Chapter 28

# Chapter 28: <After All, You>

With a creak, the carriage started moving.

Meow.

On and Hong, the cats, were huddled close to Kale, occasionally glancing at Kage and Taylor sitting opposite them.

"Lord Kale, do you know much about the event the royal family is hosting this time?"

Kale looked at Taylor, the eldest son of the Duke, who had brought up the topic. Unlike the hungover priest, Taylor was quite sober. This seemingly weak noble was actually the one with the highest alcohol tolerance.

Kale opened his mouth to the Taylor who was looking at him.

"I'm going to the royal palace for the first time. A few years ago, I attended a gathering of young nobles in the northeast."

Taylor didn't bring up this topic just to chat with Kale. He wanted to give him some useful information.

"I see. The event the royal family is hosting this time is to celebrate the current king's 50th birthday."

"It's a festival for the kingdom's people, isn't it?"

Taylor's eyes sparkled as he watched Kale, who seemed to imply that he wasn't included in the "people."

"Doesn't it seem like a festival to you, Lord Kale?"

A festival? My heart is pounding because of the terror attack. Kale swallowed the latter part of his thought. He was probably the only one who knew about the upcoming terror attack, along with some secret organization figures.

Knowing something often comes with a heavy sense of responsibility and unnecessary worries. Of course, the responsibility and those worries were somewhat related.

'I'll do what I can, but if it looks like I'll get hurt or be in trouble, I'll back out.'

This was Kale's mindset regarding the terror attack. Do what you can, but only to the extent that you don't suffer. Kale, who knew the fear of death, couldn't pretend he didn't know.

"Isn't it a festival for you, Lord Taylor?"

Kale's indifferent remark made not only Taylor but even Kage, who was struggling with a hangover, chuckle.

"I consider it the final hurdle before the festival."

Despite his frail appearance, Taylor was a bold person. He had been ahead of Benyon in the dukedom until he was disabled, even with his upright character.

"Lord Kale."

"Yes."

"Be careful of the Crown Prince."

Taylor continued, looking at Kale.

"Even though I am the discarded eldest son, I still have ways to gather information within the Stan Duke's household. This 50th birthday celebration was originally planned, but inviting all the young nobles was a suggestion made by the Crown Prince and carried out."

Taylor knew about the Crown Prince.

"I don't know how to describe the Crown Prince."

Seeing Taylor hesitate as if unsure how to describe him, Kale blurted out:

"He has a very smooth tongue."

"Oh, that's right! No, that's not what I meant."

Taylor, who had agreed enthusiastically as if it were the right answer, soon looked flustered and tried to deny it but eventually admitted:

"Yes, that's right. You know."

"It's information you can find if you want to."

"True. But I've never heard such an apt description as from Lord Kale."

As Taylor nodded in agreement, Kale thought about the Crown Prince.

Smooth tongue.

The Crown Prince was incredibly good at praising people and elevating them.

And then using them.

Of course, the person being used never realized it. One of the most representative figures was Choi Han, whom the Crown Prince had elevated as a friend and hero.

Choi Han, a commoner, thought quite highly of the Crown Prince, who treated him warmly as a friend. But to Kale, who read about it in a book, and to Kim Roksu, he was just an unpleasant person.

'The problem is that the direction in which he uses people is correct.'

He didn't use people for his own benefit or power. He used them for the kingdom, the people, or a broader cause.

'Actually, it's more like asking for a favor.'

It wasn't using people in a hierarchical sense but rather asking for help on an equal footing.

With his smooth tongue, he would lavish praise and give a sad reason why the person had to help, making it impossible for them to refuse. Choi Han couldn't say no, and even the kind Rozalin, though cold, eventually agreed to his requests.

Of course, even someone with such a smooth tongue had a weakness.

"Anyway, Lord Kale. The Crown Prince, well, as you know, is that kind of person. If you get involved, it will be very tiring."

"Don't worry. I plan to stay as quiet as possible. I don't like standing out."

Kale answered smoothly to Taylor's words. However, he noticed that the carriage had fallen silent. The cats On and Hong, the hungover Kage, and the smiling Taylor were all staring at him intently.

"…Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Hmm. Staying quiet, no, that's not possible."

"No, it's not."

Kage and Taylor looked away, and the cats shook their heads. Kale frowned slightly and added:

"Even if I get involved, it won't be the kind of thing you and the priest are thinking."

At that moment, Taylor and Kage saw Kale's lips curl into a smirk. It was a rather sinister and mischievous smile. Kale smiled at them and said:

"I also have a pretty smooth tongue."

The Crown Prince would step back and avoid when he met someone like him. It was a kind of kinship aversion.

If someone could use people with smooth talk, Kale could do the same.

Kale turned his gaze from the window to Taylor. Even before he injured his leg, Taylor had been slender. He stroked his knee and continued:

"The guardian deity stood firm like a rock, even when his body was shattered. That's how he protected this northeastern land and its people, surrounded by rocks."

Myths about the darkness that descended on the continent were countless.

When the darkness began at the center of the continent, other myths told of battles against it. But the character in Taylor's myth was unique in focusing on protection.

Taylor thought such a being was a hero.

"Such a being can't exist in reality. That's why I like this myth."

"You don't believe in it?"

Taylor nodded in response to Kage's question.

"Very few people would protect something while getting hurt and their body shattered."

"True."

Kale nodded in agreement with Taylor. Protecting oneself was one thing, but protecting others, especially this northeastern land, was something he couldn't understand.

"By the way, I've never heard this myth before."

Kale had read quite a few different forms of legends and myths in the first five volumes of 'The Birth of a Hero,' which dealt with ancient powers. But this was the first time he had heard about the rock guardian deity of the Rowen Kingdom.

"Yes, it's probably not well-known. I discovered it while researching ancient texts and ancient powers. I told Kage about it too."

Kale nodded and lowered the curtain again. Then he took out a round pendant from his pocket and tossed it.

"Get ready."

Taylor and Kage nodded and each grabbed the pendant. The magical device began to activate. Kale sighed and picked up a bottle of alcohol from a corner of the carriage.

A moment later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the noble-only gate, and the voice of the deputy commander and another voice were heard from outside.

Knock knock.

"Lord, the capital's guard knights are checking."

Thud. Kale's foot kicked the carriage door roughly. The calm face of the deputy commander and the flustered face of the royal knight appeared. Kale, holding a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a glass filled with alcohol in the other, looked at the royal knight.

"Check."

The carriage was filled with the smell of alcohol. Kale looked as if he had been drinking since last night, his face flushed.

Many young nobles had passed through this gate in preparation for the event a week later, even though it was still early. Each time, two royal knights would visually inspect the carriage. It was a formality, but it had to be done.

However, the royal knight had never seen someone like this. The deputy commander smiled confidently and said:

"Our lord uses alcohol to sober up. He has reached the highest level of hangover remedies."

Watching the flustered royal knight and the deputy commander trying to praise Kale, Kale thought:

'Ah, this is tiring.'

So he said:

"Can we hurry this up?"

The royal knight, along with his colleague, visually inspected the carriage, where bottles of alcohol were rolling around, and soon gave the clearance.

"Clear."

The deputy commander slowly closed the door, and as it shut, the royal knight bowed.

"Welcome to the capital."

Squeak. Thud. The door closed completely, and a moment later, the carriage moved into the city.

Kale held out the glass filled with alcohol and said:

"Welcome to the capital, they said?"

Taylor, who had dispelled the invisibility spell, smiled and handed the device to Kale, who took the glass with his free hand.

"It's been a while since I've heard a welcome."

Kale and his party had arrived in the capital.