Chapter 48
“Hmm, alright. Kyle. From now on, I’ll call you Kyle.”
Blair stepped back in compromise. As Kyle said, addressing him as “Your Majesty” outside the Academy indeed carried various risks. Kyle nodded. Of course, he had hoped Blair would call him casually like Aaron did, but this was enough. It would be difficult to immediately match the familiarity Blair had with Aaron, whom he’d known for a much longer time.
Kyle smiled broadly when his name was called. The slight redness at the tips of his ears revealed his great pleasure.
Kyle knew he was being unreasonable. There were many people who clung to him and many who showed him obvious favor. Yet, he himself didn’t know why he was drawn to this indifferent man who tried to push people away. Still, Kyle liked Blair.
“Shall we go?”
With his mood improved, Kyle took a sip of the sugarcane water in the tube. His eyes widened round as the sweetness filled his mouth.
“Oh.”
“Delicious, isn’t it?”
Blair grinned as he watched Kyle’s reaction.
“Yes. It’s interesting. Extremely sweet.”
“Actually, when I was young, I thought if I had nothing else to do later in life, I’d open shops like this throughout Crassia. I loved this so much as a child.”
“Really?”
“Haha, half-joking, of course. But when you’re young, you tend to like sweet things.”
It was a statement somewhat inappropriate coming from a sixteen-year-old, but neither of them noticed. Blair naturally didn’t, and even Kyle unconsciously perceived Blair as a senior much older than himself. Though physically Blair was two years younger, Blair never felt like a junior. Blair seemed much more mature and adept at everything than himself.
“Well, I suppose it wasn’t that long ago when you think about it.”
Belatedly realizing the error in his words, Blair tried hard to smooth it over. Kyle nodded slightly in agreement.
“Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”
“Been a long time?”
Kyle tilted his head. Did Blair mostly stay in the mansion without going out much? He suddenly became curious. If Blair frequently went out, he would have visited the market during the previous vacation, and then he wouldn’t have used the expression “it’s been a long time.” But Kyle was wise enough not to voice this question.
“I suppose so.”
Blair’s eyes sank instantly. His gaze floated through the past.
It wasn’t that he deliberately avoided visiting the Monetery estate after his independence. But despite it not being that far from the Imperial Capital, Blair didn’t visit the Monetery estate and mansion that often. When he was traveling battlefields, he was busy worrying about his own safety, and after becoming Grand General, his every move was under surveillance. Everyone was watching him closely.
It wasn’t taboo to visit other estates after receiving the new title of Duke. But no one would view it positively. Moreover, House Monetery was a family with widespread influence throughout the Crassia Empire. Rumors of Duke Gladius colluding with House Monetery would do no good.
Of course, they were blood-related family, so he could have made excuses if needed, but Blair had restrained himself. Thanks to that, it had been almost 10 years since he’d wandered around the Monetery territory like this idle man, including his past life.
This was the first peace he was enjoying since returning to the Academy. Somehow, it was only now that he truly felt he had returned to the past. Until now, it hadn’t felt real. It felt like living a bonus life. Or as if he was having a long, arduous dream.
So he had behaved quite freely. Not caring much about others’ eyes. Deliberately living his life in a way different from the past.
But facing people living in reality brought an overwhelming shock. Those people were living each day magnificently, diligently, and faithfully. It seemed he could no longer deny it. Blair himself was a person living in this moment. He too had to face his life, given again, seriously.
Whatever Kyle understood from Blair’s words, he put on a serious expression. The chicken skewer Kyle had given him to eat had cooled completely and was giving off a stale smell as he just held it. Noticing Kyle’s expression, Blair forced a smile.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy to be out in the bustling area after so long. Since I don’t go out much while staying at the Academy. Please eat your chicken skewer. And if there’s anything else you’d like to try, just let me know right away.”
“Yes, I will.”
Kyle nodded obediently. With his mood somewhat improved, Kyle began to walk ahead cheerfully. With light steps, Kyle was fluttering about like a butterfly when he bumped into someone. As a result, the hat that Blair had placed on Kyle’s head fell off. The man who collided with Kyle turned around with a menacing expression.
“Fuck, who the hell are you?”
No matter how neglected his upbringing, Kyle was a prince of the nation. Always surrounded by multiple layers of protection, Kyle could never have encountered such ruffians, thugs, or bandits. Kyle flinched in surprise at the harshness he was facing for the first time.
“What’s a girl doing in a place like this?”
The thug, with even a knife scar on his face, roughly spat on the road. Kyle, who had done nothing wrong except walk quietly, was startled into silence.
“Fuck, when you bump into someone, you should apologize!”
The collision between Kyle and the man was clearly the man’s fault. It happened because he suddenly blocked the middle of the road and turned his body, but here, power was logic.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Startled, Kyle hurriedly apologized.
“Well, well, look at this? Your face is damned pretty.”
The man’s expression changed after seeing Kyle’s face. At this level, he could be sold for a high price. His hair was too short, making him look like a man, but even so, there was a demand from perverts.
The man grabbed Kyle’s chin and turned it from side to side, examining his beautiful face. He was top quality among top quality. Skin, hair, physique, eyes. Everything was perfect. His tall height was a flaw, but with a face like that, his large build wasn’t even a flaw. This would perfectly satisfy the demands of rich, unpleasant old perverts. He must be from some noble family. But why would that matter? In the Empire, there existed an underworld where everything operated on the logic of power and money. Even nobles had no meaning there.
“Hehehe. I’ve hit the jackpot today. At least a hundred thousand gold. No, with this quality, I could ask for more. Could even reach a million.”
The man, unable to contain his excitement, muttered loudly enough to be heard. With eyes half-rolled back, he looked like a madman. Kyle, whose chin was held captive, grimaced. Surprised, Kyle struck away the man’s hand.
“Acting all arrogant because I said you’re pretty, bitch.”
The man’s hand swung up. Kyle shut his eyes tightly. But no matter how long he waited, the sound of impact on his skin never came.
“That’s far enough.”
A well-honed dagger was held to the man’s neck. It was so close that barely a finger’s joint could fit between them. If he moved even slightly, the dagger would pierce the tender skin of his neck. The man stepped back in surprise, but the dagger followed his neck.
“I see there are still men like this in Monetery territory. I’ll have to inspect the defense corps again.”
Blair slowly cut the man’s neck with the dagger. Blair, having spent a long time on the battlefield, was a man with no hesitation or aversion to taking human life. Blood trickled down along the cut wound. The man, who had been all talk, completely froze. The street thug could feel it directly.
The boy before him was the real deal. No, the pressure he exuded didn’t feel like that of a boy at all. He had the hallucination that a large feline animal might pounce and tear his throat out at any moment.
“If you don’t want to die in a place like this, why don’t you get lost right now.”
Blair briefly warned the man. Overwhelmed by Blair’s aura, which seemed no less than half his size, the man flinched and then turned and ran away.
Blair sighed and picked up the hat that had fallen to the ground.
“We should have worn a robe instead of a hat. I didn’t expect it to fall off so easily.”
Placing the hat back on Kyle’s golden hair, Blair let out a small sigh. Kyle, aware that he had caused trouble for Blair, flinched.
“It’s not your fault, Kyle, so there’s no need to feel guilty. Anyway, it seems today isn’t a good day in many ways, so we should head back.”
Kyle nodded obediently. Having caused such a commotion, there was no point in staying here any longer. Blair threw his jacket over Kyle’s head to cover his face. The two returned to the market entrance and boarded the House Monetery carriage that was waiting.
After helping Kyle into the carriage first, Blair turned his head and signaled to someone in the darkness. Shadows, recognizing Blair’s signal, leaped out instantly.
As Blair got into the carriage and closed the door, the carriage began to roll smoothly. Blair comforted Kyle, whose expression was still pale.
“Were you frightened?”
“Yes, a little.”
“As I mentioned, the Monetery territory is a wealthy place. Where there’s money, various types of people are attracted. Today was just your bad luck. Forget about it.”
Blair soothed Kyle.
“I was looking forward to it, so I’m a bit disappointed we couldn’t see everything.”
“I’ll arrange for you to come out once more before you return to the Academy. Next time, it would be better to wear a newly fitted robe.”
Kyle nodded obediently and fidgeted with his fingers. As he always felt, today especially, Blair, who was shorter and younger than himself, seemed incredibly reliable. He knew it was quite funny to feel this way about someone younger, but to him, Blair was always dependable and mature. In unexpected situations like just now, while he had completely frozen and could do nothing but gape, Blair had resolved the situation smoothly without any difficulty.
[To be continued in the next part…]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
