***
“Ganien, please convey my apologies to His Majesty Huswen for the delay,” Ruel said as soon as he contacted Ganien.
He had originally intended to contact Huswen and discuss the current situation, but he unintentionally broke that promise.
-…Huh.
Ganien could only laugh in disbelief.
—Ruel, you should sleep now. Fran said you need plenty of rest.
Leo said, flicking the blankets up with his short front paws.
Since Ruel was already under the blanket, he stroked the back of Leo’s neck.
Leo’s serious expression softened, and he smiled.
Ruel smiled at the sight and said, “Since when did you start saying that you wanted to sleep?”
—This body hates it more when you’re sick. Many humans weep when Ruel is sick. Even Aris cried today!
News of Ruel waking up spread, hence many people briefly visited his room.
Upon seeing Ruel’s condition, visitors displayed visible emotions and teary eyes.
Aris was one of them and burst into tears upon seeing Ruel.
It reminded Ruel of their first eting—the child who was thin and desperate for help was now growing into an adult, surpassing his own height, but Aris still cried like a child.
Ruel once again realized that his life was not just his own and felt the need to value himself even more.
Ruel comforted Leo and said, “Just a few more words with Ganien, and then I’ll go to bed.”
—Really?
“Yes.”
Despite Ruel’s answer, Leo crouched next to Ruel with a sullen expression on his face.
-Do you have to say that as soon as you wake up? Forget it, get so rest, don’t worry about anything else!
“I am resting. I’ve been in bed all day today, haven’t I?” Ruel chuckled.
-And now you’re laughing?
“So did you inform His Majesty Huswen?”
-You are so stubborn. I relayed everything you said. His Majesty was very worried. The Master too.
“Okay, please tell them thank you.”
-Got it.
“Sorry…”
Before Ruel could finish speaking, Ganien cut off contact first.
Ruel chuckled again and closed his eyes.
He felt like he needed to warn the other family heads to be cautious of Prazio, but it seed that for today, he had done enough.
His eyes felt heavy.
—Have sweet dreams!
Leo rushed to turn off the light, as if he had been waiting.
***
“I apologize for calling you at this late hour,” Brans said with a faint smile as he looked at Adea Kran.
“No, I cannot express enough gratitude for Your Majesty’s kind consideration. Please don’t worry,” Adea replied.
“Lord Setiria’s condition has worsened recently, and I have only just received a response. I apologize for the delay,” Brans expressed his regret.
“No, it was actually who was worried and felt troubled for Lord Setiria.”
Brans suppressed his anger inside as he looked at Adea’s mouth, talking like a snake.
He knew about Ruel’s condition, yet he deliberately used him as a hostage for the alliance. However, he couldn’t turn them away when the road to peace laid before him.
Brans clenched his fist tightly and spoke softly.
“Lord Setiria has granted the prince’s request. He will go to the Kingdom of Kran as the representative of the delegation.”
“Thank you. Please convey my gratitude to Lord Setiria as well,” Adea responded.
“One more thing,” Brans smiled, interrupting Adea, who held his breath in anticipation.
“Lord Setiria has decided to depart once he recovers. Please inform the King of Kran about this,” Brans continued.
“When is he going to…?”
“Prince Adea,” Brans’s forceful voice called out, drawing a line. “I cannot force Lord Setiria any further, so refrain from asking. Anyway, since we have granted the demands of the Kingdom of Kran, it is ti for you to withdraw.”
Before Adea could protest, Brans dismissed them.
“Dammit!”
Adea left Brans’s room as if being kicked out and vented his anger upon returning to his own quarters.
“Please calm down, Your Highness. This is Leponia. You must be careful.”
“I know. I know!” Adea followed the butler’s advice, sat down, and tried his best to calm his anger.
“What about Treitol?”
“He is waiting for Your Highness in the neutral zone.”
‘What’s on your mind, Treitol?’
Ever since suffering a head injury, Treitol had beco a completely different person.
He claid to have accompanied the diplomatic delegation to see the neutral zone out of curiosity, but Adea didn’t believe him.
Adea sensed that Treitol had his sights set on the throne. Adea anxiously revealed his restlessness by repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists.
Finally, he persuaded His Majesty Brans to summon Ruel Setiria to Kran.
‘Just a little more.’
Adea applied so much force that his hands turned bright red.
***
Ketlan revealed the Prios emblem appearing on the back of his hand. “I wanted to show it to Ruel-nim first.” Although he spoke calmly, the emotion was evident in Ketlan’s expression.
“Congratulations,” Ruel greeted him simply.
Ketlan smiled slowly, without rushing.
There had been a slight delay due to the remnants of the Prios family, but Ketlan had officially beco the head of the family thanks to the removal of the Red Ash.
Of course, all of this was done unofficially at Ruel’s request.
“Now you are a lord too.” As promised, Ruel made Ketlan head of the family.
“Ruel-nim.”
“Speak.”
“Even though I’ve beco the head of the family, my allegiance is still to Ruel-nim.” Ketlan took the emblem away and made eye contact with Ruel. “I have already sworn the Mana Oath, but please allow to pledge my loyalty to you again.”
There were no emotions other than loyalty in Ketlan’s eyes.
Ruel glanced at him and smiled briefly as he leaned back on the bed, contemplating what had stirred his heart.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t a bad feeling.
“If you wish.”
As soon as Ruel gave permission, Ketlan stood up and knelt down on one knee.
Despite their equal status now, Ketlan showed no hesitation.
“I, Ketlan Prios, am and always will be steadfast.” Ketlan’s head bowed. “I swear allegiance to Ruel-nim.”
How many people had bowed their heads before him until now?
Saying that, Ketlan was the first outsider, soone who did not belong to Setiria, who had bowed to him without any expectation of anything in return.
Ruel’s heart was deeply touched by Ketlan’s loyalty.
“Thank you,” Ruel smiled.
***
“Would you like more?” Cassion asked, looking at the empty plates.
He had brought enough food for four servings, thinking there would be leftovers, but it seed Ruel had completely filled himself up.
“No, I’m really full. There’s no more room. It’s amazing how my appetite is still so big, even though I haven’t eaten much while I was sick,” Ruel comnted.
Cassion revealed the truth to him. “The portion size was ant for four people.”
“Four servings that are probably equivalent to one serving for you,” Ruel chuckled in response.
Cassion didn’t argue with Ruel’s remark and instead handed the small table on the bed to Noah.
“The lord eats so much, where is all the weight going?” Noah now knew that Ruel was a hearty eater.
Despite eating less than usual due to his health condition, he still had a big appetite.
“I’m curious about that myself,” Cassion sighed as he looked at Ruel.
He realized that Ruel’s body was using a lot of energy due to the constant recovery process, which was taking a heavy toll on him.
Especially considering that he had already lost weight due to recent events.
It seed like he needed to diligently feed him to put so weight back on.
‘And he needs to grow taller too.’
Cassion paused for a mont, lost in thought.
Now that he acknowledged himself as a butler, things felt different.
Even though Aris, who ate less than Ruel, was growing rapidly, Ruel wasn’t.
“Why?” Ruel frowned when Cassion stared at him intently. “You want to eat more?”
“Sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts for a mont,” Cassion apologized.
It was clear that Cassion was contemplating his own weight and height.
‘I can’t do anything about my weight, but I’m not exactly short.’
Ruel thought of saying more but held back when he looked at Noah.
Whenever Noah was afraid of Billo, he would run to him and tell him everything that happened in this room.
Despite thinking that Aris and Noah would always remain at odds, they had gradually beco more friendly, and naturally, Aris was now being inford of the events happening in this room as well.
‘Then Aris would inform Uncle about it.’
Ruel clearly understood the entrenched system of gossip in his mansion.
‘There is no one left on my side.’
Ruel inhaled Breath as he watched Noah leave the room with a groan.
Cassion didn’t go out.
It seed like he had sothing to say.
Leo perked up his ears and brought his food bowl, placing it in front of Cassion.
—This body can eat more!
Cassion refilled Leo’s bowl before speaking.
Glug.
Ruel asked after seeing Leo burying his face in his rice bowl, “What is it?”
“They say the red house that Luruan owned burned down.”
“Burned down?” Ruel’s brow twitched. He didn’t expect to hear any more news from that place after saving the people and obtaining the information. Ruel glared at Cassion. “I thought you took care of everything, or did I hear wrong?”
“No, you didn’t. We made it look like the building collapsed due to its old age. We also concealed all the traces,” Cassion explained.
“But it caught fire?”
“Yes, soone intentionally set the fire.”
The culprit was undoubtedly Red Ash.
Ruel found amusent in the situation, as if he had witnessed sothing amusing.
“The red house burned down around this ti… There must have been a secret there that soone didn’t want to be revealed,” Ruel speculated.
Setting fire to a crumbling building wouldn’t be worth the risk unless there was valuable information at stake.
“Cassion, you’re investigating the aftermath, right?”
“Of course. We’re currently tracking it down. It seems like the culprits aren’t very skilled, so they’ll likely be caught soon.”
Ruel knew that even if they caught the person responsible for the fire, they might not obtain any valuable information.
They probably hired adventurers or manipulated desperate individuals who were in need of money.
“How is the person you brought in?”
The person Ruel was referring to was probably the one trapped alone in the basent of Luruan’s red house.
“They’ve improved significantly. However, they still struggle with claustrophobia, so it’s challenging for them to leave their room,” Cassion explained.
“Can they communicate now?” Ruel asked.
“Yes, they can express their opinions,” Cassion confird.
“In that case, deliver this ssage,” Ruel grinned.
Red Ash never acted without purpose.
“If they want to bring down the Great Man, they should tell everything.”
“Alright, I will relay your words,” Cassion said. As he was about to leave, he hesitated and spoke softly. “Fran said a light walk would be fine. There might be a lot of stars tonight. Take care not to catch a cold.”
Cassion neatly laid a white cloak on the bed.
“Are you encouraging to go out for once?” Ruel asked.
Cassion chuckled lightly. “Even if I advised against it, you would still go out, wouldn’t you?”
“…” Ruel felt a twinge of guilt and didn’t even manage to speak.
“In my opinion, it seems like it’s about ti for you to go out. It’s already been three days. Well then,” Cassion said, bowing slightly before leaving.
‘Has it only been three days?’
Being confined to the bed made it feel like a week had passed.
He now looked at the solitary IV drip, and before he knew it, he made eye contact with Leo, who was dangling from the bed.
—Are we going to have so cocoa?
“Well, I’m not sure.”
—This body is ready at any ti.
Leo’s tail wagged so much that it seed invincible.
Just like Cassion said, he was starting to feel a bit sore.
—It sparkles!
Leo climbed onto the bed and grabbed Ruel’s arm.
The ring sparkled.
It was Ganien.
‘He won’t let contact His Majesty Huswen.’
Ruel tried to contact Ganien earlier today, but Ganien only left the ssage ‘Rest’ and cut off the communication.
“Why?” Ruel said grumpily.
-The gates of the Tonisk Empire are open.
Ganien’s serious voice ca through the ring.
Ruel’s expression hardened upon hearing Ganien’s words. “Again?”
-It’s different this ti. I confird that they were real soldiers.
Ruel gazed at the window.
Darkness had fallen.
It was a good ti to move secretly.
“Are you going there now?” Ruel asked.
Ganien seed to have mounted a horse as the sound of the wind and clattering hooves could be heard.
-Yes, I’m heading there now after hearing the news. Even though the numbers might not be many, they say it’s over a hundred. I’ll see what they’re like.
Unlike his words, Ganien’s voice was tense.
It was the Tonisk Empire.
This ti, unlike last ti, they had confird that they were actual soldiers.
“If you’re going, that ans the soldiers are coming toward the Cyronian.”
-Yes, they’re coming our way.
“Are you going to be okay?”
-I don’t know. I’ve only read about them in books but never actually fought anyone from Tonisk before.
The sound of the horses’ hooves beca faster. It sounded like Ganien’s heartbeat.
-Regardless I will be the one to win.
Ganien laughed out loud.
“Yeah. You’ll win and co back to defeat Cassion.”
-That’s so good encouragent.
The sound of grinding teeth could be heard in the background.
“Stay in touch.”
-Yeah. I’ll contact you later. Take care then.
Ganien cut off the communication first.
Ruel grabbed Breath and bit his lips at the fact that the approaching danger felt more imminent
‘Is the Tonisk Empire really moving?’
He expected it, but it finally felt real now.
His heart pounded hard with the fear of war.
—Ruel, are you sick?
When Ruel’s complexion paled slightly, Leo lifted a short front paw to comfort him.
“No, I’m not in pain. It’s just the dicine working,” Ruel assured, pointing at the IV to indicate the painkiller’s effectiveness.
“Leo, let’s go get so cocoa.”
—Really?
Leo was so happy that he jumped up in his place, pricked up his ears, and looked at Ruel.
—Are you okay?
“I’m fine, just a little fuzzy-headed.”
He needed ti to process the information he had received; he felt restless without a clear reason.
Sothing was bothering him, and he hoped that slowing down and enjoying a cup of cocoa would help him figure it out.
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