Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Henituse Territory, Roan Kingdom
Age 18

Cale was having a good day. Ever since he’d finally graduated from the Noble’s Prep Academy he’d been having plenty of them due to his workload greatly decreasing. Of course there were still things he had to deal with; his assassination jobs continued, as did his spying for Alberu, and his father had handed off some responsiblites to him recently. However there was no homework and most importantly, no annoying nobles he had to play nice with and pretend to like. He also had Hans and Ron to help him with figuring out some things.

There were sometimes difficulties, the children averaging six had a habit of playing in his study, which could be a distraction or lead to lost papers at times; he’d gotten used to the sound of them roughhousing though and had come to see it as calming background noise. Usually he was able to get his work done with decent timing and spend the rest of his day doing whatever he wanted. It wasn’t the slacker dream he wished for quite yet, but he was getting there.

Beacrox was still in charge of his meals and snacks. Cale met him on the way to his study this morning and complimented the chef on how good his lunch had been.

Cale talked with Lily and Basen at dinner about what they had been up to that day. It was still awkward to talk to Violan sometimes, but he could keep a polite conversation with her. Deruth was not very talkative when eating, but the Count radiated a sense of calm and contentment whenever he looked at his family.

Following dinner Cale found himself relaxing in his room, a cup of tea in his hand. Taking a sip from it, he smiled in delight. “This is very good.”

“It’s made from plants grown in our very own Harris Village,” Ron informed him.

Cale froze. “What did you say?”

Ron raised an eyebrow but said, “The tea leaves were grown in Harris Village, near the Forest of Darkness.”

Cale put down the cup of tea roughly before his fingers slipped and he broke it. His hand was shaking, he absently noted. “I forgot. What is the date today?”

The question earned him a funny look from Ron, but the butler dutifully informed him of the date. “It’s the 29th of the 3rd month .”

Cale’s heart began to beat quickly as shock took over his mind; though he’d never forgotten the events of the book, they had been shoved to the back of his mind by everything else going on in his life. He’d previously planned to try and change things so that the home Choi Han had found wouldn’t be destroyed, but he was too late.

By this point Harris Village was gone, and soon Choi Han would arrive. In fact, Choi Han should arrive tomorrow night.

—

Cale walked in the dark, a bottle of wine in hand. He counted his steps as he went and mentally marked the place where Choi Han would land. Instead of stopping, the noble sat down on a nearby pile of wood and popped the cork on the wine. He waited, and was rewarded by the sight of a bedraggled man vaulting over the city wall. “You know, most people use the gate,” he commented as the man landed.

Choi Han whirled around, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the noble carelessly sitting there, a bottle of wine clutched in his hand.

Cale’s face was red, despite drinking moderately. He naturally had a high alcohol tolerance, but unfortunately the rest of his body had never seemed to have informed his face about it, so he’d always ended up flushed after just a few drinks. “Why are you here? What’s so important you had to jump a three meter wall to sneak into a city at night?”

Choi Han cleared his throat to make himself sound less like a dying man, despite accurately looking like it. “Harris Village was attacked,” he said. “I came to request that everyone is buried.”

Cale forced his eyes to widen in surprise, like he hadn’t already known what had happened, before nodding. “You can’t go to the Count looking like this. You will just be thrown out. I have a place you can bathe, a bed to sleep in, and a pair of new clothes, if that is satisfactory.” He conveniently avoided any mention of his identity.

Choi Han hesitated, thinking over the noble’s words. He was obviously wary, but he still nodded his consent. But. . . the noble didn’t look very strong, if he tried anything he could be easily dealt with.

Cale stood up and took another swig of the bottle in his hand. tipped back the bottle and quickly swallowed the rest of the wine before standing up. “Good. Follow me.”

—

Choi Han looked at the opulent room around him. He had already eaten the breakfast provided and taken a short bath. The clothes he was given were not worn by peasants, but not the overly fancy sort worn by the nobility at balls either. He’d had little time before now to study his host in good lighting, and now he had more and more questions the longer he looked.

It had been clear from the start that he was a noble, but it wasn’t until the two of them had arrived at what he realized was the Count’s estate that it occured to Choi Han that he had to be a member of the family that owned the territory. Truth be told, Choi Han didn’t know much about the Count’s family, as there had never been any cause for him to learn, and so he had no idea what place in the family his benefactor held. The servants' respect towards the noble did seem to tip off that he was someone who had power.

Cale opened the door to the study. He walked in and sat behind the desk. “My apologies for the wait. Count Deruth is currently unavailable due to a trip to check on a nearby town. In the meantime, as his eldest son, I can hear you out. I believe you mentioned your village was destroyed?”

Choi Han blinked in surprise upon hearing that the noble in front of him was the Count’s oldest son, that wasn’t the kind of person he’d have expected to be out drinking in the town by himself so early in the morning. Of course from what he’d heard there definitely were some trashy nobles who that would probably be normal for, but the man in front of him didn’t give off that impression at all.

What was important at the moment though was completing the task he’d come here for, so he pushed his questions to the back of his mind and cleared his throat. “I would like help with burying the villagers, there was an attack by some mysterious men and Harris Village was wiped out.”

“You were the only survivor?”

“Yes. I was in the mountains and when I came back. . .” Choi Han clenched his fists. He could see the bodies twisted in rigor mortis. He could see the wrecked doors that had been cut down or kicked in, cold cooking fires that had died from lack of fuel instead of being purposefully dowsed or smothered, and the items—food, toys, and tools—suddenly dropped by people on the run for their lives. The image had not faded from his mind, only imprinted itself further over the days spent marching through the wilderness.

“I see. To be the only one to survive, that is a tragedy.” There was something carefully blank and bitter in Cale’s voice, something far too melancholic seeping through than just someone sharing their sympathies.

It brought up more questions in Choi Han’s mind, but he bit them back just like he had his earlier ones. This was not the time or place for them.

“I will send people to bury them.” Cale sighed. “It is a shame mountain bandits are common in those parts. They kill and rob many each year, despite how we try to flush them out.”

Choi Han frowned at the last part, but ignored it in favor of the first sentence. “Thank you.” He was truly grateful for the noble’s willingness to help, the people of Harris Village had taken him in when he had nowhere else to go, he wanted to at least repay them now by ensuring they got proper burials.

The noble stood up and extended his hand. “By the way, I’m Cale Henituse. I don’t believe I caught your name.”

“Choi Han. If you need help in the future, do not hesitate to come to me. I would like to repay you for this.”

Most nobles would have disregarded this offer, but Cale knew this was not just some country bumpkin, this was the main character. “Now that you mention it, do you know how to protect people?”

Choi Han furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

“Protect people,” Cale repeated. “I’m in need of a bodyguard for a trip I’ll be taking soon.” Normally he would have prefered to not have any more interaction with Choi Han, there was too much risk of getting dragged into the main plot; however Cale was aware that due to his closeness with Beacrox and Ron, it was unlikely that the two of them would tag along with Choi Han like they had in the book, which meant he’d just taken away a portion of the man’s strength. By saving Raon he’d also taken away a moment that had been crucial to Choi Han’s development, it was annoying but to make up for it he’d just have to help out for a little bit. Soon Choi Han would join up with Lock and Rosalyn, and after that they could cut ties.

—

Cale looked out of the window. He had zoned out, thinking about what he needed to do in the next few weeks. He was on the way to the Capital for the noble meeting and his sworn brother’s birthday celebration. It would also be the scene of a terrorist attack, but few people knew that. He was rubbing his thumb over a carved pebble in a circular, methodical manner as he planned.

Sitting on the opposite side of the carriage, Choi Han watched Cale and the two cats that were resting on the noble’s lap. Normally he’d question why they were bringing pets with them, but he could tell the kittens weren’t ordinary. There was something off about them; maybe it was the way they looked at him with narrowed, distrustful eyes or how they seemed to attentively listen whenever someone was talking.

While Choi Han was confused about Cale, Ron observed the new bodyguard his young master had picked up. The man was trained, that was certain after him and Beacrox had a fight. But having skill didn’t mean Ron trusted Choi Han yet, that was something to be earned over time.

On and Hong were just enjoying their nap, happily snuggled into Cale’s side; aside from a few times that they opened an eye to check on Raon or the new human, of course.

—

Puzzle City, Roan Kingdom

Puzzle City looked just the same as it had all those years ago when Cale had stopped there to obtain Vitality of the Heart, filled with towers of rocks and lots of dirt. Cale chose a better inn this time though. The last one had far too many crickets.

After a delicious dinner eaten with the rest of his entourage, Cale had retired to his room with Raon and the kittens and took out his video communication device to call Alberu. Prior to leaving the Henituse territory, they'd briefly had a chance to talk with the Crown Prince and Cale had informed him of the terrorist attack, citing rumors circulating in the underworld as the source. The time they'd had to speak had been limited however, leaving them with plenty left to plan if they wanted to prevent it.

"You've got guards keeping an eye out for suspicious individuals?" Cale questioned, carefully sipping on the cup of tea Ron had brought him. It was lemon again, because Ron seemed to take delight in his suffering, or at least that was Cale’s assumption. He was considering hiding a bowl of sugar in one of his magic pouches and adding some to his cup, but was sure Ron would notice if he tried.

"Yes,” Alberu confirmed. He had set aside a stack of papers upon seeing the light on his personal video communicator light up. “Although they can't do much but watch them for now. If we strike too soon the mastermind behind this all may get away."

Cale hummed in agreement, it was an unfortunate fact that they'd have to wait until the day of the attack to actually try and put a stop to it, there were too many risks that came with acting earlier. Hopefully they'd be able to prevent any lives from being lost, but the choice was no doubt weighing heavily on his brother. Cale could understand the feeling, back in his original life he'd been responsible for keeping those under his command alive; there had been many who called him heartless for his lack of visible reaction whenever one of his men died, but each loss had been a stab in the heart to him.

As if he could sense the turmoil going through both men's hearts, Raon gently nuzzled his snout against Cale's leg. The dragon was going through another growth spurt, some of his scales falling out and being replaced as his body grew larger. On and Hong were on the couch beside the dragon, gently teasing out loose scales so Raon didn’t scratch himself trying to get them out. From the moment Cale had picked them up they'd eagerly taken to their position as the baby dragon's older siblings.

Cale’s expression relaxed a bit, and he let his hand rest on Raon’s head for a few moments.

Alberu paused, looking at his sworn brother’s reaction. He pasted on a smile and moved along to other topics. “How has that new bodyguard of yours been?”

“Choi Han will be splitting off for a while.”

“A while?” Alberu questioned. He wasn’t that worried about Cale’s safety, not when his sworn brother had both of the Molans and Hans with him. But still, Cale took his own life far too lightly in his opinion.

“He will meet back up with me in the Capital. I have not said anything yet, but we can count on him to help.” Him, and the two other people Choi Han would pick up, Cale didn’t add. It was hard to explain away knowledge of future events.

“Is there a reason you trust him so much?”

Cale paused. “He has integrity and he owes me,” which was true. It just wasn’t the real story behind why he treated Choi Han as he did, which involved a novel, his own transmigration, and far too many deaths. “After we deal with the terrorists, I’ll be considering his debt paid.”

Alberu hummed. He had a feeling that things would not be that simple; things rarely were simple with Cale.

—

Capital of Roan Kingdom

Of all the things Cale had expected soon after arriving in the Capitol, a panicked Choi Han and Rosalyn, carrying Lock in the throes of his first berserk transformation, had not been one of them. It was fortunate that the novel had contained information on the Wolf Tribe’s method for dealing with it, allowing him to walk them through what they needed to do.

However, more than that, Cale was not expecting Choi Han to pull him aside after Lock's berserk transformation, and warn him about Ron, of all things. Choi Han said that Ron felt like a killer, and honestly, Cale couldn’t refute that. He just wondered why the hero had not picked up on such a cloud of death around himself, being that Cale had a part-time job as an assassin.

"Cale-nim, Ron is a dangerous person. I don't know if it's wise for you to keep him around." Choi Han cautioned. He sounded uneasy, as if he didn’t know how much to say.

Cale raised an eyebrow. “Yes. And, you are dangerous. Rosalyn is dangerous. Lock is dangerous. I’m dangerous.” He was quite offended by the doubtful look the swordmaster had shot him after that last statement, he might not be as strong and muscular as someone like Choi Han or Lock, but he was more than capable of causing plenty of harm if he wanted to. “Thank you for telling me, but it won’t change my trust in someone just because of that. What, should I stop trusting you, just because you’re dangerous?”

Choi Han seemed to have been thrown off by the last part. “I don’t. . .understand.”

"If you wanted to you could easily kill me, could you not? That makes you dangerous, and yet I still trust you," Cale explained. "It's the same with Ron." He said it all as if it were a simple thing, to trust people who could kill you without a moment’s notice.

Choi Han let out a small, “Oh.” He had a stunned expression on his face and the shadows in his eyes seemed to have been banished for the moment.

Cale didn’t know what, but it seemed that something he said had shocked the hero.

Chapter Text

Summary: Cale Henituse's plan for life: A) Become an assassin, B) earn a large amount of money, and C) retire young. He failed to account for what becoming the Crown Prince's sworn brother and stopping a terrorist attack would cause. Assassin!Cale, sequel to Partners in Crime.

II. Money, Honor, Beauty

Henituse Residence, Capital of the Roan Kingdom

The doors to the balcony were open, letting in a nice breeze. Choi Han had questioned it, concerned about someone entering that way despite the room being three stories up. Cale calmly waved aside Choi Han’s suggestion of locking the balcony doors; he ignored Choi Han, not because he wasn’t paranoid, but because there was a reason for doing so.

Choi Han hadn’t been totally convinced by Cale’s apparent lack of concern, but had decided it wasn’t his place to protest, of course that didn't mean he forgot about it. He kept glancing at the balcony throughout the dinner, just in case.

“Lock, have you had a chance to check on your siblings yet?” Cale questioned, as he cut into the delicious looking steak Beacrox had cooked.

The boy he’d addressed shook his head in response, a nervous expression on his face. “No, not yet. I was thinking I’d go tomorrow.” Lock looked at Cale as if seeking approval for his actions, earning a raised eyebrow in response.

The noble considered it none of his business when Lock chose to do things. “Go whenever you want,” Cale stated dismissively, taking a bite of his food. Like everything Beacrox made, it tasted amazing.

“Cale-nim.” It was Choi Han’s turn to ask a question. “What are your plans now you’ve made it to the capitol?”

“The Crown Prince’s birthday banquet will be in a few days, though before that I’ll probably have to meet up with the rest of the North-Western Nobles.” It wasn’t a meeting he was looking forward to, though there was a good amount of decent nobles among them, as a whole he found them far too nosy for his own good. He could still remember the fuss they’d kicked up back when he and Alberu had first become sworn brothers. “Hmm, maybe I can skip it.”

Rosalyn raised an eyebrow at that. “I highly doubt you could get away with it.” As a princess she was well aware of the do’s and don'ts nobles had to follow. If Cale chose to skip a nobles meeting, even if it was just with those from the same side of the country as him, there would no doubt be consequences.

Cale knew that just as well as she did, and heaved an annoyed sigh. “You are unfortunately correct, it would cause more trouble than it’s worth.”

Choi Han opened his mouth to ask a question about the purpose of the noble’s meeting, when he caught sight of movement from behind Cale on the balcony. While they’d been eating a figure had landed there. Choi Han bolted to his feet. He had his sword drawn and was sprinting towards the balcony before the others reacted. The person he spotted had opened a door and entered the room before he got there.

The intruder sidestepped the swing of Choi Han’s blade and used a knife—that looked very familiar to Cale—to guide the sword aside. Next, the man used a chair to block Rosalyn’s binding magic. He was approached by Lock on the other side of the table, but quickly tripped the Wolf boy.

Hong had started yelling as soon as Choi Han swung. His sister joined him in trying to get the three to stop fighting the intruder.

Raon was getting anxious and almost intervened, but he saw that Cale wasn’t worried.

Cale cut up another piece of steak. He commented, “I thought you were coming later.” He had the feeling that this was revenge for all the times he snuck into Alberu’s room and surprised him.

“I decided to drop by for dinner.” Alberu straightened his clothes and pulled down the scarf around his face. He took a seat to Cale’s right, across from the cats.

On looked relieved. On the other hand, her brother’s eyes were practically sparkling. “Uncle, that was really cool.”

“Thank you. How are you all doing?” Alberu asked. He started putting things on his plate, a steak, some buns, and an apple pie the size of a muffin. For the last item, he was sure Beacrox had made them because of Raon, as the baby dragon adored apples.

“We are doing well,” On politely responded. “And you, Uncle?”

-Uncle, Uncle. You looked strong as one of my claws. It’s been a long time since I saw you. I got a lot stronger. I am even more mighty now.

Raon’s excited voice made Alberu smile.

“It has been a long time,” the prince acknowledged. “I am well, just unfortunately busy.”

Choi Han, Rosalyn and Lock stared in shock for a moment at the sight of the intruder casually conversing with not only Cale, but the two kittens who could apparently talk. Surprisingly it was Lock who recovered first.

“You...are you Cat Tribe?” He addressed the kittens, who shot him annoyed looks for interrupting their conversation, before nodding their heads. Choi Han was more concerned about the intruder than the newly revealed beast tribe members, and fixed the man with a glare. “Who are you?” He demanded, not as rudely as he could have since they were obviously an associate of Cale’s, but still not politely.

The stranger let out an outraged gasp, though it was obviously fake. He turned to his left, where the nobleman sat. “Cale, you didn’t mention me? Your own sworn brother?”

Cale shot him an annoyed glare. “It never came up,” he explained, his voice grumpy. He then turned to his companions, nonchalantly waving a hand in the man’s direction. “This person who just broke into my house is my sworn brother Alberu.”

“You have a sworn brother?” Rosalyn asked, before quickly moving to a different question. “Wait, why did the cats call him uncle?”

Alberu grinned. He made no comment but ate his food. Cale also pointedly ignored the question.

Choi Han still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the whole situation, but he returned to his seat, deciding to trust Cale’s judgment in this matter. You didn’t become sworn brothers with someone without knowing them for a while, so Alberu was most likely trustworthy, and if he turned out not to be then Choi Han would deal with him before he could hurt Cale.

The three took their seats, still feeling stunned. Dinner was finished in awkward silence, each person ruminating over their own thoughts as they ate. Once the plates were cleared away, Cale cleared his throat, a serious expression on his face. “Since you’re all here anyway, I have something important to talk to you about. Raon, would you mind casting a noise canceling spell around us?”

Raon obliged, encasing the room with a shield that blocked any sound coming in or out. As he did his invisibility spell faded, revealing his existence to those who had not yet known of it.

Choi Han, Lock, and Rosalyn stared at the dragon. They were still in shock from earlier, and this made them feel even more overwhelmed.

Rosalyn felt her throat dry up. For a mage, meeting a dragon was like a dream come true, and here Cale had one listening to requests from him. She had pegged Cale as a regular noble before tonight. She had underestimated him because she thought of him as just like another of the hundreds of nobles she had dealt with before as a Princess of Breck Kingdom. “Just, how much about you do we not know?”

Cale smiled and ignored the question. “There have been rumors circulating that there will be an attack during the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration. Obviously we don’t want that to happen. The terrorists will use magic bombs to kill people in populated areas, so we must find and deal with them before they succeed.”

“How do you know?”

“Alberu had a contact that heard about it.” Cale did not mention that he was the said contact.

Alberu smiled slightly. Those who knew him well, might be able to detect the amusement in his eyes. “My informant only told me on two conditions, that I would not tell anyone who he was and would have someone take care of it. The latter part is where all of you come in.”

“Can you for sure trust this informant?” Choi Han asked, he didn’t want them to be walking into a trap.

Alberu met Choi Han’s eyes. “I would trust them with my life.”

Choi Han glanced back at Cale, who nodded in agreement with Alberu’s words, and then let out a sigh. “Alright, what exactly is the plan?”

—

Palace of Joy, Capital of the Roan Kingdom
Cale stepped out of his carriage. None of his servants offered him a hand, as they knew he preferred to get out himself. He glanced around at the other nobles he could see arriving, they were all familiar to him, either from his time at school or because of his job.

The nobles from the North-East Faction had gathered nearby, it had been prearranged that they would all enter together, so he moved to join them. As he approached, Eric Wheelsman immediately greeted Cale, followed by Amiru Ubarr. Cale exchanged pleasantries with the other members of his faction, before the five walked in and sat at the table reserved for them. Although there were other counts in the North-East, the Henituses were the most prominent and wealthiest of the nobles in that area of the country.

Other nobles began to file in and take their seats as well, among them Cale could see Viscount Neo Tolz; once the man had followed Venion Stan around like a dog, but ever since Venion’s disappearance he’d been forced to stand on his own two feet. He straightened out his behavior after losing his support.

Last to walk in was the Crown Prince, accompanied by Taylor Stan. The nobles couldn’t help the gasps at the sight of the latter. The oldest son of Marquis Stan had been wheelchair bound for years after being crippled, and now he was walking around like he had never been injured. Cale had to force back a smile at the sight, he knew very well that Taylor had been healed for a while now, he’d just been waiting for the right moment to reveal it.

Alberu’s gaze swept around the room as he entered, taking note of the filled seats, including the one that should by all rights belong to Taylor; which was currently occupied by one of the man’s younger brothers. Though as the Crown Prince he would be well within his rights to force them to move, the slight could cause unrest towards Taylor from his siblings, making it harder for him to become head of the family. For the sake of Alberu’s own plans it would be better to not take such a risk.

A seat was still needed though, and it was obvious where it needed to be. He’d already planned this ahead of time, it was best to place Taylor amongst a neutral faction, but somewhere that Alberu still had connections to. This meant that Taylor would be sitting with the North-East faction.

“How are you doing?” Taylor greeted Cale as he sat down next to him, while hardly close friends the two of them had had enough interactions to merit conversation.

“Well. And yourself?” Cale replied. He was feeding Raon under the table, something he had gotten surprisingly good at doing surreptitiously after three years of practice. “I haven’t seen Cage for a while, how is she?”

Taylor gave an amused shake of his head. “She’s well, still the same old Cage.”

Out of the corner of his eye Cale could see the other nobles peering curiously at the two of them, their acquaintance was not a well known thing, so naturally people were curious. Cale felt no need to indulge their curiously however and so chose his words carefully.
He smiled and replied, “That’s good. Is she travelling with you? Perhaps we could all meet up together.” ‘To drink’, he meant.

“I think that is a wonderful idea.” Taylor knew well that Cage was always up for drinking.

“Would tomorrow night at my family’s residence be acceptable?”

“Of course.” With the agreement to meet up the next night they finished up their conversation, anything else they might want to say was best saved for when there weren’t prying ears around.

As the meal came to a close, nobles began to get up to greet the Crown Prince and offer their birthday well-wishes.

Cale waited for the line to grow shorter before approaching. “Hyung, it has been far too long since I last saw you.” He had a soft smile on his lips. “You’re doing such an amazing job as always. With you as the Kingdom’s sun, I need not worry."

Alberu narrowed his eyes for a moment at the address. He thought with annoyance about how he had to remind Cale in private, but not in public. “Thank you for the compliment. It has been far too long, little brother. How have you been lately?”

“Very well. My father has been giving me duties to take care of.” Cale’s slight grimace let Alberu know exactly what Cale really thought of the matter.

The other nobles listened to their conversation with unabashed interest, even though it had been years since the two of them had become sworn brothers, their relationship still drew talk and opinions on whether Alberu was simply using Cale or truly considered him a brother were split.

—

Plaza of Glory, Capital of the Roan Kingdom

Cale saw the red flag—really one of Ron’s handkerchiefs—waving above the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the square. He relaxed his shoulders slightly.

Everyone was in position. Everything was going according to plan thus far, all he needed to do was stand around and try his best to enjoy the ceremony now. The key word there being try, of course, both he and Alberu found this kind of thing to be a pain, but as nobles they had no choice but to endure it.

Redika and his men would be showing up soon to crash the celebration and try to detonate the bombs. They were ready for when they did though; aside from Cale’s people, Alberu had stationed disguised dark elves throughout the plaza, with instructions to capture anyone who showed up. Additionally, there were more royal guards stationed around the plaza than was normal for a celebration. If needed, Alberu could order some to help in the fight, and others to evacuate the nobles.

A group of black clothed people appeared on the Bell Tower. Before Redika, the mage, could activate his bombs, the Mana Disturbance Tool underneath them went off.

The high grade magic devices rang shrilly. The alarm-like sound making sure everyone knew that, indeed, someone had messed with the mana field in the Plaza of Glory and made using magic impossible until the mages stabilized the field. A ripple of alarm spread through the square at the realization, all but the few in the know wondered just what was going on.

Arm members proceeded to throw long range attacks. Royal guards used their shields to protect the people nearby them and Dark Elves secretly had their elementals knock weapons off course.

As the chaos spread, Raon, Rosalyn, Lock and Choi Han started moving. They had ten minutes to dismantle the bombs or move them. It was made harder by the fact that the bombs were disguised as normal items, but luckily they had two people who could sense their locations by paying attention to items with higher concentrations of magic.

Cale sighed, but didn’t say anything. He was not screaming or complaining or remarking about the situation at all.

The North-Eastern nobles looked towards him, only to see his relaxed expression and unhurried pace towards the gate. In turn, their own hearts settled down and stopped beating wildly in their chests.

-Cale, we found all four

Raon’s triumphant cry echoed in Cale's head, it seemed like they'd been successful. His relief only lasted a moment though before he remembered: there were ten magic bombs in the novel.

The mana field was stabilized by the mages. Rosalyn and Raon threw the bombs upwards with magic, far enough away that Redika’s mana only made them explode in midair without hurting anyone.

Cale didn't have time to celebrate though, there were still six bombs unaccounted for. He let his eyes roam the Plaza as he kept up his calm demeanor and steady pace to not to alarm anyone. Where could they be?

Two of Redika’s men ripped three scrolls—shield, acceleration, and combustion—and rushed towards the plaza. One was going towards the nobles, and the other was headed for the Royal Family. They wore backpacks, with something unknown in each.

Cale swore. Those had to be the bombs, it was a suicide attack! He started moving closer, in the opposite direction of the fleeing nobles. There wasn't much time, he had to act now. “Raon, shield Alberu,” Cale said. He couldn’t take care of both bombs by himself.

-Why are you going that way?

Raon asked urgently.

“I’ll be fine,” Cale reassured. “Just make sure Alberu is fine.”

-Alright, I’ll take care of Uncle. . . .

There was clear reluctance in the dragon's voice, it was obvious he was worried. Raon felt like Cale was going to be hurt, and he hated it. He'd been given a task though, and he had to complete it so Uncle wasn’t hurt.

With Alberu's safety taken care of, Cale focused on the task he needed to complete, the safety of the nobles rested on his shoulders. He counted seconds to keep himself focused, waiting for when Redika’s mana would catch up to the bombs and force them to explode.

A silver shield opened up in front of him and surrounded his enemy. Cale let out one last curse before the bombs exploded.

Up in the bell tower, Ron was waiting to complete his own assignment; rather than having him join the others in searching for the bombs, Cale had tasked him with getting rid of the mage in charge. Tucked into his pocket was the invisibility device his young master had presented him with and after the mana field stabilized, he flipped it on. He used the distraction of the suicide bombers to sneak onto the roof.

There was a time limit for the device, but more importantly there was a small window of time where Redika could be surprised and killed. Ron had to get to the mage before he could try and escape. He remembered Cale’s instructions clearly, ‘First, get rid of the teleportation scroll in the mage’s hands. Second, kill him.’

An assassin’s strongest advantage was having the element of surprise. Ron had already long since mastered being stealthy, being invisible was almost like cheating for someone like him.

Redika didn't notice a thing as the master assassin came up behind him. The teleportation scroll was knocked out of his hands. And before he could cast magic, a blade was already sliding into his jugular vein.

Ron forced his knife in further, making sure there was no way the mage could be saved. He had no regrets about killing a terrorist who just attempted to murder hundreds of innocent people. Ron dodged away from the magic cast around Redika, leaving his knife in the mage. The invisibility device was still running, making it hard for his enemies to locate him.

The teleportation scroll rolled down the roof tiles and fell into the plaza before Redika’s men could catch it. The roof was surrounded by royal guards and mages. Everyone on the Bell Tower roof was stuck, except for Ron who slipped under the eaves and through the open window he used before.

Below in the plaza, the dust settled. The silver shield that had protected the nobles shattered. Raon’s magic shield around the royal family had been let go as well.

Alberu had already sprinted to where the strand of silver light from the shield led. He supported his sworn brother as Cale coughed up blood. “You’re an idiot,” he hissed quietly. “A heroic idiot.”

“I’m not a hero,” Cale grumbled under his breath, quietly enough that no one else heard him. He felt better after coughing up the blood; Vitality of the Heart had already started repairing his body.

Alberu rolled his eyes.

—

Henituse Residence, Capital of the Roan Kingdom

Beacrox was beginning to wonder if Choi Han's pacing would end up wearing a hole through the carpet. It had been several hours since the incident in the Plaza of Joy and Cale still hadn't returned from the palace. Though none of them had witnessed it, they had all heard that he'd apparently coughed up blood following the use of his newly revealed ancient power.

The front doors opened finally and Alberu, Raon, Cale, and Ron entered.

Ron, acting as a proper butler, took Cale’s and Alberu’s coats to hang up. There was no blood on him, as he had changed before going to the Crown Prince’s palace to pick up his young master.

"Cale-nim!" Choi Han exclaimed, eyes wide. It wasn’t odd for him to be worried about the people he knew dying, as so many of them had died in both worlds.

"You!" Rosalyn shouted at the same moment, pointing a finger at Alberu. "You're the Crown Prince."

Alberu's eyes widened in fake surprise. "Really? I hadn't noticed." The sarcastic answer earned him a glare from Rosalyn and Alberu gave an annoyed sigh. “Yes. I am Alberu Crossman, the Crown Prince of Roan Kingdom. And it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Princess Rosalyn of Breck Kingdom.”

Said princess gave a nervous laugh upon hearing he knew her true identity.

Choi Han blinked in surprise at the revelation of Alberu’s royal heritage, but quickly turned his attention back to Cale. "Are you okay?" He questioned, looking Cale up and down as if it would somehow allow him to spot any internal injuries the noble might have.

“Perfectly fine,” Cale replied. He turned his head towards Alberu. “Do you think Taylor Stan and Cage will still show up to drink?”

Alberu’s lips twitched up. “Knowing Taylor, he might want something after being in the plaza. And knowing Cage, she would not pass up an invitation to get into your wine collection.”

As if summoned by Alberu’s words, there was a knock on the manor’s front door. As befitting of his job as butler, Ron was quick to answer it, revealing Cage and Taylor standing there.

“Is the party still on?” Cage immediately asked, glasses in hand. She acted in a manner unbefitting of a priestess, but most of them were not shocked as they had already seen her like this.

Cale smiled. “Of course.”

Taylor frowned slightly. He hesitated before asking, “Are you sure you should be drinking after your injury earlier?”

“You think that and yet you still came over anyway?” Cale snorted in disbelief.

“In truth, we were just going to check on how you were doing.”

“Speak for yourself,” Cage stated. “I’m not going to miss out on expensive Henituse family wine.”

“Good. Hyung had me checked out by far too many healers, so believe me, I am fine.” Cale smirked, “Besides, everyone knows that rubbing alcohol is good for external wounds and drinking alcohol is good for internal ones.”

Everyone stared. Alberu bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. Ron’s face was carefully blank, but while attention was directed away from him, he took the opportunity to facepalm.

Cage slapped Cale on the back with a grin. “I knew I liked you for a reason! Come on, let’s get this party started.”

Cale led the way upstairs to an empty sitting room. Ron left to take care of other things, and Lock went to see his siblings. The children were told to go play in Cale’s room. This left Cale, Taylor Stan, Cage, Alberu, Choi Han, and Rosalyn to socialize.

Cale had a few bottles of wine from the cellar put into the wine cabinet of the upstairs sitting room yesterday. He brought them out, along with additional glasses for those who unlike Cage, didn’t constantly carry around their own.

Cage looked at the bottles and chose one to open. She poured everyone’s glasses and raised a quick toast to the host, Cale, before drinking. Her wine was gone in almost an instant and she’d already poured herself another glass before the others had even started on theirs.

Choi Han sipped carefully at his drink, he hadn’t been old enough to drink before he’d been brought to this world and up until now he’d never really had the chance to try alcohol. Rosalyn on the other hand was well acquainted with fine drinks, as a princess she’d gotten to try lots of different types, though she’d never been able to freely indulge.

These two were the first to get drunk. Choi Han cemented himself as being an absolute light weight; he almost slammed his head against the table when he passed out, and would have if not for the help of the two people next to him, Taylor Stan and Cale. Rosalyn was very emotional but fortunately did not pass out. She cried and complained about wanting to be a mage instead of a princess, cursing her royal heritage.

Cage soon joined Rosalyn in complaining, the priestess was still mostly sober but happily took the opportunity to whine about how annoying the God of Death was and how she wanted to be excommunicated.

Taylor Stan had several cups of wine and barely seemed affected. He had built an impressive tolerance for alcohol due to Cage. However, he was rather tired and so he laid his head back against the couch before falling asleep.

Alberu ruffled Cale’s head before standing up with the help of the table. He straightened up and managed to walk in a mostly straight line out the door. He did not trust himself to teleport back to his room without any issues and would rather sleep on one of the residence’s guest beds instead of an armchair.

Cale sighed at the sight of the drunk people surrounding him. Although his cheeks were flushed red he didn’t feel the slightest bit drunk, thanks to the combination of his natural alcohol tolerance and Vitality of the Heart. Cale looked at the pile of sleeping people around the room and sighed; he should recruit some help.

As he was trying to decide what to do, he took notice of a small red paw slowly pulling a bottle towards the edge of the table. Cale quickly snatched the bottle. He stood, and saw that Hong was accompanied by his sister and Raon. “Don’t even try,” he sternly warned them, “You’re not allowed to drink until you’re at least eighteen.” He made a shooing motion towards the children. “Go find Hans and ask him to come over.”