anyone. What was the point? There was no one left to listen.  

The servants whispered behind closed doors, their pitying gazes lingering on the heavy wooden door of his room, but no one dared enter. No one, except Hans—persistent, infuriating Hans—who knocked every morning, only to be met with silence.  

“ Young Master, you should eat. ”  

He never responded. He couldn’t stomach anything but the cheap liquor he had smuggled in.   

What was there to eat for?  

What was there to live for?  

His daughter was dead.  

Her laughter, gone.  

Her warmth, gone.  

Her tiny hands reaching for him, gone.  

And the worst part—the part that made him tear at his own skin, made him welcome the pain—was that he could still hear her.  

A cruel, mocking trick of the mind.  

He would wake up, heart pounding, convinced he heard her soft babbling, her giggles, her little voice calling for him— Mama, Mama!  

But there was nothing.  

Just silence.  

Just him, alone in the suffocating darkness.  

The alcohol wasn’t strong enough to drown out her voice.  

He wasn’t drunk enough to forget the way her silver eyes shined.  

And so he kept drinking.  

Kept chasing the oblivion that never came.  

Kept spiraling, deeper and deeper, into the abyss of grief.  

Until one day—one cold, gray morning—he found himself standing before the mirror, a stranger staring back at him.  

His red hair was unkempt, his face gaunt, dark circles staining his hollowed eyes. He looked like a man already dead.  

And perhaps he was.  

Because Cale Henituse had died the moment Wynter died.  

All that remained was an empty shell, a mother who had nothing left to love, nothing left to protect.  

Nothing left at all.

***

When Basen got hurt during the celebration, his mind went blank. All he could see was Wynter again. So he locked himself up in his room, no one dared to enter, so it had been an utter mess since.

Crack.

He looked down at his bare feet. The floor is littered with the shards of the glass bottles he had thrown around. Picking up a sharp shard, he stared at it.

Slash.

He had slashed his wrist. The pain was numbing.

Slash.

He did it again.

Slash. Slash.

Again and again.

Blood dripped onto the floor, staining the glass shards beneath his feet. A cruel contrast—red against clear, grief against emptiness.

Cale exhaled shakily, watching as the deep gashes across his wrists pulsed with pain. It felt distant, like it wasn’t even his own body anymore. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe he had left it behind long ago, along with the part of him that still cared, still hoped.

The pain wasn’t enough.

Not enough to erase the image of Wynter’s tiny fingers curled around his, not enough to silence the phantom sound of her laughter ringing in his ears.

Not enough to bring her back.

His breath came out in ragged gasps as he stared at the crimson streaks trailing down his skin, pooling onto the floorboards beneath him. The sight should have scared him, should have forced him to stop.

But nothing scared him anymore.

Not when the worst had already happened.

Not when he had already lost everything.

A part of him wondered, distantly, if this was what it felt like to die. If the light-headedness creeping in, the cold seeping into his bones, was what Wynter had felt in her final moments.

Had she been afraid?

Had she called for him?

Had she cried for her Mama as the flames consumed her, as the smoke choked the life from her tiny lungs?

Cale shuddered violently. His knees gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor, the shards digging into his skin. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.

The door to his room burst open.

A voice called his name—sharper than the glass, louder than the silence that had consumed him for weeks.

Hands grabbed his arms, his shoulders, shaking him, gripping him too tightly. His vision blurred, the world tilting.

Someone was screaming.

It took him a second to realize it was him.

Then, darkness.

***

He told Hans not to tell anyone.

And he did. The deputy butler never asked what went wrong or why he did that.

(Hans felt like that was what went wrong. He should have asked the young master what drove him to do that.)

He isolated himself again.

Days and months have passed.

It was the 21st day of the 12th Month.

***

Lily could tell something was wrong with her orabeoni, but she was too afraid to say something. Her oppa was injured, he could barely walk without crutches. Her orabeoni hadn’t been seen by anybody since the new Hero had beaten him up. Even when her father had asked him to join them to eat, he would always refuse.

She was worried. So today, with her master Edro, she went to see him today. It was the 21st, the first day of winter, and she was sure that her orabeoni didn't like the cold.

“Do you think that orabeoni would come out today?” She asked anxiously to her master, her blue eyes slightly dimmed.

Her master looked unsure before he answered, “I’m sure he can be talked to.”

As they walked through the halls, Lily couldn’t help but to feel something was about to go wrong. She could feel it in her gut, it was unsettling, and judging by the tense shoulder of Edro, she wasn’t the only one feeling it.

There were a few servants in the hallway. They were whispering.

Lily could hear them, the hushed voices of the maids and footmen, their words curling like smoke in the frozen air.

“Has he eaten at all this week?”

“I don’t think so. Hans brings food, but it always comes back untouched.”

“I heard he hasn’t even left his room since—”

A sharp look from Edro cut them off, but the damage was done. Lily’s stomach twisted, unease clawing at her ribs.

Her orabeoni was in there. Alone. Cold. Suffering.

She picked up her pace, her small boots tapping against the marble floors as they approached the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall.

Something felt wrong.

Something felt very wrong.

She knocked once.

Silence.

She knocked again. Harder this time.

Still nothing.

Her fingers curled into fists, her breath uneven. “Orabeoni?” she called softly, pressing her ear against the door.

Nothing.

Just the wind outside, howling against the walls.

Just the hollow, suffocating silence that had settled in this part of the manor ever since—

Her heart pounded.

“Young Master-nim.” Edro knocked as well, firmer than her, but still met with nothing.

Lily looked up at her master, her throat tightening. He hesitated for a second before gripping the door handle and pushing.

Locked.

A sick feeling settled in her stomach.

Why was it locked?

Her hands trembled as she stepped back. “Orabeoni, please open the door,” she begged, voice wavering. “It’s me. It’s Lily. I just… I just wanted to see you.”

No answer.

The air felt too heavy, pressing down on her tiny frame.

Edro’s expression hardened. “We’re going in,” he said.

The servants gasped as he raised his leg and kicked—once, twice. The third time, the door cracked open.

Squeak.

Her eyes widened in horror.

Squeakkk.

Her… Her orabeoni.. Was dangling with a rope around his neck, fresh blood flowing down his wrist. She didn’t even feel Edro move and cut the rope, but all she could do was stare in horror.

Lily’s scream tore through the manor.

***

The scream rang through the manor like a death knell.

Lily didn’t remember rushing forward, didn’t remember her hands trembling as she reached out. But she remembered the way Cale’s body felt—cold. Too cold. His lips were parted slightly, his face deathly pale, his crimson hair tangled against his sweat-soaked skin. His wrists— His neck—

Oh, gods.

Blood. So much blood.

Someone was shouting. She thought it was Edro. Orders being barked, desperate hands working to untangle the rope, pressing against the wounds, shaking a lifeless body, trying to force it to remember how to breathe.

Her orabeoni wasn’t breathing.

“Young Master-nim, wake up! Wake up!”

A body knelt beside her, pressing trembling fingers against his throat, against his wrist, searching, pleading for something, anything.

There. A flicker. A faint pulse.

Too weak. Too close to slipping away.

“Get a physician! Now!” Edro roared, his usually composed voice breaking under the weight of panic.

Footsteps thundered through the halls, a flurry of movement as the world descended into chaos. But all Lily could do was stare at her orabeoni’s unmoving form, at the way his chest barely, barely rose and fell.

She clutched at his sleeve, her small fingers curling around the fabric, her breath coming out in gasps. “Don’t go,” she whispered. “Please don’t go.”

She was young, she was merely eight years old. But she knew, she had heard of stories, of tales of people that have lost many but no one had been there. People like them let go. And now—

Now, she was seeing it first hand in her orabeoni.

He was letting go.

***

Deruth was ashen as he stared at the pale, cold, lifeless body of his eldest. He was alive, barely.

When did he go wrong? What went wrong? What pushed his son to do this to himself?

He failed his son.

Beside him was his second wife, Violan, who was usually composed, slumped into the seat beside Cale's bed. His second son, Basen, was crying as Lily, his only daughter, was holding onto him, traumatized by what she saw.

Silence hung heavy in the room, broken only by the rhythmic beeping of the physician’s tools as he worked to stabilize Cale’s fragile body.

Deruth sat frozen in his chair, his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. His firstborn—his son—had nearly died.

Had tried to die.

And Deruth had not seen it coming.

He had always known Cale was distant, and had always thought it was just his nature. But this… This was not distance. This was a child—his child—who had been left alone for so long that death seemed like the only way out.

“What went wrong?” His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

Beside him, Violan’s usually unshakable composure had fractured. Her hands trembled where they rested in her lap, her gaze fixed on Cale’s pale, unmoving form.

Basen, for all his efforts to keep himself together, was failing. His quiet sobs filled the suffocating air, his body shaking as Lily clung to him. She had not spoken a word since they had pulled Cale down.

Not even to the physician when he asked what she saw.

Not even to Basen when he begged her to say something, anything.

She only gripped the fabric of his sleeve, as if she were afraid that if she let go, he too would disappear.

The physician sighed as he finally stepped away. “He’s stable for now,” he said, voice weary. “But the blood loss was severe. If he had been found even minutes later…”

No one needed him to finish that sentence.

Deruth closed his eyes.

Minutes. Mere minutes had been the difference between life and death.

He exhaled shakily, dragging a hand down his face. “When will he wake up?”

The physician hesitated. “It’s hard to say. His body is weak, and…” He hesitated, then continued more softly, “…attempts like these take more than just a physical toll.”

Violan flinched.

Attempts.

As if this had been a passing moment of weakness, as if this had been something Cale might never attempt again.

The thought made Deruth’s stomach turn.

Lily’s small fingers curled tighter around Basen’s sleeve.

She had been there.

She had seen.

“Lily,” Violan murmured, reaching for her. “Sweetheart, are you—”

The child flinched.

Flinched away from her own mother’s touch.

Violan pulled her hand back slowly, horror flickering across her face.

Lily’s fingers trembled where they gripped Basen. She still hadn’t spoken. Hadn’t even cried.

Just… blank silence.

Edro, standing stiffly to the side, finally stepped forward. His normally calm face was drawn tight. “The young lady needs rest,” he said, his voice steady but firm. “This has been too much for her.”

Violan nodded shakily, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “Yes… yes, of course.”

Basen gently led his sister away, his own steps unsteady. He hesitated at the door, looking back once—at Cale, at the father who had failed him, at the mother who had never truly seen him.

Then he left.

The door clicked shut behind him.

And the room fell back into suffocating silence.

Deruth let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. His son was alive. For now.

But there was no relief.

Because now, the real fear has settled in.

How long had Cale been like this?

How many nights had he spent drowning alone, with no one there to pull him from the depths?

And, worst of all—

Would he try again?

Because no matter how much Deruth wished otherwise…

This didn’t feel like something that could be fixed.

It felt like something that had already broken beyond repair.

And he had no idea how to put his son back together.

***

Cale woke up to the sterile scent of medicine and the oppressive weight of silence.

He didn’t need to open his eyes to know where he was.

He was still here.

Alive.

A broken, bitter laugh tried to crawl out of his throat, but all that came was a dry, rasping breath.

Why?

Why had they stopped him?

Why had they brought him back?

Didn’t they understand?

There was nothing left for him.

Nothing to hold onto.

Nothing to live for.

Wynter was gone.

His baby was gone.

His hands curled weakly at his sides, but he couldn’t even find the strength to lift them. A part of him wished they had failed, that he had slipped away before they had gotten to him.

Maybe then he would have found peace.

Maybe then he wouldn’t feel so empty.

The door creaked open.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t react.

Didn’t care.

He heard shuffling, soft footsteps approaching, before something small and warm clutched at his sleeve.

“…Orabeoni?”

His breath hitched.

Lily.

He didn’t open his eyes, didn’t turn his head. But she stayed.

Her tiny fingers clenched harder, as if afraid he would slip away again if she let go. “Why did you do that?”

The question was quiet. So quiet. But in the deafening silence of his own mind, it felt like a scream.

Cale didn’t answer.

Couldn’t answer.

Because how was he supposed to explain?

How was he supposed to tell his eight-year-old sister that waking up every day felt like torture? That the pain of breathing, of existing, was suffocating? That he had nothing left to hold onto?

That he didn’t want to be here anymore?

Lily’s voice trembled. “If you… If you go, then I… Then I…”

She hiccupped, choking on her words.

Cale felt something wet drop onto his hand.

Tears.

His chest tightened painfully.

Lily buried her face against his arm, her small shoulders shaking. “You were going to leave me behind.”

Cale swallowed thickly.

Because it was true.

And gods, didn’t that make him a monster?

He didn’t move, didn’t reach out, didn’t say anything. But for the first time in weeks, something inside him stirred.

Something small.

Something fragile.

And he hated it.

Hated that it existed.

Hated that even after everything, a tiny, selfish part of him still clung to the warmth of his sister’s presence.

He wanted it to go away.

Wanted the world to just—

Stop.

But it wouldn’t.

And Lily wouldn’t let go.

***

When he managed to gather the strength to tell them, all of them were horrified.

A child.

A dead child that was biologically Cale’s died months ago and he had been mourning ever since, and none of them knew.

Deruth could only sob as he stared at the dead eyes of his son. Oh how could he fail him this bad?

Chapter Text

“Young master, I have brought Rosalyn-nim.”

Cale was paying attention to his two youngest as Hans and Rosalyn entered through the open door, the baby dragon was quick to turn back into being invisible. Hans did not enter any farther than the door frame, and calmly added on to what he stated previously.

“Young master, Rosalyn-nim, please let me know if you need anything.”

Hans then bowed and stepped out of the room. Rosalyn looked to be calm, yet cold. But when she gazed at his daughter, her gaze was warm and doting. Since when did Rosalyn have interacted with Wynter? Did Choi Han introduce his 16 month old baby to her?

(Spoilers: he did. The Korean was eager to introduce his “daughter” to his newfound siblings.)

“Thank you for the invitation, young master Cale.”

“It was nothing, Miss Rosalyn.”

Cale pointed to the chair across from him and started to speak.

“There are a lot of things we need to discuss.”

“Young master, I guess you don’t like to beat around the bush?”

Rosalyn started to smile as she asked, and Cale looked toward the open terrace window and started to speak.

“You can show yourself.”

And their conversation starts there, Rosalyn was a reasonable woman. She could understand why the secrecy and all that.

“I do have two last questions if you don’t mind, Young Master Cale.” Rosalyn said after their initial conversation.

“Hm?” He looked at her and tilted his head, “Go ahead.”

“Is it true that the little lady is your daughter? Who’s the mother?” Ah. This kind of question, Cale could admit that it was natural for her to be curious, after all. The rumors surrounding the original Cale was that he was nothing but trash that likes to drink a lot. So for her, a soon-to-be former Crown Princess, who is aware of his reputation, would be curious.

Cale put some food on Wynter’s plate again, as she wanted more. Good, his daughter should eat a lot. He put food on the baby dragon’s plate as well before looking at Rosalyn, “She’s biologically mine. Meaning, I am her mother, not her father.”

“Eh?” Rosalyn was looking at him and Wynter back and forth, “What?”

Cale laughed softly, “It’s something from my maternal side. But I am able to bear and give birth to children just like any other woman.”

“But you–?”

“Because natural-born “men” in my maternal side rarely exist. We are simply genderless, as simply put.” He explained, a bit distracted with his two youngest, “So technically, I’m the only “male” right now that could do this. But no one would care to pursue trash like me anyway.”

While Cale was distracted, Rosalyn was looking at him with a deadpan look on her face.

‘He.. He didn’t realize that Choi Han likes him?’ Rosalyn was so confused on why this man is so oblivious. That explained his appearance a lot as well, the Cale Henituse in front of her was different from the rumors that had reached her. Glancing at the little lady, who was being doted on by her mother, then back at the young master.

The Cale Henituse, without his trashy persona, was an androgynous beauty. He was genderless, but identified as a male, but genderless nonetheless. He looks ethereal, especially with that long hair. From what she could tell, a mage did that. But seeing as how he is surrounded by four children, she could tell that he did that for them.

“I’m still her Auntie.” Cale turned to the grinning Rosalyn, “Choi Han and I are somewhat siblings, and the little lady is her “papa” so by default; I’m her Auntie.”

Cale sighed, “Do what you want.”

***

After that conversation, Cale and Wynter got on the carriage to go meet the Northeastern nobles. The Northeastern nobles consisted of just 10 noble families. There were more if you considered the barons and below, but the pillar of the Northeast was based on these 10 families. Of those 10 families, the three people Cale was meeting today came from three families that had been friendly with the Henituse family for a long time.

“What a dilemma.”

That was why Cale was worried. Choi Han, who had been following him as a guard, cautiously asked.

“What is? If I can do anything to help, please let me know.”

“Nothing. You don’t need to know.”

Cale just curtly answered before starting to think again. Choi Han observed Cale and started to worry as well. It was the first time Choi Han had seen Cale worrying like this.

Cale did not know what to do.

He was planning to live as a trash when he first transmigrated into Cale Henituse’s body, but he couldn’t even be a proper trash without being a bad example to his daughter. He would never show that kind of personality to Wynter, she was too precious, too young to see that ugly side of him.

The Northeastern nobles would have seen Cale’s trash behavior in the past. They would have also received news about all of Cale’s trashy actions in the Henituse territory. That was why he was unsure of how to act with them.

“Hmm.”

Cale looked down at his two hands. Cale is planning to introduce Wynter to the three, they were the longest people that had stood with the original Cale, even if they do try to stop him by treating him like a child. While Cale was thinking about what could happen with this meeting, the carriage stopped in front of a residence. Since the Northeastern nobles all had residences in the same area of the capital, it was not very far.

“Welcome, young master Cale-nim.”

Cale noticed the old butler greeting him at the gate, and looked to the building behind the butler.

This was Count Wheelsman’s residence. Count Wheelsman’s territory was located in the beginning parts of the Northeast, and he was neither very strong nor very wealthy. That was why he was able to build a close relationship with Count Henituse in the Northeast, where they did not have any dukes or marquis. Count Henituse liked this friendship because, for someone like him, whose territory was far in the corner of the Northeast, knowing someone who was close to the capital was beneficial.

Cale thought about Count Wheelsman’s successor.

‘Eric Wheelsman.’

Deputy butler Hans had cautiously advised Cale before he left for this meeting.

‘Young master, it is great that you have a good relationship with young master Eric, but I bring this up to you to let you know that the young master Eric would wholeheartedly love the little lady.’

That let Cale know that Eric and the original owner of this body were very close. However, the information about Eric in the nobles information report described Eric as a good person who was a bit uptight.

“Young master Cale, may I escort you inside?”

“Sure.”

Cale, who had carried Wynter in his arms, followed the old butler into the Wheelsman residence.

Eric Wheelsman, Gilbert Chetter, and Amiru Ubarr. The three of them were inside the residence. Cale was still thinking about how he should introduce his daughter to the three of them.

But thankfully, it was Eric Wheelsman that opened the conversation.

“Cale..” As he was settling Wynter down, Eric called for his attention, he looked at him. The Northeaster trio looked both at him and Wynter like they were seeing an alien.

Amiru could definitely admit out loud that the rumored child of Cale was the most adorable child she had ever seen. She was the exact replica of Cale when he was a child but with silver eyes. Probably the other parent.

“Ah.” Cale finally acknowledged them, “This is my daughter, Wynter.” He turned to the little girl, “Wyn-wyn, these are Mama’s friends, your Uncle Eric, Uncle Gilbert, and Aunt Amiru.”

“Hewwo!” She gave them a toothy grin that made Amiru go ‘aww’. Cale wanted to preen with proudness, heck yeah. This body made that adorable baby.

Gilbert choked on his spit, “M-Mama..?”

Cale nodded, “I gave birth to her.”

Eric gaped at them like a goldfish before Amiru nudged him with her elbow to regain his composure, “Right,”

There was silence.

Then, the trio are kneeling down in front of Wynter, cooing at her.

“Oh goodness, aren’t you just adorable?” Amiru said, playing with Wynter’s tiny hand.

“She’s like a mini-Cale,” Gilbert looked like he wanted to pinch her cheeks.

“She’s so cute!” Eric looked like he wanted to hug her tight.

So Cale is currently at the side as he watches the Northeastern trio and the servants of the Wheelsman Residence fawn over his adorable daughter. Eric almost fainted when Wynter let him carry her. Gilbert and Amiru also had the privilege to hold her.

He didn’t even realize that he was tense over Wynter meeting them when he fully relaxed in his seat. He also realized that maybe deep down, the original Cale Henituse wanted his daughter to meet these three, the three people who had been his friends for so long, so seeing them doting on Wynter like they had been there since her birth felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Yeah... His daughter is so well-loved by the people that met her.

Chapter Text

Cale was exasperated.

Amiru and the others had somehow barged into the manor to plan both his and Wynter’s clothes for the banquet after finding out that Wynter would make an official appearance. Cale wasn’t planning to hide her at all, he would never be ashamed of her existence, he was damn proud of it in fact.

It would be just annoying if everyone found out that he was the one that gave birth to Wynter, useless and annoying nobles would send proposal letters left and right for his hand in marriage for his ability to give birth despite being a “man”. For fuck sake, he was not even a man!

Bang!

Rosalyn, with her brown hair disguise, barged into the room with racks of clothes, “I have brought clothes!”

Cale let out a long-suffering sigh.

Wynter, seated comfortably on his lap, looked up with wide, sparkling eyes. “Mama,” she whispered, gripping his sleeve. “Is Auntie Rosa going to make me wear something weird?”

Cale patted her head with an expression of utmost seriousness. “Probably.”

Amiru, glancing at the little girl’s nervous expression, gasped in mock offense. “Cale, how could you say that? We’ve selected only the finest outfits befitting the first granddaughter of the Henituse family!”

“I don’t want to be ‘befitting’ anything,” Cale grumbled, side-eyeing the racks of clothing Rosalyn had just rolled in. “And neither does Wynter.”

Rosalyn, despite her normally dignified and elegant presence, was practically sparkling with excitement. “Nonsense! We must seize this opportunity! You, Cale, must look as ethereal as possible—”

“I already do,” he deadpanned. ‘Are you trying to get Ron to murder everyone?’

Rosalyn ignored him, flipping through the racks before triumphantly pulling out a deep navy-blue coat embroidered with silver threads. “And Wynter must shine! Look, doesn’t this remind you of a twinkling night sky? Perfect for a pretty little princess like her.”

Wynter blinked at the outfit. Then she turned to Cale, tugging his sleeve again. “Mama, I sparkle?”

Cale exhaled, slumping back against the couch as he ran a hand through his hair. “You’re already my little star, do you need to sparkle more?”

Wynter giggled, clearly delighted. “Night stars!”

And just like that, Cale knew he had lost the battle.

Rosalyn beamed, clearly satisfied. “Then it’s settled! Wynter shall sparkle like the night stars!”  

Cale groaned. “That wasn’t a decision, that was you manipulating a child.”  

Wynter, oblivious to her mother’s suffering, clapped her hands. “Sparkle!”  

Amiru laughed as she picked out matching shoes. “Oh, Cale, just let it happen. It’s a noble banquet—everyone will be watching. If Wynter looks dazzling, they’ll be too enchanted to gossip about useless things.”  

“That sounds exactly like the kind of thing I don’t want,” Cale muttered, watching as Rosalyn pulled out another set of clothes—this time, for him. He stared at the pristine white coat lined with crimson embroidery. “…I refuse.”  

Rosalyn did not even blink. “No, you don’t.”  

“I do.”  

Rosalyn smiled sweetly. “Cale, you adore Wynter, don’t you?”  

Cale narrowed his eyes. “What are you getting at?”  

Rosalyn lifted the coat and held it next to Wynter’s chosen outfit. “Matching.”  

Cale froze. Wynter gasped.  

“Mama, we match?” she asked, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.  

Cale clenched his jaw. It was an unfair move. Unfair, despicable, underhanded—  

Wynter grabbed his hand. “Please, Mama?”  

Cale sighed in defeat. “…Fine.”  

Rosalyn and Amiru shared a victorious glance.  

“Wonderful!” Rosalyn cheered. “Now, let’s move on to accessories—”  

“No.”  

“—and hair styling—”  

“No.”  

“—and perhaps light cosmetics—”  

“No.”  

Wynter giggled, wrapping her arms around Cale’s neck. “Mama’s so silly.”  

Cale exhaled through his nose. He had lost. Completely.

***

By the time Cale was freed from Rosalyn and Amiru’s clutches, he felt utterly exhausted. He slumped onto a couch, while Wynter pranced around in her new outfit, twirling happily as if she were already at the banquet.  

“Mama, look! I sparkle!” Wynter chirped, making her dark starry-themed outfit shimmer under the sunlight filtering through the window.  

Cale let out a tired sigh but softened at the sight of his daughter’s beaming face. “…You do.”  

“She’s adorable,” Amiru cooed, watching Wynter twirl with shining eyes. “Cale, you better be prepared. At least half the noblewomen will want to kidnap her out of sheer adoration.”  

“Let them try,” Cale muttered. “I have plenty of ways to make them regret it.”  

Wynter, completely oblivious to her mother’s grumblings, turned to Rosalyn with sparkling eyes. “Aunt Rosie, does Mama sparkle too?”  

Rosalyn, who had been silently admiring her handiwork on Cale’s outfit, smirked. “Oh, he does, Wynter. Your Mama is the prettiest prince at the banquet.”  

Cale sat up straight. “Excuse me?”  

Rosalyn, ignoring him, clapped her hands together. “And the most dazzling duo will steal the hearts of the entire hall!”  

Cale rubbed his temples. “I feel like I’ve been conned.”  

Amiru chuckled. “It’s not a con if it’s true.”  

Wynter tilted her head. “Mama is a prince?”  

Cale looked at his daughter, fully prepared to refute the nonsense—until she clasped her tiny hands together and gazed at him with wide, sparkling eyes.  

“…Prince Mama?” she whispered in awe.  

Cale’s soul momentarily left his body.  

Rosalyn and Amiru had to cover their mouths to stifle their laughter.  

“…Sure,” Cale said at last, rubbing his face. “Whatever makes you happy, sweetheart.”  

“Yay!” Wynter cheered and flung herself into his arms, nuzzling against him.  

Cale exhaled in defeat, resigning himself to his fate. The things he did for his daughter.

***

Cale grabbed the crown prince’s invitation and got off the carriage with Wynter, holding her small and delicate hand. The gathering was to start at 5 pm. Cale looked at the palace, which was incomparable to both the Henituse estate and their residence in the capital combined.

The Palace of Joy. The name of the location of the gathering was called the Palace of Joy, and it was built by the king to share his joy of the birth of the crown prince. Of course, the king now favored the third prince.

“Woah..”

Cale was planning to meet up with Eric, Gilbert, and Amiru outside the palace and enter together. He looked toward the palace and started to think.

‘Is this a cliche too?’

It just so happened that someone else arrived at the palace right when Cale arrived.

“Wow, who is this? Isn’t this our famous young master Cale?”

‘Sigh.’

Cale held back his sigh. He could feel the distaste from the person before him just from their tone. The person approaching him was Neo, the successor to Viscount Tolz.

‘Why do I have to run into one of Venion’s minions now?’

Neo Tolz was one of the stereotypical villains. He went around doing Venion’s biddings.

The village that the Black Dragon was tortured in belonged to Viscount Tolz.

And Viscount Tolz’s people never liked the Henituse family. It was because, although they were separated only by a single mountain, the difference in wealth was drastic. However, in the past, they were once friendly with the Henituse family.

That all changed once they went under Marquis Stan’s faction 5 years ago. Of course, they wouldn’t say it out loud, but they would stealthily try to take control of the Northeastern nobles meeting.

Neo Tolz smiled brightly as he stood in front of Cale.

“You are alone?”

They were still a bit away from the palace entrance, and the Vice Captain and Ron were speaking with the guard to get permission to enter. Cale, who brought only a minimal amount of people with him, looked down at Neo.

Neo saw that Cale was alone, and thus pushed his subordinates back.

“I am going to chat with young master Cale for a bit. Go get permission for us to enter.”

Neo sent his subordinates to the guard, and took one step closer to Cale. Once the two of them were standing very close, Neo started to speak.

“Young master Cale.”

Neo had a warm and friendly smile on his face, as he spoke in a quiet voice that only Cale could hear.

“What is a terrible trash like you doing coming to the palace?”

‘Sigh, so childish. Is it like this because it is a world inside a book? Or is it because it is a fantasy world? Is it possible that punks like this exist in the real world too? They must exist since he’s provoking me like this.’

The son of a viscount dares to speak like this to the son of a count? Cale thought it was only happening because it was a novel, but actually dealing with this made Cale extremely frustrated.

‘I’m not even the MC. Can I not deal with cliches like this?’

Cale wanted to just tell Ron to kill these stupid villains who didn’t know their place. Cale looked at Neo with a deadpan look on his face as he gestured at the little girl with him, whom Neo hadn’t noticed until now, “Please watch your words. We have a child present.”

Neo flinched and stared at Wynter in wonder, “How in the—”

Wynter tilted her head, her hand still holding his. Her silver doe eyes looked at Neo Tolz like he was a confusing species. Cale raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for Neo to do something to give Cale a reason to go after the entire Tolz Household.

To his surprise, Neo crouched down and took out a candy from his pocket, and offered it to Wynter, “Do you like candy?”

— There’s nothing on the candy, human! Baby Wynter is safe to eat the candy.

Cale relaxed for a bit. Guess even Neo has a standard when it comes to children. Must be because he is a lower rank than Venion that he is unable to do shit. But it is surprising that he is being nice to his daughter.

“Mama,” Wynter tugged on his hand, “Can I?”

Cale nodded, “Go ahead.”

Wynter let go of his hand, and presented both of her hands as if telling Neo to give her the candy. Neo then gives her the candy, “Ank Ou!”

Neo brushed off the fact that Wynter called him Mama, and just stood up and patted her head, “You’re welcome, kid.”

Cale was still staring at him.

“What?” Neo snapped.

At that moment, Cale’s gaze turned to a new carriage that just arrived.

Bang! The carriage door burst open as soon as the carriage stopped, and Eric Wheelsman got out of the carriage. Gilbert and Amiru were inside the carriage as well.

Cale signaled Eric, who was rushing over with his eyes wide open, with his eyes while pointing to Neo with his index finger.

“Hyung-nim.”

Cale’s sincere voice called out to him. Wynter perked up when she noticed them, so the little girl ran towards them, “Unkie!”

“Wyn-wyn!” Eric was quick to catch, “Oh goodness! You are as pretty as ever!”

“Hello, Wynter.” Gilbert approached.

“Ah.” Amiru looked so satisfied, “My day is complete! My niece is just so adorable!”

Wynter giggled as Neo escaped from the scene. The other two are still interacting with his daughter. He softly smiled, clenching and unclenching his fist to stop the tremors that were creeping onto his arms. He then heard the Black Dragon’s report in his ear.

There was a reason he brought the Black Dragon with him today.

– The voice recording magic is ready.

Cale had asked the Black Dragon to record everything that happened today. Video recording required a lot of mana usage and was difficult to maintain for a long period of time, so Cale had to be satisfied with just voice recording.

Cale was originally not going to do this because the palace would have a lot of mages who were sensitive to mana, but the Black Dragon assured him that it would be undetected as long as the range of the voice recording was small.

And it was very useful for him as well, the baby dragon is very attached to Wynter. So, having another set of hidden eyes looking out for his daughter was a bonus. He’ll prepare a large amount of meat for this baby later.

He looked at his current companions and said, “Can I have my daughter back?”

The three looked at him sheepishly and gave Wynter back onto his arms.

“Let’s go.”

The three of them followed Cale into the palace. Wynter is in awe as the servant was looking at his daughter in awe and shock. Ah, there must have been rumors about Wynter already.

“Young master Cale-nim and Young Miss Wynter-nim of Count Henituse’s household are entering the hall!”

Cale could hear the servant shout out Eric, Gilbert, and Amiru’s names as well as he walked into the hall. He could see everyone looking at him and Wynter in shock. Ah, there really is a rumor about Wynter’s existence.

Cale remained unfazed under the weight of the nobles' stares. He expected it—after all, news traveled fast among aristocrats, and the existence of a young child under his care was bound to cause a stir.

He glanced down at Wynter, who was looking around the grand hall with wide, fascinated eyes. The chandeliers glittered above them, the music swelled in the background, and the nobles whispered behind their fans and gloved hands.

But Wynter? She didn’t seem scared. If anything, she was entranced.

“Mama,” she whispered in awe. “So shiny!”

Cale sighed, adjusting his grip on her. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s shiny.”

“She fits right in with her outfit,” Amiru whispered with a grin, leaning toward Cale. “Like a little star in a sky full of lanterns.”

Wynter giggled, twirling slightly in his arms. “Mama too! Sparkle!”

Cale resisted the urge to groan.

As he made his way toward a quieter corner, avoiding the larger noble families, an unfortunate soul decided to step in his way.

“My, my, what a surprise.”

Cale did not blink.

A lady dressed in fine gold-embroidered silks smiled at him. “Young Master Cale, you’ve been full of surprises lately.”

‘Marquis Stan’s people,’ Cale thought instantly.

Lady Violan had drilled enough noble etiquette and political awareness into him to recognize the undercurrents of noble society, and the Stan family was as opportunistic as they came.

The woman’s eyes flickered to Wynter, who was staring at her with open curiosity.

“And who is this little darling?”

Cale adjusted his hold on Wynter and raised a brow. “My daughter.”

A ripple of murmurs passed through the nearby nobles who had been eavesdropping.

The woman’s smile stiffened, though she quickly recovered. “Oh my, what a surprise indeed. I don’t recall hearing any news of such an addition to the Henituse family.”

Cale smiled, but it was as sharp as a blade. “That’s because I don’t owe anyone an announcement.”

The lady let out a light laugh, though her eyes flickered with something unreadable. “Of course, of course. My, how time flies. It feels like just yesterday you were known as Roan Kingdom’s most infamous—”

A sharp gust of wind brushed past them, just enough to ruffle the edges of the lady’s gown.

She froze.

Cale tilted his head, his smile growing just a fraction.

“I do hope you’ll enjoy the banquet, Lady Lennox,” he said smoothly.

Lady Lennox swallowed, her grip on her fan tightening, before she gracefully stepped aside. “But of course, Young Master Cale.”

Cale continued walking, Wynter still holding onto him.

She tugged his sleeve. “Mama?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t like that lady,” Wynter whispered.

Cale smirked. “Neither do I, sweetheart.”

He glanced towards the door, all he needs to do is tend to Wynter for the entire banquet without making any trouble. Wynter is after all a behaved child, the baby dragon is here to entertain her too. And on their table, the trio is there to make it easy for Cale.

***

Wynter is fascinated by the pretty palace, she was not paying attention when her mama had been interacting with her auntie and uncles that she had recently met. She couldn’t help but to huff after she once again realized that her Papa Han is not with her and her Mama.

Papa Han gave her a kiss before she left with her mama! So she is fine.

She likes her Papa Han, there is a pretty smoke around him. It somehow felt like her real papa.

— Baby Wynter! Go ask the tall human for food!

Ah! She forgot, she was gonna ask her Uncle Gil for food!

She smiled sweetly at her mama as her uncle went to get her food. She is having fun here! Even though the food isn’t as tasty as Uncle Rox, it's still good. But her Mama’s foods are the best!

Then, the large door from before opened again. There were people that entered with shiny hair. But the one in front has the same feeling as the tattoo auntie from before, she likes it!

But then wheely uncle and tattoo auntie finally appeared. Hmm… They do have the same feeling, but tattoo auntie has a more feeling like her papa to her.

“Hi~!” She greeted her wheely uncle and tattoo auntie.

“Hello~!” Tattoo Auntie pinched her cheeks, “Aren’t you just cute!”

“Hehe.”

“Hello, little lady.” Wheely Uncle softly smiled at her.

Then, Uncle Eri said they have to go say hi to the shiny people. Which one is the crown prince? What’s a crown prince? Is it a new food? Are they greeting a food?

“Oh, our Northeastern nobles!” The crown prince welcomed the four of them with a bright smile.

Oh.

Wynter tilted her head as she was in her Mama’s arms, so this is the crown prince. He’s not a food!

Why is he so shiny?

Wynter keeps staring at this crown prince. He has an aura like her Papa Han, but it was more warm. The crown prince turned to look at her, “Oh, hello! You must be the Young Master Cale’s daughter then? Miss Wynter?”

Wynter giggled, and held out a hand like he was doing with her mama, aunt, and uncles, “Hewwo mister!”

As soon as their hands touched, Wynter’s eyes sparkled, “Pretty Prince is shiny!”

“Shiny?” The shiny uncle asked.

“Yeah! Our hair is shiny like Mama’s circle things!”

The shiny uncle let out a laugh, “I see.”

“Yesh.” Wynter nodded like her dragon oppa. “Pretty Prince is shiny like the stars at night!”

Chapter Text

“Pretty Prince is shiny like the stars at night!”

Alberu looked at the smiling child. He had expected her to attend the party of course. His father had made it known that he had sent another invitation for the Henituses. He had thought that Basen Henituse was the recipient of the other invitation, but not this little girl. This child who was probably not even two years of age, the first grandchild of the wealthy Henituse Family.

Cale Henituse politely coughed, snapping him out of his thoughts. Alberu brought out his brightest smile, “Thank you, little lady! You certainly are shining like the stars today as well.”

The little lady, who was smiling at him earlier, was suddenly shy and mumbling to her “mama”, “Shiny..”

The other northeastern nobles chuckled at the adorable antics of the little lady. Alberu knew that the existence of this child was only known a few days ago to everyone else, but to see them being so wrapped around her little fingers is fascinating. 

‘Stars at night!’ Is the child implying something? He was having a hard time trying to calm himself. Of course no one would over analyze the words of a child, but he was Alberu. He grew up over analyzing everyone, damn it.

He got a cold sweat looking at the curious eyes of this silver eyed child. Did… Did she somehow could tell that he was not fully human?

‘Well, you aren’t fully human yourself, little lady!’ His eye gave an unnoticeable twitch as the little girl looked at her with awe in her eyes. But it was the truth, there was something in this girl that didn’t feel human. Glancing at Cale Henituse, the supposed mother, this one is human. But his child isn’t?

What the hell?

Alberu maintained his bright smile, but internally, his mind raced. He had spent years perfecting the art of deception—ensuring that no one could ever suspect his hidden bloodline. Yet here was a child, barely out of infancy, staring at him with wide silver eyes that held a strange knowingness.

"Shiny," the little girl mumbled again, burying her face into Cale’s shoulder.

Cale patted her back absentmindedly, his expression unreadable. "Your Highness, I believe my daughter is quite taken with you."

Alberu chuckled, shaking off his unease. "I must say, she has excellent taste." His gaze flickered back to the child. "And what is your name, little lady?"

Before Cale could answer, the child peeked out from his shoulder, her small hands clutching onto his clothes. "Wynter."

"Wynter, hmm?" Alberu repeated, his smile never faltering. His sharp gaze, however, took in everything—the way Cale's arms tightened ever so slightly around the child, the way the little girl studied him with a curiosity far beyond her years.  

A noble child of her age should barely be forming coherent sentences, let alone making cryptic statements that left a Crown Prince wary.  

Cale hummed, adjusting Wynter’s position so she was more comfortable. "She’s still getting used to social gatherings," he said lightly, though Alberu caught the subtle warning underneath.  

‘Back off.’  

Alberu smiled wider.  

"Then I hope we’ll have more opportunities to speak in the future, Lady Wynter," he said, dipping his head in a mock bow. "Perhaps you’ll tell me more about these shiny things you see."  

Wynter blinked, then giggled, her silver eyes gleaming. "Pretty Prince is funny."  

Cale sighed as if he had given up on correcting her. "Your Highness, I’m afraid you’ve just earned yourself a new title."  

Alberu pressed a hand over his chest dramatically. "I accept it with honor."  

The nobles around them laughed politely, but Alberu knew they were as intrigued as he was. Everyone had expected Cale Henituse to remain an eccentric, but a child? A child who had never been seen before? The speculation had only just begun.  

Still, that wasn’t what truly concerned him.  

Alberu’s instincts had never failed him, and right now, they were screaming at him. There was something about Wynter Henituse. Something that he could not place at all.  

But Alberu would not stoop so low and investigate a child, who was technically a toddler.

“She is quite an adorable child, Young Master Cale.” He complimented the child with full sincerity.

To his surprise, Cale Henituse’s expressionless eyes softened as he looked at his daughter, who was now paying attention to everything else, “Thank you.”

Ah.

He’s the doting kind, isn’t he?

***

After that eventful banquet, Cale just wants to lay around or probably walk around the capital with his children. Choi Han, Rosalyn, and Lock had volunteered to go around and look for the mana bombs; the baby dragon would join them later at night.

So here they are. In casual clothing, walking around the capital. The Cat Tribe children had turned into their human forms as the baby dragon was invisible and perched on his shoulder.

Ohn and Hong were walking in front of him, hand in hand, as they looked around with curious eyes.

Wynter, dressed in a simple but elegant outfit befitting a noble child, clung onto his free hand, her tiny fingers wrapped around his own. She was still too young to walk for long periods, so Cale had prepared himself for when she would inevitably ask to be carried.  

“Mama-nya, do you think we’ll get to eat some of those pastries I heard the merchants talking about?” Hong asked, his eyes shining in anticipation.  

Ohn, ever the calmer sibling, glanced at her brother before turning to Cale. “I heard they’re very sweet. Maybe we should try some?”  

Cale sighed, already resigned to the fate of being dragged to a food stall. “If you want to eat, go ahead,” he said, reaching into his pockets and handing them a few silver coins. “Make sure to buy enough for Wynter too.”  

Hong beamed as he snatched the coins from Cale’s hand. “Yes!”  

Wynter, who had been observing the exchange, tugged at Cale’s sleeve. “Mama, sweet?”  

Cale glanced down at his daughter, whose silver eyes were filled with hope. 

“…Fine.”  

Wynter clapped her hands, clearly pleased, while the Cat Tribe children cheered and dashed off to find the best pastry stall.  

Cale let out a long sigh. ‘I knew this would happen.’  

The baby dragon’s voice chimed in his head. —Human! Eating is a good thing! You should also eat lots of sweets!  

Cale ignored him.  

He walked leisurely, adjusting Wynter in his arms when she reached up, silently asking to be carried. She settled comfortably against his chest, her small hands curling into his shirt.  

The streets of the capital were bustling, filled with people preparing for the upcoming festival. Decorations lined the streets, and merchants eagerly promoted their wares. Cale blended into the crowd easily, his presence unassuming despite his noble lineage.  

As he strolled, his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings. His companions were searching for traces of the mana bombs, but he wasn’t completely idle either. He had already marked several suspicious individuals lurking in the alleyways.  

His peaceful family outing doubled as reconnaissance.  

“Mama.”  

Cale hummed in response. “What is it, Wynter?”  

The little girl lifted her head from his shoulder, blinking up at him. “Boom.”  

Cale froze.  

His grip on Wynter tightened slightly. “…Boom?”  

Wynter nodded sagely, pointing her tiny finger toward a seemingly ordinary building across the street. “Big boom.”  

Cale followed her gaze, eyes narrowing.  

It was a merchant’s shop, one of many in the area. Nothing about it stood out. But Wynter had pointed directly at it without hesitation.  

His mind immediately calculated the possibilities.  

Was this child-sensitive to mana? Or was this just a coincidence?  

His gut told him it wasn’t the latter.  

“…Wynter.” Cale’s voice was calm, but there was a weight behind it. “How do you know?”  

The little girl tilted her head. “Feels like—” She paused, searching for the right word. “—bad.”  

Cale exhaled slowly. He had long since learned to trust his instincts, and now, his instincts were telling him to trust his daughter’s words.  

“…Alright.” He pressed a light kiss to the top of Wynter’s head before adjusting his hold on her. “We’ll check it out.”  

He glanced toward the direction where Hong and Ohn had run off. It looked like his peaceful family outing had just taken an unexpected turn.

Cale sighed internally. I just wanted a quiet day.

But no. Apparently, even his daughter wouldn’t let him have that.

He quickly scanned the area, noting the placement of guards, escape routes, and potential hiding spots. If what Wynter sensed was real—and he had no reason to doubt her—then that building was likely one of the hidden bomb sites.

Before he could decide on his next move, the baby dragon’s voice echoed in his head.

—Human! Human! The tiny human is correct! There is an unusual mana reaction inside that building!

Cale resisted the urge to curse.

‘Great. That confirms it.’

He cast a side glance at Wynter, who was still pointing at the building, her silver eyes filled with certainty.

She really does have some kind of special perception, doesn’t she?

He would have to think about that later. For now, he needed to act.

“Hm.” Cale casually turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.

Wynter blinked in confusion. “Mama?”

Cale patted her back. “We’re not going in yet.”

The little girl looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “No go boom.”

“Exactly.”

He wasn’t about to rush into a trap just because they knew where one bomb was. Instead, he was going to let his team handle it properly.

At that moment, Hong and Ohn returned, Hong holding a small paper bag filled with pastries.

“Mama-nya, we got the sweets!” Hong said excitedly, holding one up.

Ohn, more perceptive, tilted her head. “…Did something happen?”

Cale gave them both a calm smile. “Nothing much. Just a little change in plans.”

He reached for a pastry and handed it to Wynter. “Here, eat first.”

The little girl took the treat happily, completely trusting him.

He would tell the others about it later. But for now, he wants the children to enjoy the day.

***

The following day, the previous night’s expedition of the group was a success, Cale woke up early for breakfast, but Wynter was on her sugar cravings so he had to make a sweet breakfast that she loves before their peaceful life in the cottage went aflame, so Cale quietly went to the kitchen. And of course, Beacrox and some other chefs were there.

“Young Master-nim.” Beacrox and the others bowed.

Cale waved it off, “Can I use the kitchen? I will clean it up right after.”

“We could cook for you, Young Master-nim..!” A chef said.

Cale shook his head, “I want to cook something for Wynter. She really loves it when I cook it.”

Beacrox narrowed his eyes slightly but nodded. "As long as you clean up properly."  

Cale smirked. "Of course."  

The other chefs stepped aside as Cale rolled up his sleeves and started gathering ingredients. Wynter had a fondness for simple but hearty meals, and he had already decided what to make—soft, fluffy pancakes with honey and fruit.  

As he worked, the chefs watched him in silent astonishment. Seeing the infamous so-called trash of the Henituse County cooking in their kitchen was a rare sight. But what surprised them even more was the care he put into his actions.  

Cale Henituse, the man known for his laziness and recklessness, was carefully measuring ingredients, ensuring everything was just right.  

Beacrox crossed his arms and sighed. “…At least your knife skills are decent.”  

Cale snorted. "I’d be worried if they weren’t, considering everything."  

A few minutes later, the sweet aroma of freshly made pancakes filled the kitchen.  

Just as he was finishing up, a small, familiar voice called out from the doorway.  

"Mama!"  

Cale turned to see Wynter standing there in fresh clothes, her silver eyes bright as she sniffed the air.  

"Sweet!" she declared, quickly waddling over.  

Cale chuckled, picking her up effortlessly and settling her on his hip. "You have a good nose, don’t you?"  

Wynter nodded seriously. "Mama food best."  

The chefs coughed into their hands, hiding their amusement.  

Beacrox, however, looked slightly betrayed. "…Wynter, have you forgotten who cooks most of your meals?"  

Wynter tilted her head, thinking for a moment before grinning. "Unckie Rox food best too!"  

Beacrox huffed, looking away. "...Hmph."  

Cale smirked and set Wynter down at a small table in the corner of the kitchen. He placed a plate of warm pancakes in front of her, drizzling honey on top.  

"Eat up," he said, ruffling her hair.  

Wynter eagerly grabbed a fork and took a bite, her eyes lighting up as she chewed. "Mmm!"  

Cale sat beside her, watching as she happily ate. Despite everything that had happened earlier, moments like this reminded him why he didn’t mind all the chaos.  

Wynter, his daughter, was happy. And that was enough.

Chapter Text

Cale Heni— No, he was Kim Rok Soo now. He had been wondering about the outcome when he made the deal with the God of Death.

Did…

Did Wynter survive? 

He had asked to be regressed for a bit. To leave a piece of information about Wynter’s existence to the original Kim Rok Soo. In hopes that the man who will own his body would save the daughter he never managed to save. He intentionally left his diary under the pillow before transmigrating.

“He saved her.” Kim Rok Soo almost fell to his knees if it weren’t for the fact that Choi Jung Soo, the man who was assigned to look after him, caught him so quickly.

He saved her.

The original Kim Rok Soo, now known as Cale Henituse, saved his daughter. His Wynter. 

Sob.

He let out a sob that he didn’t know that he was holding back. It was pure relief on his part. He had made the deal knowing that he would leave his identity behind for the sake of saving his family.  Even if it meant not being able to raise his daughter himself.

Choi Jung Soo sighed as he patted Kim Rok Soo’s back awkwardly. “Hey… You okay?”

Kim Rok Soo let out a shuddering breath, gripping the fabric of Jung Soo’s sleeve tightly. His throat burned as he tried to swallow down the sobs threatening to escape.

“She’s alive,” he whispered again, as if saying it would make it more real.

Choi Jung Soo hesitated before sighing. “Yeah. Looks like he found your diary too quickly and went to meet your daughter ” He shifted his weight, adjusting his grip on the man in his arms. “Despite that punk being so stoic, he adores children. He got attached to Wynter so quickly.”

Kim Rok Soo let out a wet chuckle, “Wyn-wyn is too adorable for that guy to resist.”

Jung Soo snorted. "You say that like you’re not the one who melted every time she so much as looked at you."

Kim Rok Soo huffed, wiping at his eyes. "Shut up." But his lips curled into a small, bittersweet smile.

The thought of Cale—no, the original Kim Rok Soo—being the one to take care of Wynter was… oddly comforting. He hadn’t known what to expect when he made that decision, regressing even for a few minutes just to leave the diary he had so carefully hidden over the years for the original Kim Rok Soo to find. Hadn’t even been sure if the other man would care.

But now, knowing that Wynter was not only alive but also loved, it made everything worth it.

"He’s raising her well, isn’t he?" Kim Rok Soo asked, voice steadier now.

Jung Soo nodded. "Yeah. You should’ve seen him at that banquet, standing there with her in his arms, looking ready to fight anyone who so much as blinked at her wrong." He smirked. "Reminds me of you, actually."

Kim Rok Soo’s heart clenched. "I wish I could see it."

Jung Soo grew quiet for a moment before nudging him lightly. "Hey, maybe one day you will."

Kim Rok Soo looked at him sharply. "What do you mean?"

Jung Soo shrugged. "Who knows? The gods work in mysterious ways, don’t they?"

Kim Rok Soo scoffed. "That’s not comforting."

Jung Soo only grinned. "Didn’t say it was supposed to be."

Kim Rok Soo sighed but let it go. He didn’t have the luxury of hoping for things that might never happen. All he could do was be grateful.

And he was.

Because Wynter was safe.

She was alive.

And even if he could never see her again, at least now, he could finally breathe.

He looked at Choi Jung Soo again. “Would you be able to give me pictures?”

The mercenary grinned, “You bet.”

***

When Choi Jung Soo left again, Kim Rok Soo was left alone. His niece, the reincarnation of his mother, was currently at school.

But he couldn’t help but to cry at his own situation. He had been so pathetic. He had been wasting away before the war began, he knew that. 

Lily, his younger sister who was eight at the time, was the one who found him dangling on the ceiling for the first time.

Yeah, first time.

It was certainly not the last. He could somehow remember bits of his past attempt. His second attempt was drowning in the bathtub two months later.

Basen was the one who found him.

His step brother had been in his room to check up on him because he was under surveillance practically. It was a mess. He remembers the screaming, the pleas.

But back then, all he could think about was ending it all just to be with his daughter.

Then, a month later. His stepmother, Violan, was the one that found him. He was about to jump off the balcony, his third attempt.

He remembers her strong arms wrapping around his waist, her voice begging for him to not jump. She cried as she was holding him so tightly. 

His fourth attempt. His father, Deruth, had been the one to find him mid action.

He was about to stab himself in the heart. He could remember his father’s heart wrenching cries and pleas of how to make everything better.

His father, a man who had always been distant, had been on his knees, gripping his hands with desperation. Deruth, who had never shown much emotion in front of his children, had been sobbing, voice hoarse as he pleaded.  

"Please, my son… just tell me how I can help. Just tell me how to make it better."  

At that moment, Kim Rok Soo—no, Cale Henituse—had realized how much he had hurt them.  

It was never just his pain. It was theirs too.  

He had thought he was alone in his grief, drowning in the suffocating weight of losing Wynter. But Violan, Deruth, Basen, and Lily—his family—had been right there, reaching for him even when he tried to slip through their fingers.  

And in the end, they had saved him.  

Not all at once. Not immediately. But piece by piece, they had held him together, never letting go even when he tried to push them away.  

Violan had stayed by his side, reading to him on nights when the silence became unbearable.  

Basen had dragged him out to the garden, forcing him to sit under the sun instead of locking himself away.  

Lily had crawled into his bed without a word, hugging him like she used to when she was little.  

Deruth had simply been there, watching over him with quiet patience, ready to catch him if he ever fell again.  

It had taken time, but slowly, he had started living again.  

Not just surviving.  

Living.  

And now, knowing that Wynter was alive and well, he could breathe easier.  

He wiped at his eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath.  

The past would always haunt him. The pain would never fully go away. But…  

He wasn’t alone.  

Not anymore.  

And for now, that was enough.

Chapter Text

Wynter is throwing a tantrum.

Cale repeats.

Wynter is throwing a tantrum.

Reason?

Cale is not bringing her to the celebration by the Plaza with him. She told him that morning, and she had been crying all morning.

He could only sigh as he picked her up from the floor where she was throwing her tantrum.

“Nyo~!” She cries, “Wanna go! Wyn-wyn wanna go with Mama!”

He laughed softly as he comforted her, rocking her softly in his arms, “Back to lisping, huh?”

He could feel her small fists clenching on his sleeves, Cale could only smile softly as he gave her a kiss on the head, “I won’t be gone for too long, okay?”

Cale looked at Choi Han, who was standing at the side with Hans and Rosalyn, he gestured his head towards the bedside table that had a blanket sitting on top.

When Choi Han had given the blanket to him, he took Wynter’s attention, “Look, love, Mama knitted this for you.”

The knitted blanket is a soft, lightweight yet warm creation made from the finest wool, ensuring comfort for Wynter's delicate skin. It is a gentle shade of pastel blue, woven with intricate patterns of clouds and tiny stars, symbolizing peaceful dreams and warmth. Along the edges, Cale has carefully embroidered small golden thread designs—subtle but elegant, adding a personal touch. In one corner, there's a tiny stitched "Wynter" in his neat handwriting, making it clear that this was made just for her. The blanket carries the faint scent of Cale, a soothing reassurance for Wynter even when he's away, especially whenever he's going to be dealing with the secret organization and she's going to be left with someone he trusted.

The texture was plush yet airy, perfect for keeping her warm without being too heavy. If one looked closely, they could see the faint variations in the stitching, the small imperfections that revealed it was made by hand, Cale had made this ever since the attack on the cottage. The reason why there were imperfections was due to the tremors in his hands, keeping his hands busy helped him a lot.

His knitting skills came from when he was surviving the apocalypse as Kim Rok Soo. That skill then turned into a hobby during his free time, Cale was simply glad that he could use that hobby to spoil his children with handiwork, the one for the three other children is still not done, but it's about to be finished and ready to be given to the kids.

Wynter sniffled, rubbing her teary eyes with tiny fists as she stared at the soft, fluffy blanket in Cale’s hands. Her lower lip wobbled as she reached out to touch it.

“Fow… Wyn-wyn?” she asked hesitantly, hiccuping through her tears.

Cale smiled, brushing her messy curls back. “Of course. It’s for you, my love.” He wrapped the blanket around her small frame, tucking it securely. “So when you miss me, just hold onto this, and it’ll be like I’m hugging you.”

Wynter clutched the blanket tightly, rubbing her cheek against the fabric. She looked up at him with those big, watery eyes, sniffling again. “P-pwomise?”

Cale chuckled and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Promise.”

She pouted, still reluctant but no longer sobbing. Her chubby little arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could. “Mmm… Okay… But… but Mama ome ack uick, ‘kay? No owie too!”

Cale squeezed her in return. “Of course, love.”

Rosalyn chuckled from the side, watching the scene unfold. “You’re spoiling her too much, Young Master Cale.”

Cale shot her a look. “And?”

Hans coughed, trying to hide his amused smile, while Choi Han just shook his head in fond exasperation.

Wynter was still reluctant, but as Cale gently laid her down with the blanket wrapped around her, she started to calm. Her tiny fingers clung to the fabric, eyes fluttering sleepily from exhaustion.

“Sleep well, love,” Cale whispered, stroking her hair.

As her breathing evened out, Cale stood, stretching slightly before turning to the others.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Choi Han nodded. “Lady Amiru is already waiting by the gate.”

Cale cast one last glance at Wynter before stepping out, determination in his gaze.

***

Rosalyn turned to Choi Han, who had been with Cale longer than she and Lock did, “I didn't know that Young Master Cale could knit?”

As a noble, they were taught that such a thing was a woman's handiwork, not a man's. But then again, with the young master’s identity as genderless, Rosalyn would guess that he's in between.

“Ah,” Choi Han, her, and Lock all had their individual tasks. With Sir Ron being gone, Sir Beacrox was tasked to look after the little miss with Sir Hans, they had to do what the young master had planned with the three other children.

“Have… Have I told you how I met Cale-nim and Wyn-wyn?” Rosalyn nodded. Choi Han had told her how he met them during their trip to the Blue Wolf Tribe when they first met. She thought that it was sweet.

Choi Han looked like a doting husband that wants nothing but to yap about his wife and kids.

“Well, Cale-nim sustained a long-term injury when he used his ancient power.” He said, “Both of his hands have tremors every now and then. But he would hide it from Wyn-wyn, he didn’t want to make her worry.”

“As for the knitting,” His eyes had softened even more as he thought of a memory that Rosalyn almost wished she could see from his perspective, “Cale-nim wanted to make something for Wyn-wyn you see. Apparently he had also always sewn an old teddy bear since she was born.”

He drowned out even more. Completely going sideways about why she asked that question. But then again, from how he yaps about it; the knitting became a habit to help with the tremors.

But good lord, she just wants to lock the young master and Choi Han in one room until this swordmaster confesses.

***

Cale barely had time to process the throbbing pain in his body before Wynter launched herself at him, tiny hands clutching onto his shirt as tightly as her small frame could allow.

"Mama hurt!" she wailed, burying her face against his chest. "No wike! No wike!"

Cale sighed, lifting a shaky hand to pat her on the back. "I'm fine, love," he murmured, though the stiffness in his muscles told him otherwise.

"Mama is not fine!" Hong huffed, crossing his arms as he sat beside him. "You coughed blood! Again!"

Ohn, more reserved but no less concerned, padded closer and placed a small paw on Cale's hand. "You scared us," she whispered.

The baby dragon, who had been quietly watching with his wings drooped in distress, finally spoke. "Human, you promised not to get hurt!" he accused, his voice wobbling as he puffed up his cheeks in frustration. "You said you'd be careful!"

Cale exhaled through his nose. He was too exhausted for this.

Rosalyn and Choi Han were by the door, both watching with amused yet relieved expressions. Hans stood a little farther back, no doubt ready to lecture him about his reckless behavior once the children were done scolding him.

"I didn't do it on purpose," Cale muttered.

"Nyot good enough!" Wynter pulled back, her big watery eyes filled with both anger and heartbreak. "Mama pwomise! No more owies!"

Cale opened his mouth to respond, but the intense, expectant gazes from all four children made him pause.

…How was he supposed to promise that? He was Cale Henituse. Trouble followed him like a persistent debt collector at this point.

But then Wynter hiccuped, rubbing at her eyes with the soft blanket he had given her earlier. "Mama pwomise…?" she asked again, her voice small and wobbly.

Ah. He was weak.

Cale sighed in defeat. "Alright," he relented, brushing Wynter's curls back from her face. "I'll try my best not to get hurt."

Wynter pouted but seemed satisfied for now, tucking herself back into his arms with a sniffle.

The baby dragon, however, huffed. "Trying is not enough, human! You must not get hurt at all!"

Cale closed his eyes. He was never winning against his own children, was he?

He really needs to think of a name for that baby dragon.

Chapter Text

Cale could only sigh as he went through the awarding ceremony at the Plaza. He did not accept any medals, just two golden plaques. The reason he was sighing was that all four children were clinging to him as we spoke.

Ohn and Hong are perched on his shoulder, the baby black dragon was on top of his head. And Wynter was in his arms with the blanket on hand, clinging to his sleeves with a pout on her adorable face, with Aspen beside her as well.

It wasn’t that he minded—he had long since accepted his fate as their designated resting spot—but the eyes of the people watching were burning into his skin.

The nobles had varying expressions, ranging from exasperation to amusement, while the common folk were charmed by the sight. Even the king, who was handing the others their medal of honor, had a twitching smile.

“It seems you are quite loved, Young Master Cale,” Zed Crossman said, his blue eyes gleaming with barely concealed amusement.

Cale gave a tired but resigned nod. “Unfortunately.”

A few nobles choked on their laughter, and the king simply nodded at his direction and continued, choosing not to comment further.

After the ceremony, Cale and his group made their way toward the carriages waiting to take them to the Ubarr Territory. His steps were slow and measured, careful not to disturb the small creatures clinging to him.

“Mama’s mine,” Wynter mumbled, tightening her grip on his sleeve.

Hong, perched on his left shoulder, flicked his tail. “He’s everyone’s mama.”

“Nyat yours!” Wynter huffed, burying her face in Cale’s chest.

The baby dragon huffed from atop Cale’s head. “Human, we are leaving soon. Do not be slow!”

Cale sighed. “I am not being slow. You are all just too attached.”

Rosalyn chuckled behind them. “Should I carry Wynter for you?”

“Nyo,” Wynter answered before Cale could, hugging him tighter.

Choi Han, who had been walking beside them, simply smiled, not bothering to hide his amusement. “It’s fine. Cale-nim is strong.”

“Too strong,” Wynter mumbled, her voice sleepy. “Safe.”

Cale’s steps faltered for a brief second before he sighed again, patting her back gently with a small unnoticeable shake in his hand. “Alright, let’s get going.”

When they were all talking about their plans, with Wynter asleep in his arms, two separate groups; Cale’s group would go to Ubarr, and—

“Choi Han, Lock, please accompany Miss Rosalyn safely back to Breck Kingdom.”

Wynter suddenly woke up and reached for Choi Han’s(who was walking beside Cale) sleeve, “Papa Han go again?”

Choi Han had a panicked look in his eyes, making Cale sigh as he explained things to his sixteen months old daughter, “Papa Han and Lock-oppa are just bringing Aunt Rosa home safely.”

And apparently, she did not like those words either. 

Wynter’s face scrunched up as she clutched at Choi Han’s sleeve. Her silver eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her lower lip wobbling dangerously.

“Nyo…” she sniffled, shaking her head stubbornly. “Papa Han stay wif Mama!”

Choi Han looked completely helpless. He glanced at Cale, silently pleading for assistance, but Cale just sighed.

“Wynter, love,” he said patiently, shifting her slightly in his arms so she could look at him. “Papa Han will be back soon. He’s just making sure Aunt Rosa gets home safely.”

“But…” She hiccupped, burying her face against his shoulder. “Papa Han aways goes ‘way…”

Choi Han stiffened.

Cale blinked, feeling the tiniest flicker of guilt in his chest. Choi Han did leave a lot—and it was always under his orders. Wynter is currently too little to understand why, only that one of her most beloved people kept disappearing.

Before Cale could say anything, Choi Han gently took Wynter’s tiny hand in his own. “Wyn-wyn.”

She peeked up at him, silver eyes glossy.

“I promise I’ll come back soon,” Choi Han said softly. “I’ll be with you and Mama again before you know it.”

She pouted. “Pwomise?”

Choi Han nodded firmly. “Promise.”

Wynter hesitated before finally letting go of his sleeve, though she still clung to Cale like a stubborn koala.

“…O’tay,” she mumbled reluctantly, snuggling back against Cale’s chest. “But… but Papa Han gotta hug!”

Choi Han’s eyes widened before softening. Without hesitation, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around both Wynter and Cale, holding them close.

“I’ll be back,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of Wynter’s head. “Take care of Mama, alright?”

Wynter nodded, her tiny hands grabbing onto Cale’s tunic. “Wyn-wyn pwotect Mama!”

Cale sighed but let it be. At least she wasn’t crying anymore.

Rosalyn, watching the scene unfold, crossed her arms with a knowing smirk. “You know, Choi Han, you could just admit you don’t want to leave.”

Choi Han flinched and immediately straightened, his ears tinged red. “That’s not—”

“Uh-huh,” Rosalyn interrupted, clearly not convinced. “Well, I do need an escort, but I don’t mind waiting a little longer if you’d rather stay with your ‘family.’”

Choi Han opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again, looking completely lost.

Cale, sensing where this was going, sighed and shook his head. “We’re wasting time.”

Rosalyn just laughed.

Choi Han muttered something under his breath but eventually turned away, following her and Lock toward the carriage that would take them to Breck.

As they departed, Cale adjusted Wynter in his arms and stepped into their own carriage. The trip to Ubarr awaited.

***

The awe in Wynter’s face as she looked out the window was something Cale had recorded in his mind for years to come. This was Wynter’s first time seeing the ocean.

Her silver eyes sparkled like the waves beneath the sunlight, round with wonder as she pressed her tiny hands against the carriage window.   

“Big water…” she breathed in awe.  

Cale, half-dozing with his arm resting on the carriage seat, cracked open one eye at her words. “It’s the ocean.”  

“O’shan,” Wynter repeated, as if testing the word on her tongue. Then, her excitement doubled, and she turned to Cale, eyes wide with revelation. “Mama! Big bath!”  

The carriage was silent for a beat before Hong snorted.  

“Pfft—”  

Ohn covered her mouth with her paws, but her shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.  

Aspen, sitting across from them, blinked before nodding excitedly, as if encouraging her excitement “Yes, Wyn-wyn, it does look like a giant bath!”  

The baby dragon on Cale’s head huffed. “Foolish Baby Wynter, that is not a bath! That is the vast sea, home to many powerful beings!”  

Wynter tilted her head, clearly unimpressed. “Still big bath.”  

Cale sighed and patted her head. “You can’t take a bath in it, though.”  

Wynter pouted. “Why?”  

“Because it’s salty.”  

Wynter blinked. “S’awty?”  

Cale hummed in affirmation, shifting in his seat as he glanced lazily out the window. The salty scent of the ocean breeze drifted through the open carriage, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore filled the air.  

Wynter turned back to the window, her little hands still pressed against the glass. She watched the way the ocean seemed to stretch on forever, how the sun made the waves shimmer like scattered diamonds.  

“It’s pwetty…” she murmured softly.  

Cale’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “Yeah.”  

Hong, still perched on his shoulder, swished his tail. “We should go swimming!”  

“Nyooo,” Wynter whined, shaking her head so hard her curls bounced. “Big bath is scawy.”  

Ohn tilted her head. “You were just excited about it earlier.”  

“Scawy now ,” Wynter insisted, fisting Cale’s tunic as if the ocean itself would reach out and pull her in. “Mama no go, ‘kay?”  

Cale chuckled, ruffling her hair. “I won’t.”  

Wynter nodded, reassured, and continued staring out the window, marveling at the ocean but maintaining a firm grip on Cale’s sleeve—just in case.  

Beacrox, who had been sitting quietly with the coachman outside, finally spoke up. “We’ll be arriving in Ubarr soon, Young Master Cale.”  

Cale exhaled, stretching slightly. “Good.”  

As much as he wanted to nap, he supposed it was time to get the Sound of the Wind.  

And, of course, keep Wynter from trying to turn the ocean into her personal oversized bathtub.

Chapter Text

Wynter looked at Toonka.  

Toonka looked at Wynter.  

It was the kind of staring contest that shouldn’t exist. One was a sixteen-month-old baby wrapped in a blanket shaped like a sleeping cloud. The other was a full-grown man who had most likely tried to suplex a tuna.  

Amiru had just rescued a man. That man was Toonka.  

Cale wanted to scream. Can’t he just have one (1) peaceful trip with the kids?!   

And now, this absolute barbarian had the gall to introduce himself as—  

“MY NAME IS BOB!!!” Toonka roared, pounding his chest like a gorilla who failed etiquette class.  

Cale’s left eye twitched. “Good. That name is as stupid as you are.”  

“THANK YOU!” Bob-Toonka beamed as if he had just received a royal title, and why is he talking in third person towards a child!? “BOB IS STRONG! BOB LOVES THE SEA!”  

Wynter, still staring, gasped. Her eyes sparkled.  

“Ffunny talkin’ man!” she squealed, clapping her chubby hands.  

Cale froze. Oh no. No no no—  

“No,” he said firmly. “Wynter. No following funny talking man just because he’s funny.”  

“Bu’ he said WAW !” she protested, raising her arms with all the ferocity of a kitten. “He go WAW an’ BOOM an’ he vewy ‘cited!”  

“Yes. Because he has no impulse control, ” Cale replied flatly.  

“RAWR!!” Toonka bellowed from behind them. “BOB LOVES KIDS! DO YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PUNCH A SHARK?!”  

“YEAH!” Wynter cried instantly, then paused, confused. “...Wha’s a shawk?”  

“It’s a fish with many teeth,” Hong muttered, deadpan, as he peeked out from behind Cale’s leg. “Kind of like Bob, but with more brain cells.”  

Ohn sighed and whispered to Cale, “Can we... return him to the sea? Quietly?”  

“Preferably with a rock tied to his ankles,” Cale muttered.  

Toonka was too busy flexing and declaring his undying love for battle to notice. “BOB ONCE FOUGHT A WHALE WITH ONLY A SPOON AND A DREAM!”  

“Whaaa—!” Wynter’s jaw dropped in awe. “He fight big fishy! Wif shpoon ! Mama! I wan’ shpoon too! I go WAW!”  

Cale was now visibly stressed. “No. You will *not* go RAWR with a spoon. You will eat yogurt with a spoon.”  

“Yoguh…” Wynter blinked, confused. “Yoguh fight shawk too?”  

Cale closed his eyes.  

“Amiru,” he said, voice hollow, “is it too late to pretend I’ve lost my memory and I’m not even here?”  

Amiru looked like she was actively v ibrating with laughter. “I think it’s too late, Cale.”  

The baby dragon, from above, chimed in gleefully and said to his mind. “I like this musclehead! He’s chaotic! He’s like the human when he’s having a bad day!”  

“I am having a bad day,” Cale muttered. “This is the bad day.”  

Toonka suddenly slammed a foot into the ground. “BOB TEACHES BABY TO ROAR! FIRST LESSON—EAT DIRT! IT BUILDS CHARACTER!”  

“No,” Cale said immediately, clutching Wynter tighter. “No eating dirt. No building character through sediment.”  

“...Can I name fishy Bob?” Wynter asked sweetly, blinking up at him. “So he can RAWR in da tub?”  

Cale stared at her. She was using her ultimate move. The lip wobble. The wide eyes. The faint pout.  

He sighed, utterly defeated. “…Fine. But if it starts flipping over furniture, we’re calling an exorcist.”  

“Yaaay!” Wynter cheered. “Fishy Bob gon’ be stwong!”  

Toonka wiped a tear from his eye. “She’s got the soul of a warrior.”  

“She’s got the soul of a toddler , now back up before she tries to eat your arm,” Cale said, pulling her away from the chaos incarnate.  

This was going to be a long, long visit to the Ubarr Territory.  

And it had only just begun.

***

By the time they made it to the harbor, Cale had already developed a stress-induced headache, and they hadn't even gotten to their rooms at the Ubarr Mansion yet.

Wynter, meanwhile, was now riding on Toonka’s shoulders like a tiny, wobbly queen upon a war elephant. She was patting his head like a drum. Toonka looked honored.

“BOB IS NOW A MOUNTAIN!” he declared proudly.

“Yew my mountawn!” Wynter squealed, kicking her feet with glee. “I the pwincess of da fishy empire!”

“She just declared dominion over marine life,” Hong whispered.

— Human, have you ever taught Baby Wynter that the ocean has the whales?

“She literally will try to fight them with a spoon.” Ohn sighed.

“I need a vacation from this vacation,” Cale muttered. “I was promised snacks and naps. Snacks and naps , damn it.”

Amiru, bless her soul, was still trying to maintain some form of civility. She smiled, though it looked a little strained now. “At least she’s… happy?”

“She thinks the harbor is her kingdom, Bob is her royal steed, and yogurt is a weapon of mass destruction,” Cale deadpanned. “She’s thriving . I’m dying.”

Wynter raised one hand dramatically into the sky.

“I decwawe dis wand… FISHYWANIA!” she shouted. “An’ dis my shwong knight, SIR BOB!”

“I ACCEPT!” Toonka bellowed. “KNIGHT BOB WILL DESTROY ANYONE WHO THREATENS THE TINY RULER!”

Someone in the distance screamed when Toonka flexed too hard near a fish stall and accidentally flipped a table.

Cale stared at the chaos and sighed. “There goes the seafood budget.”

Then he turned. Slowly. Wanting to ignore the chaos.

“I knew I should’ve faked being unconscious this morning.”

Toonka suddenly spun in place. “YOUR MAJESTY, SIR BOB SEEKS GLORY! SHALL WE RIDE INTO THE OCEAN AND CLAIM THE DEPTHS?!”

“YEAHHH!” Wynter screamed like a tiny berserker. “We go swashbuckle da sea!”

“You can’t even swim !” Cale shouted. “You just learned the word ‘bubble’ last week!”

Wynter blinked. “Bubble?”

“No—no, I wasn’t reminding you—”

“BUBBLE!!!” she screamed with joy.

Toonka took this as a declaration of war. “TO THE BUBBLE SEA WE GO!”

“NO BOB—BOB, PUT HER DOWN—PUT MY DAUGHTER DOWN—”

But it was too late. The barbarian knight had begun galloping in slow, triumphant circles with Wynter held high like a potato-shaped battle standard. The townspeople had scattered. A seagull screamed. The fishmonger fainted.

Cale considered walking into the ocean. Not swimming. Just walking. Straight in.

“I am in hell,” he whispered.

“Correction,” Hong said, sitting on his shoulder, “you are in Fishywania now. Please respect the local customs.”

Ohn nodded solemnly. “All hail the Yogurt Princess.”

The baby dragon cackled above. “I’ll start making the flag.”

***

That evening, the official Ubarr report would include the following notes:

- Fish Stall #3: Destroyed by “spirited diplomatic exchange”  

- Harbor flagpole: Replaced with tiny blanket banner drawn in crayon  

- New island name declared by toddler dictator: “Fishywania, ruled by Pwincess Wynter and Knight Bob”  

- Toonka's legal name change request to "Sir Bob the Sea-Smasher": Pending

It was just lucky that Amiru and her mother adored Wynter to pardon all this chaos. Because to them, Bob was playing along with the child's play.

Cale Henituse’s vacation?

Absolutely. Ruined.

Chapter Text

https://www.wattpad.com/story/390384982-filha-do-lixo

someone had translated this fic without my permission on wattpad. Please report it, because I did not give them permission. I don’t care if AO3 is public or whatever, but ASK for fucking permission before translating my works.

I am allowing fanarts but not translation.

I will not be updating any of my fics until that person takes down my fics on her account. Please just report, and do not harass them, just report.

Chapter Text

Cale was drinking again in a bar, but he decided that night that drinking in the forest sounds good. The forest near Rain City was quiet, devoid of people at this time. As he went there, there was someone else. It was a boy who was the same age as him(who was currently fifteen years old) with silver balayage colored hair and silver eyes. He was also drinking while sitting on a large boulder.

“Ah, hello.” The stranger greeted him and raised the bottle he was drinking from, “Wanna join.”

Cale shrugged, and joined the silver haired boy.

“What’s your name?” The boy asked after a few moments of silence.

“Cale. You?”

“Hazarmaveth.”

“That’s too long, I’ll call you Haz.”

The boy, now named Haz, shrugged, “Understandable.”

Cale took a swig from his own bottle, savoring the quiet clink as it met Haz’s. The night air was crisp, carrying the scent of rain from the city. The two boys sat in comfortable silence, occasionally glancing at each other but mostly just staring at the moonlight filtering through the leaves.

After a while, Haz broke the silence. “Why’re you drinking alone in the forest?”

Cale took another sip before answering. “Too noisy in the bar. People are annoying.”

Haz smirked. “Yeah, they are.” He tilted his head back, letting the moonlight catch in his silver eyes. “I come here when I don’t want to think. It’s quiet. Peaceful.”

Cale hummed in agreement, leaning back against the tree trunk. “What’s got you drinking?”

Haz let out a huff of laughter. “You know. Life.”

Cale gave him a sideways glance. “That bad?”

“Sometimes,” Haz admitted, a wistful smile on his lips. “Sometimes it feels like you’re just... floating. Like you’re not really there . You ever feel that?”

Cale scoffed. “More often than I’d like to admit.”

Haz turned to look at him, his expression caught between curiosity and melancholy. “Then why do you drink?”

Cale stayed silent for a moment, watching the way the leaves rustled overhead. Finally, he muttered, “To forget. To feel something else for a while.”

Haz nodded slowly. “Yeah. Same.”

The two fell into a companionable silence again, the forest around them quiet except for the occasional hoot of an owl.

Haz tipped his head back and downed the rest of his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Y’know, I didn’t expect to run into someone like you out here.”

Cale raised an eyebrow. “Someone like me?”

Haz gave a lazy shrug. “Someone who looks like they’re running from something... but isn’t quite sure if they want to be caught.”

Cale’s eyes narrowed, but there was no malice in the gesture—just a guarded curiosity. “What about you? You look like someone who’s trying to find something, but has no idea what it is.”

Haz blinked in surprise before a low chuckle escaped him. “You’re sharper than you look.”

“Same to you,” Cale replied, lips quirking up just a bit.

They drank some more, neither really talking, just enjoying the quiet presence of each other. It wasn’t often Cale found someone who didn’t pry too much, someone who understood without needing long-winded explanations.

Finally, Haz broke the silence again. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

Cale shook his head. “Just passing through. You?”

“Been here a while,” Haz replied. “Not sure why. Just... felt like staying.”

Cale looked at him more closely, noticing how Haz’s silver hair seemed to glimmer in the moonlight. “You don’t look like you belong here.”

Haz smirked. “Funny. I could say the same about you.”

Cale snorted. “Touché.”

They kept drinking, neither in a rush to go anywhere. The night stretched on, and before long, the bottles were empty, but neither felt like leaving just yet.

“Do you believe in fate?” Haz suddenly asked, his voice quieter, almost hesitant.

Cale considered the question, then shrugged. “I don’t know. Feels like a cop-out sometimes. Like an excuse for when things go wrong.”

Haz nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. Maybe. Or maybe it’s just something people tell themselves to feel less lost.”

Cale looked at him, noticing for the first time the tiredness hidden behind Haz’s carefree demeanor. “Maybe,” he said, a bit more softly.

For a while, they just sat there, the forest around them serene and untouched by the troubles of the world.