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146. Engagement – Insight (1)

“Get out. This mansion now belongs to the Klaus royal family. It’s not a place for you to stay.”

The royal guard pointed a finger with an overbearing attitude. The boy at whom it was directed trembled, unable to bear the rising humiliation.

This is my home.

It’s the legacy of my parents, the property that our family has protected for generations.

But after months of experience, he knew the truth. He had become someone who could be dismissed or had to bow his head down to the ground.

Clenching his teeth, the boy turned away.

He felt wretched for having to leave home without uttering a single word of protest against a mere soldier, but the soldier’s rude demands didn’t end there.

“Wait. Take off those clothes.”

The guard commanded the filthy beggars.

Had they taken clothes from this mansion? The beggars in front of him wore expensive garments made of fine cloth draped carelessly over themselves.

The beggar boys pouted. But since the clothes were not originally theirs, they threw them off without hesitation.

The boy with scarlet eyes simply couldn’t do that. He held back tears of injustice that threatened to spill.

In the end, trembling, he removed the brown corsage. As he loosened the ties and took off the bliaud, his thin, pale skin was exposed in a pitiful display along with the dirty undergarments.

While the other beggars changed into their rags, he was left in despair without any clothes to put on. All that lay on the ground around him was his.

Finally, Yuan raised his head. Tears streamed down his gaunt cheeks as he recalled the past months.

+ + +

“Mother! Father!”

Yuan shouted after returning from a long journey. He raced through the ransacked mansion searching for his parents, but there were no signs of anyone.

“What is happening here! You! Bring my parents to me. Now!”

Yuan shrieked in desperation.

But the servants and handmaids who had served him didn’t respond. They merely looked around in confusion, and a young man spat out indifferently.

“Damn it. It’s really over. No wonder I haven’t received any living expenses.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“What do you mean? The family is ruined, and the country is in this state; we should just grab what we can and get out.”

“Are you not listening to me! Go bring my parents back immediately…!”

– Slap!

The servant shot Yuan a cold look before marching over and slapping him.

Startled by the young man’s fierce strike, Yuan held his cheek and looked up in shock.

“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Harsh? Thinking of how I’ve had to clean up after this spoiled noble brat makes me want to gnash my teeth. Hey. Your house is finished. And yet, you’re still not waking up to reality.”

“Wh-what is the meaning of this! How dare you strike a noble…! You wish to die…”

– Slap!

“What are you gonna do about it? Huh? Are you going to call for a knight while you’re crying? They’re all dead by now.”

The young man leaned in close, pushing Yuan’s forehead with a finger while sneering; his expression was filled not with a smile but pure disdain that Yuan had seen before.

The maid behind interrupted.

“Enough. Let’s gather our belongings quickly. We need to salvage whatever we can. Someone has likely taken off with everything already.”

The servant scoffed and turned away. He and the maid began rummaging through the mansion while ignoring Yuan, who was trembling in fear.

“Lady, the jewelry box is gone. Hey, was there anything in there?”

“The display cabinet is empty too. All the paintings are gone. Do you know anything?”

“Hmm… let’s check the kitchen. I saw the head maid sneaking in there.”

The maid and the servant hurried off. Amusingly, Yuan had no choice but to follow them closely.

“What? There’s nothing here.”

“I thought it was this way…? Ah! Here! Push here. Doesn’t it wobble a bit?”

“Wow, it does. But how do we open it?”

“Is muscle just for show?”

“Ah, right. We can break it.”

The young man scanned the area. He spotted Yuan, who stood by the door, unsure of what to do, looking for something to break through the sturdy wooden wall.

“Why’s he just standing there?”

“Don’t mind him. Just hurry and bring a tool.”

The young man walked past Yuan. The maid prodded but to no avail; the wooden wall was unyielding. As she began fiddling with nearby items, it felt as if the frightening young man had vanished.

Yuan spoke up in a whimpering voice.

“Do… do you think you’ll get away with this? My parents will not forgive you. So, even now… I will forgive you if you bring my parents back.”

The maid, who had been tiptoeing through the empty pantry, turned her head.

There stood a boy, shrunk down and lost, who could hardly be called a boy—he seemed more like a child.

The maid’s heart softened. After all, he was the young lord she had cared for for many years.

Three years ago, the king died under suspicious circumstances. As a contest for the vacant throne began without an heir, the Count took precautionary measures to send his only son to the Jerome Holy Kingdom for refuge.

At first, he traveled by carriage, guarded by a mercenary group.

He traveled, visiting noble families across the Jerome Holy Kingdom, and as the successor of a prosperous count, Yuan was treated with respect.

However, at some point, the living expenses sent through intermediaries stopped coming. When the pouch his father had given him was emptied of gold coins and silver had run dry, a whole year had passed, but he could not return hastily.

A civil war had erupted in the Asran Kingdom.

“Are you really telling me to ride in this tiny cart? How absurd!”

In the end, he sold the horses and the carriage.

He convinced himself that if he could just hold on a little longer, the war would be over, and he would settle for a smaller cart.

But the civil war showed no signs of ending. With the last of their provisions gone, the servants and maids had to make a decision.

They even sold the small cart. With the money, they boldly boarded a merchant group heading to the Asran Kingdom, and an enraged Yuan shouted.

“Treating me this way… You will face dire consequences once you return!”

Too young to understand the situation, the noble lord maintained only his pride.

Yet the maid and servant endured. Even as they suspected something happened to the Count’s family, they had no choice but to bear his tyranny.

In the northern fief of the Count, their parents were tied down as tenants, so if the Count was still alive, they risked facing severe consequences.

But after narrowly escaping the war, they returned to the mansion in Barnau only to find… it was in ruins.

The maid approached the young lord, filled with mixed feelings, and advised him.

“It’s best for you to change that attitude now. It will be hard for you to survive with such behavior.”

“…What do you mean? The one who needs to change is your attitude towards me. Bring my parents back…”

“Young Lord!”

The maid shouted.

“Get a grip. You are no longer the young lord of the prosperous count’s house. If you don’t lower yourself and come to your senses, you’ll end up getting slapped again like just now. Understand?”

“How dare you lay a hand on me! To a noble…”

– Smack!

The maid slapped Yuan again. Though it wasn’t hard, the slow motion made it clear she intended to discipline him.

Yuan clutched his slapped cheek in disbelief. His little chest quickened with shallow breaths.

The maid, who had been crouched down, stood up. That was the end of her advice. She glanced down at the small boy before resuming her search in the kitchen.

She found it.

Pulling a small lever from inside the stove, a clattering sound rippled through the wooden wall. The wall slid open like a door, revealing a narrow storage room filled with well-dried spices.

“Hey! I found it.”

The maid called out to the servant. As soon as they grabbed it, all the tools that could be sold for good money seemed to vanish, so the servant celebrated happily.

“This should be plenty. We can escape abroad with your parents.”

The servant picked up a bag that had fallen in the kitchen and began to stuff bundles of spices into it.

As the nearly empty cabinet was getting cleared out, the maid tapped his shoulder.

“Why?”

“Leave some behind.”

“Why?”

The maid nodded and pointed backwards. The servant frowned at Yuan, who stood behind them in a daze but ultimately listened to the maid’s words.

With the bag in hand, they slipped out of the desolate mansion. Yuan chased after them helplessly, but feeling blocked, he couldn’t pass through the main gate and shouted.

“D-Don’t leave me behind!”

“What are you saying, you little brat?”

“Leave him alone. He’s pitiful.”

“Pitiful? That’s all karma. It’s a punishment from God.”

“P-Please… I ask you. Please… Please don’t leave me behind…”

Trembling in fear, Yuan knelt down and begged, but the maid and servant didn’t look back.

+ + +

Chased out by the royal guard, Yuan left the mansion. Wearing his friend’s rags, he wandered aimlessly.

At some point, his home had become a den for boys and girls who lost their parents in the chaos of war, and Yuan lived with them for several months.

At first, he got beaten a lot.

Yelling at them to leave his house, Yuan received a beating from the boys, and he’d holed up in the desolate room that had once housed toys, crying for days on end.

Fortunately, the beggar boys and girls didn’t kick him out. Being innocent children, they reached out to help Yuan, who could no longer bear his hunger.

There were even some who sincerely apologized for hitting him.

A wretched commoner’s touch.

Yuan didn’t want to admit it, but he realized he was no different from them. Understanding that he would have to live alongside these commoners, he showed them the storeroom with leftover spices.

There wasn’t much left, but the expensive and easily sellable spices would provide them with sustenance.

But that would be the end of it.

The civil war that had lasted for three long years was finally over. The Asran Kingdom was divided, with the Austin Kingdom to the west and the Aster Kingdom to the east.

Because the capital, Barnau, was slightly shifted to the west, it fell under the possession of the Austin Kingdom. Naturally, the properties of nobles who sided with the Aster Kingdom were confiscated.

Yuan’s mansion was no exception. His parents had sided with the Aster Kingdom.

How would he survive now?

As he walked aimlessly away from his beggar friends, Yuan’s eyes caught an announcement. It listed the names and achievements of the nobles, knights, and soldiers who had made merits during the fierce internal war. Among the densely written names, his parents’ names appeared too.

Not as meritorious figures but as the consequences of their actions.

“Noel… Dexter.”

The name of the knight who had stirred Barnau throughout the long war.

With the civil war being so muddled that it was hard to tell who was on which side, back in the capital, a power struggle never ceased. Many knights hid their true selves and beliefs, plunging the city into terror.

Among them, the most famous was Noel Dexter. The ‘Noble Slaughterer’ had killed Yuan’s parents.

Before the proclamation, Yuan was frozen. Something rose within him from deep in his chest, but the young boy couldn’t identify what it was.

How long did he stand there? Dressed in rags, he quietly turned and walked into the bustling crowd.

*

“How did you know?”

Yuan calmly questioned, fiddling with an expensive crystal goblet. He didn’t even look at Leo Dexter.

“I knew when I saw you handle the Radimu pick with your bare hands. And when I showed decorum, you reacted. You said you couldn’t read… but you’re a noble, aren’t you? Why are you hiding here?”

“…That’s impressive.”

Yuan put down the crystal goblet. Only then did he look at Leo and say.

“I thought you were exceptional, but I didn’t expect that you’d decipher my status just from that. I underestimated you.”

Nobles didn’t eat fare as lowly as Radimu. Touching food meant only for commoners was a blow to their pride as refined nobles.

However, there were cases when circumstances forced them to eat such food, and when that happened, nobles did so with their bare hands.

Using gracious etiquette for lowly food was indeed something to be ashamed of, so they would treat it casually, as if jesting.

Leo had discerned Yuan’s lingering pride that he had not managed to shake off.

After idly tapping the goblet, Yuan continued speaking softly.

“I suppose I should share my story. If you’re willing to listen, that is.”

Leo Dexter didn’t respond. But with his arms crossed, Yuan took it as a sign of consent.

As night fell, with everyone else having gone to bed, complicated glances passed between the two young men seated across the table. One held a wary gaze, while the other’s eyes were a storm of emotions.